Modern Vibes, Grunge Feels: Slug Comparison Returns

This week on Mandatory Music, we're spotlighting some homegrown Canadian talent. Doug Harrison—frontman and guitarist of prog band Fen—returns with his solo project Slug Comparison, and we dive into the opening track of the new album A Battle to the End Fought on the Edge of a Knife.

The song "Wish to Adapt" is a breath of fresh air for us: modern, emotionally rich, and laced with just enough grunge to hit us right in the feels. We break down what makes this track—and Slug Comparison's overall sound—so compelling.

Tune in, turn it up, and don't forget to check out the full album wherever you stream music.

Here are the official streaming links for Slug Comparison's new album, A Battle to the End Fought on the Edge of a Knife:

• Apple Music:
  https://music.apple.com/ca/album/a-battle-to-the-end-fought-on-the-edge-of-a-knife/1806606100?utm_source=chatgpt.com
• Spotify: 
• https://open.spotify.com/album/1XmbWcuJkT3wdWGpK04Nfj?utm_source=chatgpt.com

The album was released on May 9, 2025, and features 11 tracks, including the standout opener "Wish to Adapt." This track blends modern rock elements with a touch of grunge, delivering an emotionally resonant experience.

For those interested in supporting the artist directly or exploring additional formats, the album is also available on 

Bandcamp:

https://slugcomparison.bandcamp.com/album/a-battle-to-the-end-fought-on-the-edge-of-a-knife?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Mandatory Music is proudly hosted and produced by Michael Heide and Sebastian Kwapich

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Thanks for listening and keep on rocking

Transcript

Well, good day, everybody. It's Mike from Mandatory Music, and we are back. It is Wednesday.

We're actually recording early for a change. Yes. So, Sebastian, my young apprentice friend, how are you today? Come to the dark side. 

I'm well, how are you? I'm doing really good. Your long weekend was, because in Canada it was May long weekend, Victoria Day. Yes.

Is there something in the States this weekend or no? I don't think so. This coming weekend is Memorial Day. Oh, okay. 

So, this coming weekend, yeah. We are Canadian folks. Mike and I are both Canadian.

Well, I live in Vancouver. Mike lives in Kamloops. Yep. 

So, yeah, I grew up on the coast in Vancouver too, but I moved away many moons ago now, and it was a move. It was. Anyway, it was. 

So, with all this sort of talk about holidays in Canada, today we're going to celebrate a little bit of Canada with some Canadian music. So, we haven't covered any artist that is a Canadian-based band. Like, obviously, there's been some stuff we've talked about with Canadian artists.

I believe Arch Enemy Singer, I think she's Canadian. Don't quote me on that, but I think she is. Oh, that's a good question.

But we're not going to go back through the whole archive of what we've done to try and find out that question, but I'm pretty sure she's Canadian. But this band is 100% born in Canada, the music is made in Canada, and I believe it's sort of self-released. Yes.

We're talking about a band, they are called Slug Comparison, which I know Seb had never heard of them before I mentioned them. I will guarantee you most of our listeners have probably never heard of these guys before. So, what they are is it's like a side project for the lead vocalist of the band Fenn.

And Fenn is also another Canadian band that they put a record out last year. They're sort of like proggy, doomy, that kind of style. But Slug Comparison is much different.

It's the music's a little bit on the lighter side, a little bit kind of on the lighter side, like in terms of tone. But it's just it's different than Fenn's music. So it's a perfect side project.

This is the third album. So it's the brainchild of Fenn vocalist and guitar player Doug Harrison, which I've actually known Doug for. We're not like we're Facebook friends, but I've known him since we were little kids.

We played soccer together and I saw him. He moved to the island when I was young and I sort of we here and there keeping contact. But I've kind of followed his career because it's always cool to know somebody that is doing it and making it work with music.

Because obviously it didn't work for me. We both did not work for me. Right.

So I think there's a there's a handful of people that we know of that sort of went to our school and our circle of friends that have made it. But I've been following Doug for a long time with his music and sort of I've been listening to this record, which is called A Battle to the End Fought on the Edge of a Knife, which I think is very cool and very provocative. It's a it's a it's a fabulous title for a record.

And basically our narrative, it seems, is long names. All of a sudden we're doing songs and album covers that have long names. Yes.

Except for last week. But, yeah. Don't worry about last week.

We won't talk about last week. There's nothing to hear as I do the Jedi hand swipe. But so, yeah.

So this album came out a couple weeks ago. A couple singles have been out for a few months and I've been listening to the absolute living. I'm going to say it.

Living shit out of it. And I love and I know and I love the record from beginning to end. I think it's it's a breath of fresh air in in a time when of music where it's.

I don't know how to explain how I feel about it. Like it reminds me because it's it's labeled as grunge and this album. It's very.

Yeah. And yeah, it definitely reminds me of, you know, Canada rock of like the 90s of the very Canadian rock folk, not folk, not the rock music, but like, you know. Oh, man, my brain is not.

There's a band I'm specifically remembering. I can't remember the name, but go on. Yeah.

Yeah. So it. You know, when I first.

First listen to it, I was kind of a little I was a little put back and then I'm like, no, just give it a chance because it's I like the dark, doomy stuff. And like I said before, this isn't super dark and doomy. But the more I listen to this.

This, well, we're going to talk about the title track, Wish to Adapt, but I kind of want to give the whole album. Yeah, do it. It's kudos.

Like you can you can hear like it's oozing in a very good way. The music of the 90s and every song is like this cool journey. And the songs kind of get a little more eclectic as the album goes on.

Like if you get to the end, like there's there's like some reggae in here. There's like blast beats and it's and it's all mixed together in such a cool way. I just this album is a breath of fresh air.

Is his other band more medley like Fenn? Yeah, a little more metal. It's a harder. Okay.

Yes. So this is like sort of the the just sort of the other side of the river, if you will, for Doug to be doing this stuff. And I like I just think it's fantastic.

He's got a great voice, too. Like he's oh, he's a very good singer. Yeah.

Yeah. Like I'd even put his vocals above sort of I don't want to slag on his guitar playing. He's an amazing guitar player, but he's a great vocalist.

So but for a title track, for an album, always you want, you know, big, grandiose banger, if you will. And this song sort of delivers in in all those for me anyway. And all these.

Yeah, I think it's important as your first song to have some pace on it, too. Like, you know, or it's very introspective or very like reflective or like you're setting the mood for the rest of the album. Right.

So you're kind of, you know, and this is a great song. Like it's it's a great song. It's very well constructed.

His voice is great. The guitar solo is awesome in it. Because, I mean, I come from a guitar solo.

But you are you are the lead man. Like if if being you were in a band together, well, I'd probably be the drummer now. But back in the day, you'd be the lead guy.

I'd be the rhythm guy because you're Kirk Hammett guy. I'm a Hetfield guy. So it's just that's just the way we roll.

But you're right. It's like the solo is amazing. And I kind of wish I'd like to actually I'm going to try and see if we can actually get him on the show.

That would be cool. And we can talk about like his creative songwriting process, because I love like I've said this thing. I say it on every episode.

I love the process. Yeah. The the birth of the idea.

You know, then you layer on. You make it like you're building a sandwich. OK, got the bread and now I've got the cheese.

I got whatever. You just building this. Yeah, that's a fascinating thing is because like no songs, no two songs are created equal.

Right. It is, you know, some of them, some of them are an idea of a song that I want to write or some of them are a riff. Some of them comes from a drum pattern like, you know, I'm just going to reference Metallica here.

But if darkness had a son, that song, I'm almost convinced it started with a drum beat. Of course it did. Like that was the first thing they did is that drum beat.

Yeah. That, that, that, that, that, that, that. So, you know, it's fascinating to me how people construct their songs.

Right. And I've always been. Very interested in the fast construction songs, like songs like Paranoid or Living on a Prayer, where they just do it in one day, like they write, record the whole song in one day, because that is like a muse coming down to bless you.

I'm not saying that this song that we're doing now was done that way. But, yeah, that would be interesting just to get a perspective on the songwriting. Like Tool, for example, they, their lyrics, the lyrics they write for Tool songs is dead last.

Yes. The entire song is done in its complete structure. They don't change anything.

As far as I'm aware, I could be wrong on this. I don't think they do. I think the song is done.

It's like, here, sing to this. Give it to Maynard, figure out the lyrics. Which is, I don't know.

And Tool is very good at putting music out at a consistent time frame. Yeah. All the time, because it's just new music.

It's like nonstop with Tool. So, anyways, my bad sarcasm dad jokes of Tool. But, yeah, Slug Comparison is, like, I don't, besides me loving it, I don't, I, because I want to talk to him and know, like, guitar tones.

What did he record with? Does he have collaborators? Or was this all out of his head? I want to know where he came up with the band name. Well, there's that too, because it is, it is, it's unique. Well, yeah, so I don't know why, but when I, when, so my partner and I were listening to this song in the car, and I don't know why I went there, but for me, I went to the animal, like a slug, like an animal.

And then she's like, no, it's like, I'm reading, I'm getting it as like, they're two firearm shells. You know, when you like do a slug comparison on the shells. And I'm like, that actually makes more sense.

That actually, that's funny, because that's so funny. I went to the slug, that's what I meant. Are we dumb? We're taking this so literally, it's like the slug, the actual slug.

And it's like, oh my God, we're, oh, I'm so dumb. I don't want to say you're dumb, but I was right along the same ways as you. I'm like, oh.

I'm like, yeah, comparing like shells, firearm shells is probably more in line of what that was, but who knows? I could, it could be actually. It could actually be a slug. No, I doubt it, but oh my God, we, wow.

That's again, it goes to show you that men are far inferior to women. That's just what I was thinking in the moment. Right.

And I just even put two together, but it makes like hard rock, you know, guns and hard rock are like a thing, you know, Guns N' Roses, for example. Yeah. So the name of the band would be a play on all of that.

Yeah. Clearly a lot more intellectual than Guns N' Roses, which was Tracy Guns and Axl Rose. Hey, there's your guns and I'm Rose.

So I actually like the name though, Guns N' Roses. It's just, of course, it's yeah, it's perfect. But.

I know I don't want to dwell on this song for too long, not dwell, but I don't want to. I know you've you haven't listened to the whole record. No, I have not.

And I probably have. Like, literally, I've listened to this album probably like 10 times. Good.

Yeah. I mean, I like it. I'll get through it this week at some point.

It's really good. I guess. Yeah, it's really, really good.

And it's it is refreshing. And I think that's the. It's just top quality, it is top quality.

And for all of you out there that don't think us Canadians can make music, of course, we no one outside of Canada has ever heard of. Neil Young, Canadian guy. But Rush, Canadian band.

Exactly. Rush is huge. Nickelback.

Come on. What's there not to be proud of? The Who. The Guess Who.

The Guess Who. Not the Who. Not the Who.

The Guess Who. They just fired their drummer again for the second time in two weeks. Anyways, that's another story for another day.

But this, I think what it is, I think it maybe it's an age thing with me because this music is. What do you mean? Like, because because I played this for my kids and they were kind of. They were kind of just like, OK, dad, this is fine.

But it's not speaking to them like it speaks to me like it's. That's OK. Like music doesn't have to speak to everyone.

Right. It's just also I think a lot of the comparisons or the way we like music is what's going on in our psyche at the moment that we hear a particular song. Yeah.

Like sometimes the song resonates so hard in our soul and other people like, yeah, it's a good song. I just don't understand why you're so into it. Right.

Why? It all depends on your personal space. And sometimes there's something specific in a song that connects to you. That was like with me with Ghost Love Score.

When I heard that for the first time, I was like brought to tears when I heard that for the first time. And I'm like, this song has hit my soul at the right time. Right.

So, you know, that's why there's so many different genres of music because it's a diversity for every every human being. Some people don't like metal. Some people don't like rap.

Some people don't like country. Some people don't like EDM. You know.

So, yeah, like I just and I just like the variation of all the different all of his influence. We talk about influence, all of his influences, he's kind of meshing into one and making. Yeah.

I don't want to say it sounds like this. It sounds like that because it it just sounds like like it's fresh, but it's also it sounds like it's come from. A bygone era that.

Is been Canadian rock and a Canadian nineties rock and a rock and grunge to like grunge is. Yeah. Like when you think of grunge, you think of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and you can go deep.

Alice in Chains. Yeah. Alice in Chains, whatever.

Right. And even like with Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam, they are nothing like they were 30 years ago. Like you can put on Pearl Jam's newest record and you're like, well, what? OK, so I'm going to say something right now, which may piss off a lot of fans.

Oh, I got the controversy train. Definitely. If I were to rank every single Pearl Jam album, their first album will be the best album.

The second album will be their second best album. They peaked at the very first album and everything else was just slowly descending downwards. Like I listened to like their entire catalog recently and I can't get into any of their stuff past the third album.

Really, it's just maybe it's the shtick, it's that the Pearl Jam shtick or they're trying to recreate that feeling. But I don't know. That's funny you say that because my son loves 10 by Pearl Jam.

The first album. The first album. And he's so funny because I put on because he's like he when he likes songs like I'm an album guy, but he's like, OK, I'm going to cherry pick.

It's easy to do now. You can make a playlist and you can take your five favorite songs off of 10. Yeah. 

Thanks, Napster. Yeah. Right. 

Put it on a playlist. So I put on the song Why Go and it's I think it's track three off of 10. And he's like, what is this? I'm like, it's after Even Flow.

But he's never listened to it because he just stops at Even Flow. He goes like once even a flow, then he like I think it's like Jeremy and like whatever else and black. And I'm like, this is sandwich.

Yeah, live. Exactly. And oh, maybe it's a live track for it doesn't matter.

So he's like, I've never heard this before. What do you mean? Do you like it? No. He's like, I just like the the the big one.

So I'm like, OK, fair enough. And then I put on I think I put verses on for him and he's like that this. No, it's like this sucks.

I'm like, OK, well, whatever, whatever floats your boat. But he's he's he's a funny kid with music like he loves Metallica like me because I think it was just. You know, well, going to see them live as one of your first concerts that is such a big thing.

I put on what I put on. I think I put on Rust in Peace. You and I think it's a fantastic album.

It's great. Other other people don't. He's like, dad.

His voice is it's so bad, it's like the music isn't good. And OK, nobody's nobody's telling nobody's saying the debut scene is like the next coming of like Rob Halford or something or that's what I tell him, I said he knows he can't sing. I said that's part of it.

Yeah, because he's singing because he is like an egomaniac that has to be in control and have everything done his way. That's why this goes back to my point about when you connect with music in certain eras or certain time frames in your life, you get it seeds inside of your soul. Right. 

And, you know, when Megadeth came out with Rust in Peace, Metallica came out with a black album around the same. I think they're like a year apart or something like that. Yeah. 

But that was like when we, you know, I never started listening to metal until 88, I think, or 89. You know, the first two albums that were in that genre weren't even metal albums, but it was Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction and Who Made Who, the album Who Made Who by ACD. So were the first two like metal-ish albums I ever remember listening to. 

And so you're exploring this while it's current and released for the very first time. Right. So everything is new and fresh.

And we became Metallica addicts in the 90s for the most part. Right. So that is thanks to you for me, because I was like.

You gotta listen to this band. Well, yeah. And I was like C&C Music Factory, like sort of.

Hey, they're great. Come on. And like sort of like early 90s, like dance pop.

I was I still love that stuff now, but metal consumed my life. And well, that's metal rock and roll guitars and drums. That's almost like remember, like when you watched really good movies from like 30 years ago and you remember them as being like A-plus movies and you watch them again, you're like. 

Did I laugh at all this? Like the one that comes to mind is Spaceballs, like watch Spaceballs today and you will not laugh the way you remember laughing to the movie, but you just won't. You will not. No, it's not the same as what it was.

No, because it's the genre that the because it the the the zeitgeist, I guess, the best way I can say was different now than it was. Right. So when that movie came out, it had a pulse on society and stuff.

And you connect that way to like the Star Wars movies were pretty recent, like the original Star Wars movies were like Jedi was just like a couple of years before. So Star Wars was huge. So Mel Brooks was just making fun of all the shit that we.

Yes. Yeah. And and I did see it in the theater a couple of years ago with the wife.

I dragged her because she did not want to go. She's like, this is the stupidest movie of all time. I don't care. 

It's in the theater. We're going. It was like playing it like the downtown film house, kind of a small theater.

So we hadn't saw it. And to see that movie on the big screen is something you if you if it's ever. I don't know.

OK, but was the audience influencing the level of enjoyment that you had? Probably because everybody was there having laughter's infectious. And yeah, and then I bet you if I turn it on, like you say, if I go upstairs and find it wherever the hell is streaming and turn it on, I'll be like, God, this is so stupid. But Rick Moranis is anyways, we're getting way off.

He's the best part. Yeah. Fucking oh, man. 

Dark Helmets, the great. He's well, he's Canadian, so we can segue back into this. Exactly. 

So but I urge like I don't think I have too much more to give. I think it's going to be a rather short episode this week. But no, I just want to talk a little bit of some of the guitar work in the song.

So like the the opening riff riff, I really like it's that like high part on the guitar, like Dini, Dini, and then it's it's predominantly bass and drum driven for the most part. And the guitar comes in as like accent points in the verse. And obviously everything comes in during the course.

Yeah. But it's basically a very, you know, it's an upbeat, pretty basic drum beat. And the the the bass guitar doubles down and gives it more of a driving feel.

Yeah. But yeah, it's it's a very well-constructed song. Like that's the way it flows.

So it everything makes sense to me. I really like it. Again, as a singer, I think he's very good.

Like his I love his voice. Yeah. Yeah. 

He's got all day long. Yeah. He's got that nice ombre in his voice.

So it's it's clear you can understand all the words, which is important for this era of music. And it's a little bit like it has a hard rock tone to it. His voice. 

Yeah. It's it's just it's amazing. And even if you go back and listen to his stuff from Fenn, but it's almost a little hard to find on like Spotify or Apple.

It's there's a I'm sure you can find it on SoundCloud or something. Yeah, I think there are. He's on there on Bandcamp.

You can find it there, too. Yeah, I know this song is it's it's it's good. It's it's I find it catchy as hell.

And it's usually a song catchy. I'm like, I'm out. And this is just this is awesome.

Like, it's it's really good. It's just something. So yeah, for the minimal amount of research I did, there's only two guys in the band of slug comparison.

Yeah, there's the drummer. Yeah. And then there's Doug, which does everything else.

Yes. So I'm very curious to see how they would do this live. Yeah, I'm not sure if they would get like studio musicians to help.

I would. I would think so. I can't you'd have to have a bass player at least you can't do the two man.

You can't be the way. Well, there's two guitars in the song, too. Right. 

Exactly. Right. There's this.

Yeah, there's like the solo part, the rhythm part that he plays, plus the bass. There's also keyboards, too. I think not in this song, but I've looked somewhere.

Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah, a little slice of British Columbia, Canadiana, you know, local.

No, he's based out of Victoria. But it's just something I'm passionate about. And I just I've been sort of waiting to talk a little bit about about him on on the show.

And and like I said, I'm going to try. I'm going to reach out and see if I can get him to come on. And we can just have a little chat about songwriting and stuff like that.

When this this podcast grows to insanity levels, then we'll just do a interview every week with somebody. Wouldn't that be so cool? Like. That'd just be awesome just to be able to sit down.

Help us get there. Yeah. If you like any of our contact, just share it with somebody else.

Yeah. And or like and subscribe. We've got room for improvement, but that's why we're doing this, because we're we're just yeah, we're going to we're just growing as individuals and as a team, as a duo.

And yeah, well, you know, it's we're going to we're seeing it through. So, yes, go check out slug comparison. And I'm pretty sure Deb is right by saying it's not about the literal slug.

That's where I went immediately. So I'm still like I'm I'm so embarrassed that even I having the thoughts that it was so literal. I'm just so.

Anyway, yeah, like I said, I sometimes I'm the word. I'm so bad for judging. Looking at a book going, hey, that's a really cool cover.

I'm going to buy the book. And then you read the book like, oh, seriously, that's the worst. I kind of did that with an audio book today.

I'm not sure. I'll give it. I'm going to give it a couple of hours and I might be returning it.

So, yeah, the cover got me. I was like, yeah, it looks cool. Then I did read the synopsis.

It sounds really cool. But so far, they start listening and you just like can't focus on it. It's just like I can't I can't get into it.

Yeah, I'm kind of that way. I was already like zoning out staring at trees while I'm driving and just like, I don't care. But I'll get there.

Anyways, that's that's mandatory music. This is episode number 60. Whoo. 

We're up there. We're up there. We're getting close to 69.

That's going to be a special. Oh, boy. Well, whatever you got planned, keep it to yourself.

And OK, that's it. Next week, we got something fun planned. I haven't told Seb yet.

Oh, could be could be something fun. Could be some sort of top five. I like it.

Yeah. So I'll tell them when we're done. Anyways.

Sayonara. See you. Any music. 

We love you. And now I got to stop the recording. Oh, boy.

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)