Strapping Young Lad – The New Black
As I mentioned in an aside a while ago I didn’t get around to listening to Strapping Young Lad (I’ll use SYL from now) until very recently, even though I’ve known about them for a decade or so and thought about checking them out every time I heard them being played somewhere. Now I realize that it wasn’t a day too late. It’s pure extreme metal genius. Lots of bands play fast and heavy, but I can’t think of many bands that manage to play so much at such speed – the intricacy and depth really amazes me.
While the early albums were popularly labeled “industrial/death metal”, the two previous releases have been moving towards something I think of as “progressively crazy-assed metal” (I don’t think death metal is appropriate as anything but a speed indicator), and that is a continuing trend with The New Black.
So is it any good? You bet it is! It’s a big, steaming pile of pure brilliance. Alright, after the first spin I was a bit disappointed – or rather surprised – that there is a bit more lighter bits than before. But it didn’t take long until that became a part of the whole because, you know, when Mr. Hoglan steps it up behind those drums you can really feel your gut move. The man is a freaking machine. And the six-string insanity provided by Jed and Devin doesn’t make those downhill rides any smoother. Speaking of Devy, the vocal efforts are broader and include much more actual singing (which shouldn’t be a shocking experience to anyone who has heard any Devin Townsend Band albums).
I won’t start to dissect the tracks of the album, because I simply don’t know how to choose any details to mention, so I’ll wrap it all up by concluding that The New Black is a hyperdense slab of geniality that takes the trademark SYL lunacy and blends it with flavors of metal ranging from old style Black Sabbath-ish heaviness to System of a Down-like stylings and a few bits in black metal minor. Oh, and some big band jazz as well.
What to do next:
Listen to “You Suck” and watch the video for “Wrong Side” at SYL’s MySpace, check out the official website or buy the album at amazon.com
