Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Metal as a really metal thing, 11 Feb 2003
This is a violent record. There is no other way to describe it, a thunderous barrage of blasbeats, throat-stripping vocals and soul-destroying riffs, Strapping Young Lad have come back with what must be their sound taken to the logical extreme. An almost inifinitely complex maze of riffs and beats, this is metal played at its pinnacle, a state of the art savage attack that shows bands such as Slayer and Fear Factory how thrash can be played in the 21st Century.
I should say straight away that as amazing a record as this is, it does not quite reach the epic heights attained by City, their previous release, but then it does not really try, rather foraging its own path. Whereas City unleashed such huge tracks as All Hail The New Flesh and Detox, stompy crowd pleasers given a thorough beating with the ugly stick, SYL makes no such pretenses of trying to please. It is a single-minded, ugly monster that demands your attention from the opening explosion that is Dire. This is not to say that the band have abandoned the melodies that set their previous outings apart from the pack. If anything, they have evolved further, echoes of Devin Townsend's solo work creeping in and the keyboards as usual are out in full effect.
The highpoint to my ears is the centrepiece double whammy of Aftermath and Devour. The former is a near 7 minute epic built for the most part on a pulverising pneumatic rhythm and the closest to the aforementioned epics of the previous record, the latter a short burst that manages to pack all the elements of what makes a great SYL song into less than 3 minutes.
Overall, an amazing burst of visceral power which, after you have recovered from the initial blow, will have you coming back again and again.
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Like being in a fight, 26 Sep 2006
Don't expect to get into this first time round. It lacks the immediacy of City, and in fact, after the inviting first track intro, tries to be as unpleasant a listening experience as possible.
You might reasonably expect this to be a disadvantage, but you would be missing the point - the point being that this record is supposed to be as extreme as possible, and in that it succeeds. Extreme speed on Dirt Pride and Relentless, extreme heaviness on Devour, and extreme anger on (the anti-rape) 'Rape Song'. As a whole, the album is dark and malevolent and it challenges you to not like it.
If you take up the gauntlet, however, the tunes start to come out of the woodwork with repeated spins, and the album takes shape. By perhaps the third spin, your persistence starts to be rewarded, and then you start to wonder why you didn't like it in the first place.
Although the standard is high throughout, with no track that I could single out as poor, there is no real standout track either. If forced, I would state a preference for Devour. The album should be enjoyed as a single,spikey unit, building up to the merciless penultimate track Dirt Pride, and letting then you down slowly into a bed of thorns with the last track, the menacing 'Bring on the Young'.
It's a bit like being in a fight - you know it will hurt - it's just a question of how you react to the pain.......
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Welcome Return, 6 Dec 2003
The unwelcome events in New York of September 11 inspired Devin Townsend to come back to the Strapping Young Lad monicker after five years absence. Good job. This eponymous third album is an object lesson to all wannabe heavy music-makers about exactly what "heavy" is. It also marks the first time that Devin has let the rest of his collaborators chip into the songwriting process and it shows. Gene Hoglan demonstrates his incredible drumming chops while Jed Simon and Byron Stroud tear down the house with the precision metal guitar attack. Which leaves Devin with "just" the flawless production, throat-eviscerating vocal delivery and trademark atmospherics to add.SYL is a slight departure from previous Strapping albums in its directness. Much like the events that inspired it, the sounds here are less produced and more in your face. The result is likely to wake up any jaded metal fans and make them take note. Whether its the lushness of "Dire" or "Aftermath", the jagged contours of "Rape Song" or the chilling nature of "Bring On The Young", this album will grab your attention, nailgun its foot to the floor and shove its intentions straight down your throat. Finally - something to sweep away the boring nu-metal and put it in the bin. Strapping Young Lad is back. About time too.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Strapping Young Lad
~ Strapping Young Lad
~ Strapping Young Lad
![The New Black [Jewel Case]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410I2R2PF0L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
~ Strapping Young Lad
~ Strapping Young Lad
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home