AS I listen to "Hardworlder" for probably about the 10th time since I got it (3 days ago), I'm trying to figure out whether
it is better than Slough Feg's previous release "Atavism". My aim? To answer this by the end of this review.

Even afer the first 5 times of listening to "Hardworlder" I felt like I still hadn't heard it at all. I found this intriguing
given its general catchiness and easy listening style. But perhaps that is it. Even more so than "Atavism", this album is
soothing and instantly enjoyable with its prominent thick melodies akin to most of your neo-Traditional heavy metal and 
smoothly transitioned tempo changes. Where "Atavism" is bright and catchy, "Hardworlder" is like velvet - gentle and 
alluring. Yet buried beneath this simplicity appears to be a highly enjoyable artwork, worth more than your average MTV 
song of the week.

"Hardworlder" in comparison to "Atavism" has a more doomy influence, along the lines of Pentagram, with its clear production 
and easily distinguished components. Mike Scalzi effortlessly carries us on a journey through outter space and starry 
mythology with his unique clean vocals which sound something like an Irish tenor not quite reaching his octave. Not in a
bad way, the flaw sounds organic and contains a very lush tremolo to it. Furthermore guitar work is nothing short of 
brilliant, with plenty of well thoughtout and appropriate solos (including an utterly enjoyable instrumental "Galactic 
Nomad") accompanied by subtly directive drumming and rhythm guitars.


Injected into this doomy mix are two very much contrasting cover songs. "Dearg Doom" (a Horslips cover) and "Street Jammer"
(a Manilla Road cover). Both are absolutely stunning but as mentioned the odd thing about these two songs are that they are, 
for the most part, much more upbeat than "Hardworlder". Clearly this was Slough Feg's intention and I think it is effective, 
assisting in the transition from the much more jovial sounding "Atavism". 

The description "pirate-esque" for Slough Feg has been used by many and I agree with it. If pirates wrote heavy metal, this 
is what it would be. As such, I use the following analogy to describe "Atavism" relative to "Hardworlder": The former is the
conquest, the looting, the plundering, getting the treasure and drinking to the rewards. The latter is the awakened hangover
and recovery process, thrown in with some stories of the previous day's activities.

A neo-traditional album that deserves your attention, "Hardworlder" is a must for 2007. Drawing back on whether it is indeed 
better than its predecessor "Atavism", I think the conclusion is, you can't have one without the other. On par for quality,
they can be listened to in sequence, for different purposes and without evening noticing the time, you will realise that a 
around an hour and a half will have passed before the albums have ended ... and even then and you'll probably still be able 
to throw "Down Among the Deadmen" on after it.