Strapping Young Lad (album)
Encyclopedia
Strapping Young Lad is the eponymous third album by Canadian
heavy metal
band Strapping Young Lad
. It was released on February 11, 2003.
and further cultivated during their 2001 tour. For the first time, the album would be a product of collaborative writing; the band wrote "about half" of the material on the 2001 Foot In Mouth Tour, and the rest at home, starting January 2002. After playing a small number of festivals in 2002, Strapping Young Lad entered the studio in September of that year, to record their third album.
previous albums, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing
and City
. Devin Townsend's
vocals contain much more singing
than before, and rather than the blinding extreme metal
/industrial metal
styled songs of Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing and City, many of the songs were structured and produced in a manner more akin to traditional death metal
. The overall tone is more serious in nature and contains less overt tongue-in-cheek humour than other SYL releases. The raw production style in particular is different from other records Devin has produced. The slightly different sound on this album can in part be attributed to the fact that second guitarist Jed Simon
plays the vast majority of rhythm guitars. This was due to Townsend's concurrent production & recording of "Accelerated Evolution
" by The Devin Townsend Band, which was released only a few weeks later.
s Top Heatseekers
at #97. The album received moderate critical success. Nate Smith from Rockzone.com called it a "solid addition to the Townsend catalog", but "not an instant classic". Xander Hoose from Chronicles of Chaos called it "a good album", but said that it is inferior to City. Alec A. Head of Satan Stole My Teddybear wasn't impressed, writing, "Sadly, the songwriting putters out into a flaccid, heartless, faux-epic quagmire of riffs that have no destination, vocals that lack the ferocity and pure, unadulterated anger and emotion that Townsend exhibited on City, and an altogether forced, cold, and directionless sense of songwriting." Strapping Young Lad differed from Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing and City in that it was less industrial and more reminiscent of death metal; the humor pervading the previous two albums became more subdued.
, Ani Kyd
, Tammy Theis, Marnie Mains, Carla Levis, and Laurielynn Bridger.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing...
. It was released on February 11, 2003.
Background
In December 2001 Townsend announced that, contrary to his earlier public statements, a new Strapping Young Lad album would be released in 2002. He emphasized that he was not "forcing" his product upon fans to generate record sales, arguing that his band—and its contract with Century—was never a lucrative endeavor. Instead, Townsend's motivation was the "creative anger" sparked by the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
and further cultivated during their 2001 tour. For the first time, the album would be a product of collaborative writing; the band wrote "about half" of the material on the 2001 Foot In Mouth Tour, and the rest at home, starting January 2002. After playing a small number of festivals in 2002, Strapping Young Lad entered the studio in September of that year, to record their third album.
Music
The album's sound was somewhat of a departure from Strapping Young Lad'sStrapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing...
previous albums, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing
Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing
-Credits:*Devin Townsend – guitar, vocals, keyboards, programming, mixing, editing, production, arrangements, art direction -Additional musicians:*Adrian White – drums*Jed Simon – additional guitar *Chris Byes – drums...
and City
City (Strapping Young Lad album)
City is the second album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on February 11, 1997. The album was re-released in 2007 with several bonus tracks and altered cover art...
. Devin Townsend's
Devin Townsend
Devin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....
vocals contain much more singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
than before, and rather than the blinding extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
/industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
styled songs of Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing and City, many of the songs were structured and produced in a manner more akin to traditional death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
. The overall tone is more serious in nature and contains less overt tongue-in-cheek humour than other SYL releases. The raw production style in particular is different from other records Devin has produced. The slightly different sound on this album can in part be attributed to the fact that second guitarist Jed Simon
Jed Simon
Jed Simon is a Canadian musician. He has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET.-Biography:...
plays the vast majority of rhythm guitars. This was due to Townsend's concurrent production & recording of "Accelerated Evolution
Accelerated Evolution
Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative and hard rock to progressive metal...
" by The Devin Townsend Band, which was released only a few weeks later.
Release and critical reception
The self-titled Strapping Young Lad was released on February 11, 2003, and became the band's first charting album, entering BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
at #97. The album received moderate critical success. Nate Smith from Rockzone.com called it a "solid addition to the Townsend catalog", but "not an instant classic". Xander Hoose from Chronicles of Chaos called it "a good album", but said that it is inferior to City. Alec A. Head of Satan Stole My Teddybear wasn't impressed, writing, "Sadly, the songwriting putters out into a flaccid, heartless, faux-epic quagmire of riffs that have no destination, vocals that lack the ferocity and pure, unadulterated anger and emotion that Townsend exhibited on City, and an altogether forced, cold, and directionless sense of songwriting." Strapping Young Lad differed from Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing and City in that it was less industrial and more reminiscent of death metal; the humor pervading the previous two albums became more subdued.
Track listing
Music
- Devin TownsendDevin TownsendDevin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocals, keyboards, samples, engineering, production - Gene HoglanGene HoglanEugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Jed SimonJed SimonJed Simon is a Canadian musician. He has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET.-Biography:...
– guitar, keyboards, samples, choir, chorus - Byron StroudByron StroudByron Stroud is the bassist for metal bands Fear Factory, City of Fire and Zimmers Hole and the defunct band Strapping Young Lad.-Biography:...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, choir, chorus
Additional vocals
Chris ValagaoChris Valagao
Chris "The Heathen" Valagao is a heavy metal musician of Norwegian and Portuguese descent best known as the front man for Canadian speed/thrash metal band Zimmers Hole.- Nicknames :...
, Ani Kyd
Ani Kyd
- Career :Kyd has worked with musicians including Meegan Bradfield , Lisa Wagner , Gene Hoglan and Byron Stroud . Ani has played guitar for the legendary THOR as well as having Jello Biafra produce and perform back up vocals for her debut cd "Evil Needs Candy Too" which was released on Alternative...
, Tammy Theis, Marnie Mains, Carla Levis, and Laurielynn Bridger.
Heavy metal choir
Glenn Thomson, Denton Booth, Charlie Goler, Juanita English, Jeremy Glen, Blackie LeBlanc, Henry Goler, Jay Mosdell, Samanta Palomino, Eden Wagonner, Christ Stanley, Scarlet Stanley, Stuart Carruthers, Sue Carruthers, Sean Carruthers, Denis, Stevie J., La Sparka, Rossy Living, Dev, Jed and Byron.Production
- Devin Townsend - production, engineering
- Strapping Young Lad – production
- Paul Silveira – engineering
- Shaun Thingvold – engineering, mixing
- Misha Rajaratnam – engineering
- Carla Levis – assistant engineer
- Byron Stroud – project coordinator
- Louie Teran – mastering
- Kurt Dahle – drum technician
- Daniel Michael Collins – photography
- Nico Wobben – photography
- Travis Smith – visuals