Far Beyond Metal - Strapping Young Lad, Hoglan, Gene
[Untitled Track]
Almost Again
Polyphony
The New Black
Track Listings (6) - Disc #2
In Effigy - Strapping Young Lad,
My Apocalypse - Strapping Young Lad,
Chains of Humanity - Strapping Young Lad,
Slaves Shall Serve - Strapping Young Lad,
99 - Strapping Young Lad,
Our Truth - Strapping Young Lad,
Faster than you can say "double kick drum" and to the delight of fans, Vancouver's Strapping Young Lad have followed up their 2005 CD, Alien, with The New Black. The recipe for Strapping's underground success? Take one pin... more »ch of death metal, add some Queen-style musical theatrics and industrial keyboard sounds, then mix those qualities with wickedly funny lyrics and a warm embrace of metal clichés. The result is a truly unique style, deftly captured on this, the group's fifth disc. The project is ultimately a showcase for Devin Townsend--the singer/producer of the group--whose sound garners respect from many diverse parts of the music scene. On The New Black, guests include Bif Naked--who contributes vocal licks to the untitled track (also known as "F--ker")--and GWAR's Oderus Urungus, who enhances Townsend's diatribe against the music industry in "Far Beyond Metal." The title track is a standout, showcasing the Lamb of God influence on the band (Townsend produced LOG's As the Palaces Burn) while at the same time displaying the nearly bionic talents of drummer Gene Hoglan. One of SYL's strengths is its frontman's ability to write and perform in a number of different metal styles, and the slowed-down beauty of "Almost Again" is the perfect place for Townsend's warm, full pipes. Hands-down, the winner of the "future-devil-horn-anthem" award goes to "You Suck" with its hilarious call-and-response chorus, filled with words far too unprintable to be quoted here, but definitely worth checking out. --Denise Sheppard« less
Faster than you can say "double kick drum" and to the delight of fans, Vancouver's Strapping Young Lad have followed up their 2005 CD, Alien, with The New Black. The recipe for Strapping's underground success? Take one pinch of death metal, add some Queen-style musical theatrics and industrial keyboard sounds, then mix those qualities with wickedly funny lyrics and a warm embrace of metal clichés. The result is a truly unique style, deftly captured on this, the group's fifth disc. The project is ultimately a showcase for Devin Townsend--the singer/producer of the group--whose sound garners respect from many diverse parts of the music scene. On The New Black, guests include Bif Naked--who contributes vocal licks to the untitled track (also known as "F--ker")--and GWAR's Oderus Urungus, who enhances Townsend's diatribe against the music industry in "Far Beyond Metal." The title track is a standout, showcasing the Lamb of God influence on the band (Townsend produced LOG's As the Palaces Burn) while at the same time displaying the nearly bionic talents of drummer Gene Hoglan. One of SYL's strengths is its frontman's ability to write and perform in a number of different metal styles, and the slowed-down beauty of "Almost Again" is the perfect place for Townsend's warm, full pipes. Hands-down, the winner of the "future-devil-horn-anthem" award goes to "You Suck" with its hilarious call-and-response chorus, filled with words far too unprintable to be quoted here, but definitely worth checking out. --Denise Sheppard
CD Reviews
They truly are FAR BEYOND METAL!!!
Sunshine the Werewolf | Canada | 07/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"STRAPPING YOUNG LAD - The New Black
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Will this be the final chapter in the SYL catalog? Devin claims it shall be as his 5 album deal with Century Media comes to an end... however Mr. Hoglan says this will not be the last of SYL. Truthfully it is hard to say... with a madman like Townsend anything (And everything) is possible. But if this is their closing chapter at least I can say Devin and Co. went out with a bang!
The New Black is an album best enjoyed from beginning to end. The powerful `Decimator' leads the charge and is a powerful blend of melody with the signature SYL heaviness. The first single, the comical `You Suck' follows with some Gene-Machine trademarked drumming and City-like guitar riffs. Not to mention Devin's lyrical content is sharp as a crayon as he rants and raves like an insane genius about how much people (Himself included) suck! The third song, `Anti Product' boasts some odd, yet suited, jazz fusion. Track #5, `Wrong Side' is likely my favorite track... viciously heavy with some fantastic backing vocals (either by Jed or Byron) and some fantastic guitar work. Not to mention Devin's power metal chorus!
Another great bonus is long time fans can rejoice in `Far Beyond Metal' A long time live fan favorite. With some updated lyrics the boys rock out hard with one of Metal's finest tracks. And I love that Jed and Byron contributed the backing vocals to give it the live-vibe, as opposed to just Devin's overdubs!
The album is still not quite perfect there are a few bland moments or songs. As I stated above enjoy the entire album in sequence for proper listening pleasure and the few moments that do seem skip worthy actually blend in quite nicely. Hopefully this isn't their closing chapter, but if it is at least they went out with some style!
Favorite Songs: Wrong Side, Far Beyond Metal, You Suck and Decimator
-4.5 Stars
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Holy crap, Dev has done it again!
C. Taylor | Rockland county NY | 07/22/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Devin Townsend has consistently pumped out more product than any other self producing musician in the last 10 years. And to up the ante, everything he's done has been consistently good. The crazed scientist this time takes the Lad on somewhat of a newer trip, While 'Alien' was really was pretty crazy, he honed what he did on that record and made it more technical, while at the same time, crafting a somewhat newer style for the lad. A lot of the songs on this record don't stick to any paricular formula, or even style, You go from "decimator" to "You Suck" to "Anti product" to "Monument" and so on, and not one of these songs sound anything remotley like the one that preceeded it. "Anti Product" has a nice little groove to it that sounds like it could be "AAA"(from 'City') smarter older brother, with a nice bluesy shuffle done ala SYL. There isn't a bad song on this disc, in fact I know this will definetly be one of my top 5 favorite cds released when I compile my list at the end of the year. You want an Anthem? You got it, with the cleverly sung chorus in "You SucK" is enough to enlighten any slipknot simpleton. They have also re-recorded "Far Beyond Metal" with Oderus Urungus of Gwar, which, given the current metal climate, we needed that anthem to make a return. MY Personal favorite would have to be "Wrongside", only because the song seems to go EVERYWHERE METAL CAN GO! Masterpiece, 5."
God does it again
Metal first, but give anything a go | Melbourne, Australia | 08/12/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm not one of those fans of Devin like Mike Patton fans that think even if he farts into a microphone it is pure gold!!! but Devin is my favourite artist, no doubt. I thought the comeback self titled album was a huge disappointment. Heavy, no substance. Strapping without the Devin touch. But Alien and now The New Black are something completely different. This album shows why Devin is a musical GOD.
It is tracks like 'The Death Of Music' that make Devin who he is today, and this album takes his regime to a new level. Tracks like "Almost Again, The New Black, Monument, Wrong Side", I'm at a loss for words, pure musical magic. I saw in a review before that Godsmack are the best band on the planet. Listening to this album makes me feel sorry for such misguided, limited people.
Buy this album, thank whoever you wish to thank that you love metal and bang your head
Long Live REAL metal, it is in short supply in this age of Core new Nu-metal samey boringness."
An Outstanding Album, One of the Band's Best
Diane Mcgough | Lake Oswego, OR | 01/26/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is an album full of heavy metal madness, chalk full of guitar solos and more singing than their last release. They definitely use the F word a lot on the album, especially in songs like "U Suck" and of course one other (You can gues which one), though the songs are outstanding. Other songs on the album are "Wrong Side," "Hope," "Far Beyond Metal" and the opener "Decimator," which is a not so typical style of love like "Almost Again," which is one of the band's absolute best and the strongest song of this set. Strapping Young Lad fans will not be disappointed with this album."
Another just plain awesome outing from SYL
N. Durham | Philadelphia, PA | 08/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Following up 2005's excellent "Alien", Devin Townsend and co. return with "The New Black"; an album which pushes Strapping Young Lad even further up the ladder of metal excellence. Combining his unique vocal range, former Death drummer Gene Hoglan's insane double kick drumming, and lyrics unlike you'll ever hear in a real metal album today, "The New Black" is an album that is just plain awesome. "You Suck", "Anti-Product", "Far Beyond Metal", the title track and the untitled track must be heard to be believed, particularly "Far Beyond Metal" in which Townsend and Oderus Urungus from GWAR take shots at the music industry, and no one and nothing are safe from Townsend's venom spewing rants. Undoubtadly one of the best metal albums released this year, consider "The New Black" an essential addition to your metal library."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1