City

Strapping Young Lad | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 11, 1997)
• Original Release Date: February 11, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B000005HNC
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,316 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Strapping Young Lad

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hey There, Metal Brethren!, August 28, 2003

By 

Samhot (Star Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City (Audio CD)

You've probably read many of the comments here - and in other places - regarding the brutal and extreme nature of the music found within this album. After hearing this album, it's hard to disagree.

So, what does the music sound like?

Try to imagine Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and Al Jourgensen (Ministry) sharing their ideas during a studio session, while overindulging on ridiculously excessive amounts of fructose, caffeine, speed and any other chemical/stimulant you can think of. While they're at it, they decide to invite some musician friends over, who provide the speed and precision of thrash metal.

That's just another way of saying that mastermind Devin Townsend and company mix the outrageously noisy elements of industrial metal, with the thrashing guitars and pounding double bass drums of thrash metal -- while the "outrageously noisy" factor is pushed to the EXTREME. The music is loud and ultra-heavy, but probably not in the most organic sense, but in the sense (production-wise) that layers and layers of sound are piled together to create a dense, smothering, oceanic wall-of-sound. The occasional melody can be found buried underneath it's brittle surface.

While many metalheads love the excessive sonic violence of this disc, they should probably feel a little bit ashamed of themselves after they find out that this album - while loud, fierce and "heavy" - is pretty much spitting in the face of metal itself, while simultaneously laughing at it's many protagonists and followers (you've all been had!) Don't accept the noisy and ultra-aggressive factors of this disc at face value: these aspects - the blast beats, the (few) death growls, the incessant use of profanity, the aggression, and the apparent vitriolic nature -- are all metal clichés used to expose the genre for the silliness it is. I believe Devin Townsend is not above poking fun at himself as well, as he immerses himself in all of these metal trademarks. However, the album is so engrossingly fun, entertaining, silly, and yes, LOUD, these elements would seem to be obscured, unless serious attention is drawn toward finding this out.

The musicians are clearly talented, and at the end of the day, these elements will seem to be the most important to many listeners. Devin Townsend possesses an incredible vocal range, as well as being versatile. He can scream, while simultaneously being melodic, and drummer Gene Hoglan (Death) fires away on his drum kit with speed, power and precision. Witness the manic, slaughtering noise rockers of "All Hail The New Flesh," "Oh My F@#^%&g God" (the former being an uncharacteristically melodic noise-metal track), "Home Nucleonics" and "Underneath The Waves." I could care less for "Room 429," as it seems a bit out of context with the rest of the album.

Loud, suffocating, intense, fun, hilarious, ironic/sarcastic and clever. Fans of supercharged noise and aggression will eat this up. If this turns you off, well - you've been warned!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your World Will Get Quieter, January 22, 2006

By 

M. Manson (Boston, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: City (Audio CD)

In the movie "Fight Club" there's a part where the main character is discussing how since joining Fight Club, the world becomes quieter, easier, more distant. After digesting this album, you will feel the same about music. Sonically, nothing can prepare you for the onslaught of Strapping Young Lad.

Everything about it is over the top--and it was meant to be that way. That's the charm about SYL, they unabashedly push the limits as far as they can, all the while chuckling to themselves at how ridiculous it all is. There are parts of this album that can only be described as walls of sound. You'll helplessly be exposed to riffs that rip so hard you feel your eardrum tearing, double bass faster than anything this side of black metal, and more screams than any pair of vocal cords should be able to handle.

The catch is, this album easily could have sucked. It could have been another self-indulgent chest-beating of a metal album if it weren't for the expert and brilliant performances by the band members. Devin Townsend, for anyone who hasn't heard his solo work, is a prodigious songwriter. Any of these songs could be toned down and stand on their own legs simply on melodic and harmonic value. Gene Hoglan is one of the most coveted drummers in the metal scene, and it's because his technique and execution is exquisite. The guitar riffs chug along perfectly, and the Townsend's ability behind the controls comes through to produce a sonic behemoth of an album that is truly one of the most unique contributions to metal in a long time.

My only warning to listeners is of a desensitization period. People who listen to SYL for the first time tend to brush it off as senseless noise, because that's how it sounds to them--I know, I couldn't handle them the first time I heard them. But with repeated listens, your ear begins to seperate the strands in that towering wall of sound pouring into you. Once you're converted, there's no going back. SYL fans are rabid, and there's a reason: once you join us, everything else you listen to just seems... calm. Welcome to aural homocide; godspeed.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A maniacal, smothering frenzy., September 7, 2002

By 

Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City (Audio CD)

...

Strapping Young Lad is metal at full-volume -- and I mean that figuratively, not literally (although that might depend on how loud you like it...). It is absolutely the heaviest music I have ever heard -- it's obscenely fast, loud, obnoxious, and suffocating in its density. Aurally speaking, I have heard heavier mixes and guitar tones and drum engineering, but SYL is more about the overall production and thick, rampageous delivery. It's just HEAVY. But with SYL, this is a good thing. Even with passages that are quite literally blasts of noise, it's surreally entertaining just because it's so damn crazy. Between Devin Townsend's demented screaming, the furious guitars of Townsend and Jed Simon, and the thunderous charge of Gene Hoglan's drums, there is barely any room for melody or toe-tapping. There's definitely room for brains, however -- the whole album is almost a satire where Townsend's caustic wit burlesques metal and all its clichés. Songs like "Oh My ... God" and "Home Nucleonics" are so ridiculous that if it isn't the psychotic music that catches your attention, the absurdity of it all probably will. Or it might even be the sheer speed with which Gene Hoglan can hit those drums. Yikes! There are a few moments where _City_ slows down a bit. "Spirituality" is a nightmarish, distorted mantra. "AAA" clomps and growls. "Room 429" is creepy like a stalker. Most of the album is just violently fast and brutal. But, like I said, this is a good thing. And remember, these guys aren't just wailing their instruments - Townsend's wicked mind has crafted these songs fastidiously and the band executes them with stunning precision.

Although I love this album in strange way, I don't really recommend it to anyone in specific. But if you read a few reviews, you'll know whether or not this is something you want to experience.