Customer Reviews

Alien

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For a period of six weeks, the CD player in my car was broken, meaning I was too lazy to get it fixed for six weeks. In that time, I was stuck with listening to "rock" radio stations which are of course a general source a major disappointment for those of us who appreciate music on a much higher level (not just what's catchy and what sells). For those six weeks, I was in absolute hell, with the radio station playing System of a Down, Slipknot, Mudvayne, etc.. and referring to them as "metal". I had questioned what this world was coming to when stripped-down music with no guitar solos, socially generalized lyrics that did the thinking for you, and an overall lack of caring towards actual talent - became acceptable. I was stuck listening to my old tapes of old old old Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Testament, and Pantera, which was fine, but for someone who always enjoys discovering fantastic new music, I was in a world of pain.

That all ended, thankfully, when I got my player fixed and bought Strapping Young Lad's Alien. I am listening to it for the umpteenth time right now and find myself not even thinking about reaching for the fast-forward or skip button. Each track on this release has its own soul, which immediately separates it from most new heavy releases today, which succumb to the pop formula that "attaining sameness/consistency in song and lyrical structure gives you an identity". Strapping Young Lad seamlessly makes transitions from a a symphonic, majestic metal anthem megaphone, to violent, speed metal and all-out grindcore without even blinking.

Devin Townsend, who first caught my ear ten years ago when I heard Steve Vai's "Sex and Religion", can sound like one of Phil Anselmo's lungs one second, and the next second make you think he's Ripper Owens. If vocal range is something you really appreciate, take a listen to the song "Two Weeks" on Alien, and tell me if Devin could have admirably filled in for David Gilmour or Roger Waters if asked. Byron Stroud, who provided some great bass work for Fear Factory's "Archetype" continues with fine, deep tones on "Alien". For those who have followed the world of metal for the past 10-15 years do not need an introduction to Gene Hoglan, who's worked on great records in the past like Death's "Symbolic", Testament's "Demonic", and was a part of thrash legends Dark Angel for the majority of their career. The man knows no limits when it comes to drumming, and can churn out double-bass and blast beats for a full 5 minutes straight if he had to. And god forbid, a metal album released in today's age with actual guitar solos?

To top it off, Mr. Townsend did the smart thing by producing the record himself, an area in which he has shown himself to be top-notch. What sets him apart is the fact that he actually emphasizes the bass sound, something that many metal bands today just don't do (perhaps to make sure that people find the songs "poppy" and catchy). Strapping Young Lad has left this one listener ridiculously impressed with their chemistry of technical skill, absolute violence and heavy brutality. Alien is going to be an album that we will be talking about for years. (Just don't let our nu-metal bands know about it :)

You've got to hand it to Devin Townsend, he never stops putting out solid release after solid release. Throughout his various other projects, nothing has hit me like a ton of bricks like Strapping Young Lad, and "Alien" finds Devin and co. at their very best. Opener "Imperial" may not be anything real special, but from there on "Alien" is a masterpiece. "Love?", "Shine", "Possessions", "Thalamus", and "Zen" are instant classics, with Devin's songwriting soaring to new heights, and his vocals have never sounded better. Not to mention that former Death drummer Gene Hoglan's drum assault is some of the best drumming to be heard today. This is real metal folks: no hip-hop beats or rapping, no whiny vocals, and full of original ideas and concepts. "Alien" is undoubtadly the best Strapping Young Lad album yet, and quite possibly the best metal album of 2005.

Somewhere between the polyrhythmic precision of Meshuggah, the wild time signature-abusing chaos of the Dillinger Escape Plan, and the classic melodicism of Iron Maiden lies Strapping Young Lad. They've long since established themselves as one of modern music's most creative and distinctive acts (who doesn't recognize a Strapping Young Lad song when it comes on?), but coming off their greatest triumph with 2003's monstrous SYL, Devin & Co. have thrown their loyal listeners a bit of a curveball this time around. The band's previous albums, varied and unpredictable as they were, were each held together by a common thread-Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing was just incredibly bizarre and ominous; City was almost relentlessly fast, frenzied and technical; SYL channeled Devin's anger and indignation into the band's most fearsomely vicious and heavy work yet-but Alien breaks the pattern by providing tastes of all three. True to its title, Alien is a strange album even by Devin's lofty standards, shattering metal conventions at every turn and cementing SYL's status as some of the heavy-music scene's leading innovators.

Let there be no mistake, though: Alien is still extreme metal to the core, filled with all the punishing chunks of riffage, pile-driving industrial rhythms, and demon-on-speed screams from Devin that you'd expect to hear on on SYL album. Befitting its eclectic approach, Alien is also probably the band's most sonically schizophrenic release to date. As always, drummer Gene Hoglan takes the lead with drumbeats that make you feel as though he's just hitting you upside the head with his sticks, but everyone is in fine form here, showing a mix of virtuosity and versatility that nicely matches Devin's off-the-wall vocal performance (and boy, does he give his pipes a workout here). There's definitely no mistaking these guys for the legions of run-of-the-mill metalcore bands that have sprung up the past few years (this means you, Unearth).

After the high-speed caffeine injection of the introductory Imperial, SYL get down to the primo craziness without delay. The lengthy epic Skeksis and the anthemic Love? are every bit as brutally heavy as you'd expect, but the vicious grooves of the music underpin songs that you can actually hum along to. Thalamus starts in a similar manner before stopping on a dime, to unveil some disarmingly pretty and melodic atmospherics, complete with impassioned crooning from Devin. Have no fear, though, there's still plenty of the band's signature aural hell to be found: Shine is nightmarish in a black metal sort of way, but without all the lameosity inherent to that genre, as Devin strains his voice to the breaking point over the band's swirling assault. The incredible Possessions is driven by a stuttering, eyebrow-singing guitar riff, and the ultra-confrontational, menacing Zen would fit right in on any of SYL's previous albums.

So, you might be asking (though probably not), am I ready to anoint Alien as a classic to match City and SYL, which are easily two of the best metal albums of the past decade? Well, not quite. While Alien does certainly contain some of the best songs in the band's catalog, for an 11-track album there's a tad too much filler here. S**tshorm (incredibly stupid and silly, even for a band that's intentionally over the top), Two Weeks (boring) and Info Dump (not a bad idea for an interlude, but 11 minutes of noise? WTF?) all get the skip from me practically every time. If this album had been condensed to eight or nine tracks, it would've been better able to contain the manic energy that Devin brings to his every release. Still, Alien is more than worth getting, especially for those who appreciate intelligent, original music that can still leave you feeling like your brain's just been through a blender.

As I think of what I should say to describe this album, I am literally at a shortage of words. It is just that amazing. Devin Townsend and company are metal masterminds and are definitely in a category of their own. Being a Canadian (and one who lives 10 minutes from Devin's hometown) it was easy for me to give these guys a chance back in the day. That's not why they deserve five (and more if possible!) though.

The album starts out with Imperial, a chaotic yet controlled (oxymoron?) opener that introduces the listener to the sound that will be prominent throughout the album. It is fast, loud, course, and amazing. Skeksis, Sh*tstorm, and Love? follow, and these three songs alone are worth the price of this incredible album. Never have I seen three songs back to back that pack the raw punch of these songs. You'll be soaking the drool off the floor after hearing these.

And that's not to say the other songs are slouches either. Every song is full of unique qualities and sounds. (including xylophones on Shine, the atmospheric Two Weeks, and of course Info Dump)

The lyrics are not meant to be taken seriously (one line includes "What do you want to do now baby? do you wanna have a f*ckin' baby?" from Possesions ) and these lyrics accentuate the whole concept of random controlled chaos that is definitely a key part of this albums success.

Gene Hogland is an absolute monster behind the kit, and his double kicks and constant rhythm changes leave drumming hopefuls with glazed eyes and sticky boxers. I've had the opportunity to meet Gene before, and not only is a mountain of a man, he's genuinely a nice guy with a laid back sense of humor and a respect for his fans. Him and Devin even signed my shoes (which are now on my trophy shelf!)

So ya... buy this CD now! Highly recommended.

Overpowering, ferocious, unrelenting, massive, bludgeoning. Like some other reviewers, it's hard to find a way to accurately decribe the intensity of this album!!

I'd never heard of SYL until a few weeks ago when i saw a video for "Love?" on the headbangers ball. after reading the many many positive reviews for "Alien" i decided to get it. They've come along (for me) at just the right time. I don't remember when i last heard an album this heavy. It's an onslaught of drums, guitars, and excellent vocals...and it never lets up (save for "two weeks").
But it's not only heavy, it's intelligent. And as other reviews have said, the songs are unique in their own way, difficult to memorize, and don't generally follow the verse chorus verse chorus solo verse chorus format. Also, the keyboarding provides an excellent complement to most of the songs. My personal favorites are Skeksis, Love?, and Possessions....but any track on here could be a favorite at any given time. The album is that good all-around.

I'd have to recommend this album to well....anyone who enjoys heavy music....whether it be metal, industrial, others. This album is great in every way.

I know what you're thinking, "Is it as good as City?" No, it's better. There, I said it. (For those that don't know, SYL-heads often use City as the benchmark since it's as close to perfection as a metal album can be.)

The self-titled disc from 2003 wasn't their most inspired release, but they've made up for it by giving birth to the monster that is Alien. MORE is the key word here. More aggression, more double-bass, more noise, more choirs, more solos, more bass! This album will not disappoint any fan of SYL or extreme metal in general.

The first three songs (Imperial, Skeksis, Sh-tstorm) are the three greatest Strapping songs ever! The band usually includes an intro song to ease the listener into the mood (Dire, Velvet Kevorkian), but Imperial does the opposite. Instead of gradually introducing the mayhem, Imperial throws a brick wall right at your nugget. "We have returned!" Devin maniacally screams, and it's all downhill from there. Skeksis (track 2) is over six minutes long and it's all pure stinking bliss. SKEKSIS IS THE BEST STRAPPING SONG TO DATE, GENTLEMEN AND LADIES. Sh-tstorm (track 3) is one of the band's angriest songs, right up there with Happy Camper.

We Ride is amazing as well. Less than three minutes of absolute bludgeoningness...And guitar solos! You heard me right, guitar solos. I laughed when I first heard them, but believe me, these guys can shred something fierce. It's like they're saying, "See! We CAN solo. And well. We just choose not to solo all the time like Iron Maiden."

Two Weeks doesn't seem like a Strapping song. It's a Floyd-esque, acoustic song. Stunningly beautiful. It would fit right in with some of Dev's solo stuff.

There are a few downpoints, however. Possessions gets repetitive and Info Dump is more like Info Dumb, hahaha! But seriously, the downpoints are kind of like losing a nickel when you have $400,000,000,000 in your bank account.

The lyrics are goofy as always, but these guys like to have a little fun with their music. They ain't all serious like Lamb of God. The music is very very angry, but it's all done with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

It's just an incredible album! There's so much to listen to here. So many layers of incrediblosity.

Whereas last week I was trying to illustrate Trivium's lack of focus to mostly disgruntled eyes, this week I am trying to find the proper wording to describe how unique and original Strapping Young Lad's latest is. While on the subject of focus, I think any true fan of metal would be hard-pressed to discover lack thereof from "Alien". Strapping Young Lad completely abandons formula in terms of locking themselves into a style that is either "safe" or "the in-thing" and just goes for the jugular from the outset.

On "Alien", the Lad takes are more diverse and technical approach to the overall songwriting. Inside, I can hear hints of Fear Factory's aggression, Meshuggah's machine-like technicality and Emperor's haunting atmosphere's coagulated with the feeling of mad science that peaked through the door on the last album. Whereas the last album seemed to have moments of plodding along, "Alien" was written as if there was no time to wsate and that every second counted. Even during moments where the rhythms are the most dense and forboding, never do you feel that the movement of any one song is slowing down because just when you think Strapping Young Lad has locked themselves into a groove, you are clobbered upside your cranium with a blastbeat.

Much like any truly standout release, most people who buy their "metal" at Hot Topic will stare at something of this magnitude as if it had two heads. In Strapping Young Lad's case, this beast has four heads and each one of them is as vicious as the last. While SYL may never achieve the fleeting almost-mainstream success that bands like Trivium or Unearth has or will, they possess the ability to last long beyond the lives of the goth-emo-metal crowd without even trying.

this is a great, great, great CD. The riffs are heavy and thick, yet very clear and defined. The drums are HUGE, and this is defidently up to the Gene Hoglan standard of drumming. The CD booklet lists all the roles of the members, and for Gene it says "Gene Hoglan-Atomic Clock"-very well said. There isn't hardly any bass on this CD though. I might have missed it, but i just don't hear any, it is all buried by the guitars. Devin's vocals are great on this CD. His patended screams and sings are defidently here, and he spices parts up with vocal layering in different pitches that kinda gives a death metal illusion, but it is playing to the strength of extreme vocals, not the weaknesses. That can be found in Imperial and S**tstorm. The riffs are very thrash metal and are very good thrash metal riffs and are very original thrash metal riffs. The riffs and singing are so good and technically hard to do, you would think if you didn't already know that Devin sings and plays guitar that there is a seperate guitarist and singer, but no-Devin does it all. And he does it well. Really well. Devin, as far as ability goes, is defidently the best singer/guitarist since James Hetfield. Devin is also one of the best guiarists since James Hetfield. Devin defidently deserves to be mentioned in the ranks of amazing singer guitarists like Billy Corgan, James Hetfield, Dave Mustaine, and Wes Borland (who will be doing the singer/guitarist thing in his new band Black Light Burns. The clips ive heard are amazing). One of the things i found kind of weird about the prior reviews are that some people REALLY DON'T LIKE Info Dump and Two Weeks. Two Weeks is a nice short acoustic song and contrary to popular belief among the underground metal community, double bass and triple picking doesnt instantly equal greatness. This is a cool song and is a nice letup from the rest of the CD's intensity. It is nice and soft and intended to be nice and soft. Info Dump is also neat. It is long, but once you get about halfway into it, cooler sounds come into play. This is something fans of electronic music wil enjoy, and again i can see why the "more metal than thou" people don't like it because it isnt blastbeats and triple picking.

to be honest, though, this CD does have the occasional thing that i don't like about that prevents me from giving this five stars. Sometimes, the sheer density of the recording gets so cacaphonous between measures that when im listening to it, it sounds like the volume knob turns itself a little quieter. If you don't know what i mean, listen to the S**tstorm clip here at amazon, you can hear it at a certian point later in the clip. This CD was also touted for it's use of male and female chiors, and to be honest, i wouldn't have noticed their presence if i didn't already know there are choirs on here. To be fair though, you can pick out the female voices that conclude a song, but it doesnt soung big and chior-y. This CD was also touted for the soloing on We Ride. The soloing seems kinda buried in the mix and is hard to hear over the rhythm guitars. The soloing is kind of cool but you can't tell where Devin's solo ends and Jed's begins. But it is kind of neat. Dev and Jed still cream me as guitarists, so i won't go into why i'm not a huge fan of the solos. This CD is great, but if you want the ultimate SYL experience, get City. I'm not one of those kinda people that clings to a band's first or second CD and says everything after it is lame just to be cool and underground, but everything about City is amazing. The order of the songs, the riffs, the drumming, the singing, the screaming, the production, and the overall feel. This CD has a feel to it that no other CD has. There is a lot more dense layering on the guitars and it really sounds like there is a million tracks of guitar on each song. The guitar distortion sounds slightly oversaturated at times on it, but everything is nice and huge and clear and cuts through, but Alien cuts back a little on the layering and has more of a focus on an amp sound that has more of a cut to it. But everything about City is amazing. Devin's vocals are in particular at their best on City and every song is so drastically different than the others. Plus, the drumming is Gene's best, the riffs are perfect, the feel is perfect, and you get to hear some bass in some of the later songs. It is just amazing and City sounds incredibly modern, which is quite a feat, considering it was made nearly 9 years ago. Alien falls only one small hair short of City, but SYL are a band you NEED to hear. There is no other band like them, sonically and artistically. This isnt for people who think anything slightly heavier than trapt is death metal though. Those kind of people i think are really lame. But this is metal that you need to hear. Alien is a fantastic buy, but get the amazing 100/5 and hard to find City CD before Alien, or any other SYL CD's for that matter

You heard me! Alien is Strapping Young Lad's best album thus far, possibly the best metal album of 2005 as well. This album is a true brutal balls to the wall heavy metal assault, and it's a perfect soundtrack to a riot. Devin Townsend is a awesome vocalist, and a great songwriter. Guitarist Jed Simon along with Dev deliver some very loud brutal gut wrenching riffs. Byron Stroud's bass just kills on here. Gene Hoglan is a monster of a drummer, his lightning fast double bass assaults are just all over the place. As far as the songs go, Sh**storm is possibly the best song on this album, man talk about absolute rage. We Ride is another great fast song with some killer guitar solos included. Other great songs include Skeksis, Love, Possessions, and Shine. So if you're looking for some true insane vicious angry metal, pick up Strapping Young Lad's new album Alien. Be sure to get their other albums is well. SYL rules, 5 stars man

Now here's the ratings for the songs

1. Imperial: 4/5
2. Skeksis: 5/5
3. Sh**storm: 5/5
4. Love: 5/5
5. Shine: 5/5
6. We Ride: 5/5
7. Possessions: 5/5
8. Two Weeks: 5/5
9. Thalamus: 5/5
10. Zen: 5/5
11. Info Dump: 4/5

Strapping Young Lad is many things.. hellish sonic evisceration, freaky headbanger's delight, witty spoof of metal cliches. But primarily, for Devin Townsend and crew it's all about catharsis. It means that SYL isn't your average metal band; the subject matter covers what's significant for them to vent about (family/child issues, love and relationships among others) rather than the uber-cliched themes of evil, pain/death and the like. And where any other metal band might be tempted to revel in how dark and doomy they are, these guys are the first to admit they're a bunch of goofballs. Instead of being skull-bludgeoned with some kind of spiky medieval torture device, this is more like being pelted with iron-filled rubber ducks.

While it requires a solid level of technical skill from all involved (and Gene Hoglan's drumming goes beyond technical to superhuman), Alien is perfect for the crank-up-and-bang-heads approach as well. It's their most weird & screwed-up disc yet, but it's satisfying whether you want towering rage or just blistered eardrums. Amid all that there's plenty of variety, from melodic thrash to full-on cacophony to "Two Weeks," which is... let's just say it's the most atypical Lad song ever. ("Info Dump" isn't a song and it doesn't really need to be there, but I guess it's a fitting capper to all the insanity.)

It remains to be seen how they'll re-imagine their approach to extreme with The New Black this summer, but in the meantime they were in top-notch form with Alien. Join us in the asylum.