Strapping Young Lad

[Iceni]

Vancouver-based metallers Strapping Young Lad or SYL ended their career in 2007, but whilst active they made a name for themselves as the purveyors of a peculiar and angry brand of progressive metal. Strapping Young Lad's music lives on in bits and pieces as played by Devin Townsend Project from time to time. They remain one of the most notable and intense acts Canada has ever produced, and knowing the quality of Canadian metal that statement ought to stand as a testament to the band's individuality. cKBs4sEn06I I like their last album, The New Black, the most - but I am curious to see what the rest of you think.

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Strapping Young Lad City is their best IMO, a pinnacle of schizophrenic intensity and unique progressive arrangements. The New Black felt a bit off balance and lacking, Alien would probably get my vote as 2nd best. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[Iceni]

City is their best IMO, a pinnacle of schizophrenic intensity and unique progressive arrangements. The New Black felt a bit off balance and lacking, Alien would probably get my vote as 2nd best. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

City was weak in a few places, 'Home Nucleonics' and 'Under The Waves' were a little too slow and 'Detox' got really monotonous after a while in my opinion. Weirdly, I liked 'Spirituality'. I did like a fair amount of Alien but 'Info Dump' and 'Thalamus' dragged a little. The funny thing is, I really didn't like most of SYL but Aftermath is one of my favorite songs by this band. What was off about The New Black? I agree Monuments was a little weird and off from the rest of the album but by and large it struck me as quite consistent.

[Parker]

Love these guys! City is probably my favorite but SYL really kicks ass too. Never got into there first album though.

[FatherAlabaster]

Yup, another City fan here, liked Alien too, and sometimes enjoy listening to Physicist and Ocean Machine (though I really have to be in the mood). I did like that one track you put up in the RTSAY thread. A lot of Devin's solo stuff leaves me cold, though I have a lot of respect for his musicianship and his attitude.

[Iceni]

A lot of Devin's solo stuff leaves me cold' date=' though I have a lot of respect for his musicianship and his attitude.[/quote'] I actually liked Epicloud quite a bit, it had some nice stuff. If you liked Hope you might also like Anti-Product from the same album. My dad actually remarked positively about that song, which floored me.

[Nikos Pogas]

I liked everything Devin Townsend played in, from his solo albums to every project he made. He is unique and pretty "progressive-minded". Also, if I recall correctly, he was playing guitar for Steve Vai in the past, could be wrong though. I admire the way he changes through projects, from the very aggressive, to the very chill out music. An awesome artist over all. quote from a live "Do not pretend NOT to be a nerd"

[Iceni]

I admire the way he changes through projects' date=' from the very aggressive, to the very chill out music.[/quote'] Epicloud blended those two nicely, I thought.

[Nikos Pogas]

Epicloud blended those two nicely' date=' I thought.[/quote'] Epicloud is exactly that, indeed:)

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Strapping Young Lad

City was weak in a few places, 'Home Nucleonics' and 'Under The Waves' were a little too slow and 'Detox' got really monotonous after a while in my opinion. Weirdly, I liked 'Spirituality'. I did like a fair amount of Alien but 'Info Dump' and 'Thalamus' dragged a little. The funny thing is, I really didn't like most of SYL but Aftermath is one of my favorite songs by this band. What was off about The New Black? I agree Monuments was a little weird and off from the rest of the album but by and large it struck me as quite consistent.

I wouldn't call those weak spots, just variability. Detox is a bit repetitive, but super fun. The New Black seemed like they were changing textures too often just for the sake of doing it, it lacked the natural feeling of ebb and flow of City and Alien, and got a bit too silly in places (really, GWAR? WTF?). Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[Ghouly]

City is their best IMO, a pinnacle of schizophrenic intensity and unique progressive arrangements. The New Black felt a bit off balance and lacking, Alien would probably get my vote as 2nd best. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

Seconding this. City really does it for me. But the bar is set so high on everything from SYL / Devin Townsend, I can't really say any of it is sub-par or mediocre.

[Iceni]

I wouldn't call those weak spots' date=' just variability. Detox is a bit repetitive, but super fun. The New Black seemed like they were changing textures too often just for the sake of doing it, it lacked the natural feeling of ebb and flow of City and Alien, and got a bit too silly in places (really, GWAR? WTF?).[/quote'] I enjoyed that variety and the consistent tone they showed through each song. True, it didn't keep the really vicious and angry tone of City or the more menacing air of Alien, but The New Black ensured each song stood on its own and showed off the range of what SYL was capable of. Generally I prefer not to listen to full albums all the way through - I frequently get bored with that unless it's Edge Of Sanity - so The New Black was a good album because it was a grab bag of varied material that was perpetually interesting. Usually all I ask of an album is that it be a collection of good songs by the same band. In that sense I think The New Black succeeds.

[FatherAlabaster]

Re: Strapping Young Lad

Generally I prefer not to listen to full albums all the way through - I frequently get bored with that unless it's Edge Of Sanity - so The New Black was a good album because it was a grab bag of varied material that was perpetually interesting. Usually all I ask of an album is that it be a collection of good songs by the same band. In that sense I think The New Black succeeds.

This is really interesting to me. I'm exactly the opposite. I like to listen to albums as a whole, preferably from start to finish, maybe on shuffle depending on my mood. I almost never put on a mix of songs by different bands unless it's for a social gathering or I need background music for cleaning or painting... two things I don't do enough of these days. Edit: I'd add that typically if there's a weak song on an album, it'll feel like a flaw in the album to me and make me less likely to listen to the rest of the songs. I've always been that way, although it's getting better...

[Iceni]

This is really interesting to me. I'm exactly the opposite. I like to listen to albums as a whole, preferably from start to finish, maybe on shuffle depending on my mood. I almost never put on a mix of songs by different bands unless it's for a social gathering or I need background music for cleaning or painting... two things I don't do enough of these days. Edit: I'd add that typically if there's a weak song on an album, it'll feel like a flaw in the album to me and make me less likely to listen to the rest of the songs. I've always been that way, although it's getting better...

Here's the thing - if I have more than ten songs by a given metal band I usually consider myself a fan. Of course, these bands usually have only one or two albums out, so the total proportion of songs that I enjoy might be the same as it is for a band with a massive corps d'oeuvre. I have a Symphony X shirt but I really only like a handful of songs from Odyssey and Paradise Lost - and of course Iconoclast. Iconoclast is the album I like so I didn't feel as if I were overselling my enthusiasm by wearing the shirt. There are very few albums that I think are perfect though, even my favorite metal album, 'Chapter II: The Aftermath' by Harmony has one (and a half, kind of) song(s) that I don't like much. As it stands now pretty much the only thing I've heard that approaches perfection is the album 'Safe' by Manticora. As for SYL - I also thought 'Thalamus' and 'Info Dump' were quite overlong and didn't use their length to their advantage, which was a large part of the reason I didn't like Alien. They sounded like 'Velvet Kevorkian' extended to triple its length, which wasn't good because 'Velvet Kevorkian' wasn't a particularly good song itself. As an intro it could have been good if it had lasted maybe 1.5 minutes or so. 'Spirituality' was a better version of these songs in my opinion, because the riffing was used to create an atmosphere even though it was similar.

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Strapping Young Lad

This is really interesting to me. I'm exactly the opposite. I like to listen to albums as a whole, preferably from start to finish, maybe on shuffle depending on my mood. I almost never put on a mix of songs by different bands unless it's for a social gathering or I need background music for cleaning or painting... two things I don't do enough of these days. Edit: I'd add that typically if there's a weak song on an album, it'll feel like a flaw in the album to me and make me less likely to listen to the rest of the songs. I've always been that way, although it's getting better...

I'm an album guy as well, I only put shuffle on when doing a road trip with friends, otherwise I finish the albums I start. While some songs may stand out more than others, they still help develop context and cultivate the feeling of the entire work. I couldn't imagine saying all that I needed to say musically with just one song, it needs to be expressed over the course of multiple movements and textures. Shuffle not only eliminates context, it doesn't let the work build or retain momentum before shifting in another direction. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[Ghouly]

I'm an album person and I like to consider each song as a smaller part of a whole. To that effect, I really like concept albums, that tell a whole story from beginning to end. I tend to listen to those albums in their entirety and they often stick with me the strongest as albums that are my favorite or most sentimental to me. Disjointed albums that aren't well arranged or flow well from song to song I find myself skipping a track here and there that doesn't seem to fit or is crappier than the rest of the content. For SYL / DT - City and Ziltoid the Omniscient really work that way for me. When I listen, I commit, beginning to end. Some of the bands who've put out the most beginning-to-end albums for me are Ayreon, Dream Theater, Vehemence, Carcass, SYL, Opeth, Blind Guardian to name a few off the top of my head. I can't really make a mix of tracks from different bands and stick them on shuffle. Not with metal anyway. I do that with electronica no problem. But with metal I really need to be in a certain mood for each band, and as I said I like considering tracks as a smaller part of the overall concept. Lastly, sort of on topic, I listened to City and Alien tonight because this thread got me in the mood for it, and I was thinking that a SYL mosh pit would probably be the most insane fucking experience ever. I'm not sure I'm metal enough for that. 0.o I saw DTP but it was at a festival and I was way way back and nowhere near the stage to experience a pit. And on that tangent, the most insane pit I ever saw was at Slayer, sure enough.

[deathstorm]

I think syl was more a death metal or a thrash metal There is some progressive in there stuff

[FatherAlabaster]

@Ghouly - I've always been most attracted to the "concept album" approach as well - two of my early favorites were Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" and Pink Floyd's "The Wall". Even if it's loosely structured like some of Opeth's stuff, or Isis albums, as long as the music flows well I'm pretty happy. @BAN - shuffle can eliminate context, but sometimes it provides new context as well. It doesn't work for every album or all the time, but after a week or so of hammering on a new album that I've gotten, I like to put it on shuffle and see what else happens. Often my appreciation is weighted towards the first half of the album - either because of familiarity or because bands/labels tend to think it's a good idea to front-load the "strongest" material - so I like to break that up a bit. Listening to different albums together on shuffle is something I can only do with a few bands that tend to write "singles" as opposed to full albums - Rush, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains come to mind. And I totally agree - as a musician, I can't imagine trying to express everything with one song, or with one album, or even with one particular style of music, if only because life goes on and different shit keeps happening. That's why I've developed respect for some bands that are willing to break their own molds, even when I think what they're doing now is utter garbage. @Iceni - it seems like your choice, to listen to a few appealing songs rather than full albums, is a fairly normal one these days. It's something that I rarely think of, but it behooves me to keep that in mind as a musician. It's probably (as others have said) a mindset born of the ready availability of music over the past decade or so, which isn't to say that only younger people listen to music in that way. There were comparatively few albums available to me when I was first discovering music on my own, which is probably why I gave each of them so much time. That's something I'm actively trying to do again - really sit with a full album and give it a chance as a unit.

[Iceni]

@Iceni - it seems like your choice' date=' to listen to a few appealing songs rather than full albums, is a fairly normal one these days. It's something that I rarely think of, but it behooves me to keep that in mind as a musician. It's probably (as others have said) a mindset born of the ready availability of music over the past decade or so, which isn't to say that only younger people listen to music in that way. There were comparatively few albums available to me when I was first discovering music on my own, which is probably why I gave each of them so much time. That's something I'm actively trying to do again - really sit with a full album and give it a chance as a unit.[/quote'] The broad availability of music also means I don't waste my money on songs I don't want to listen to. Most of the albums I'd listen to aren't particularly flowing or coherent but if I only bought albums I'd have to do one of two things - either ignore the good stuff completely and never buy the album, or purchase an album that's half crap and then regret paying $10 for $5 worth of good music. Purchasing Mp3s means I can enjoy good material by rubbish bands and get the best value for my money.

[FatherAlabaster]

Re: Strapping Young Lad

The broad availability of music also means I don't waste my money on songs I don't want to listen to. Most of the albums I'd listen to aren't particularly flowing or coherent but if I only bought albums I'd have to do one of two things - either ignore the good stuff completely and never buy the album' date=' or purchase an album that's half crap and then regret paying $10 for $5 worth of good music. Purchasing Mp3s means I can enjoy good material by rubbish bands and get the best value for my money.[/quote'] There are two problems with this, to me. The first, and arguably the most important for you as a listener, is that not only are you missing out on the context BAN and I were taking about, but you're denying yourself the opportunity to learn to like those other songs. Some songs, and indeed some of my favorite bands, took quite a while to grow on me. And some albums have been favorites of mine for over twenty years now, but my appreciation of them has shifted in character over time. When I talk about bad songs ruining an album for me, I see that at least halfway as a flaw in my own listening. The only way I can really know if something is worth my attention is to actually give it my attention for a while. The second is this idea of what music is "worth". CDs used to cost 150-200% of what they do now. Even tapes cost a lot. You'd be lucky to have a friend with a tape dubber, so you wouldn't have to spend cash on every single album, but tapes were more fragile and the sound quality was inferior. We spent the money and listened anyway. With tapes it was harder to skip a song than to just let it play, and in retrospect that was a good thing; so what if something didn't grab you in the first thirty seconds the first time through? There's a certain amount of "love the one you're with" going on there. It's tempting to insert an argument that the need to grab people quickly has cheapened song-craft and closed off some compositional avenues; what would an album like Ænima or The Wall be, if you took away everything that wasn't a hit single? But the point I'm trying to get at is that your idea of what a song is "worth" has been determined by the market over the past few years. Worth is a very plastic concept. Rather than thinking about it as $10 for $5 worth of music, think about it as $10 for a unique experience that you can have over and over again, take with you, and appreciate from different angles throughout your life. It doesn't seem like a lot of money, in that light. Edit: I buy MP3s, too, and sometimes on Bandcamp I'll pay a good bit more than the asking price, and other times I'll decide that it isn't worth it. I don't think buying singles is a bad thing in itself; I don't like the mindset it engenders.

[Iceni]

Rather than thinking about it as $10 for $5 worth of music' date=' think about it as $10 for a unique experience that you can have over and over again, take with you, and appreciate from different angles throughout your life. It doesn't seem like a lot of money, in that light.[/quote'] It's still a waste. If I'm going to part with my money I want something I will be able to enjoy repeatedly, not something that might or might not actually be fun. If I were to buy things based on the rationale that they might be enjoyable, perhaps, at some point maybe, I'd be out of cash in a millisecond, and then I wouldn't be very happy at all. For that matter, I hated SYL when I first heard them. Thanks to fee listening I was able to hear more of their stuff and now I've bought a few songs.

[deathstorm]

Devin Townsend look like crypt keeper. Back in. Syl. Days with. Bald spot with. Long hair