Official Strapping Young Lad Website
If you’re Devin Townsend, you never do anything the conventional way. Always looking to buck the trend, Townsend has crafted one of the finest, if not most bizarre metal band in years: Strapping Young Lad. Over the years, they’ve been blending amazing musicianship, snippy and sometimes odd lyrical content, and seem to take themselves a little more lightly which each and every album.
This one isn’t different. In fact, it’s the perfect predecessor to 2005’s “Alien”. Where as “Alien” was the most serious album they has ever done, “The New Black” is easily their least serious album since their debut, “Heavy As A Really Heavy Thing”. It’s a shame that it was announced earlier this year that SYL would be going on an indefinite hiatus.
While I’d love to see the metal world putting this album on a mantle, it simply won’t happen. For most metal fans that I’ve encountered, this album falls into the “really hate it/really love it” category. And while it may ring true that this album may be a niche thing, there’s no doubting that while SYL may be breaking up, this album bids them a fair and memorable adieu.
