In Which James Yells at Everyone About a Metal Band (Part 2)

Hello everybody! I've decided that you all enjoyed that post I wrote about Mastodon SO MUCH, that you were clamoring for more posts about metal bands! Is any of this true? It's IRRELEVANT. Besides, in my head, every person in the world (including the deaf!) loves metal! So this gonna be like my webcomic posts, in the sense that I'll write another one eventually.

So today I'm gonna talk to you about the great Canadian metal band Strapping Young Lad.

This band was started by a man named Devin Townsend, who I am a HUGE fan of. He does music under his name which is more prog-rock and incredible. Anyway, the first SYL album was called Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing and was written/performed entirely by Townsend with the help of a drum machine and a few session musicians. It contains the epic song "S.Y.L." which has these lyrics:

I worked for you fucking bastards
I worked for your fucking lies
I went and pissed away too may fucking opportunities
To try and make you fuckers feel right
And I fucking hate you...

I am the coming of a new age
Stained we still stand tall
I am the coming of a new age
And I will never fall
I bear the questions of a new time
Seen but never heard
I've seen the comings of a new time, get ready...
Cause here it comes.

These lyrics are pretty representative of SYL lyrics and the tone of of the band overall. Fierce, blunt and in your face. Townsend recruited some permanent members after Heavy. They are: Jed Simon (guitars), Byron Stroud (bass) and Gene Hoglan (drums). Hoglan is pretty famous in the metal world, having drummed for Testamant, Dark Angel and the incomparable Death.

I got to meet SYL and two things of note occured. First, I told Devin how much SYL and his music meant to me, to which he cordially replied "Thank you". I look at him straight in the eyes and say, "No! Thank YOU." and walk away. Also, when I met Gene, I noticed he smelled very good.

SYL's music is usually described as "extreme" and they definitely deserve that adjective. Devin's screams range from the guttural to the high-pitched and his lyrics are like a brick in the face. Hoglan's drums are ridiculous, he's known as the "Atomic clock". His beats are precise and brutal, like a machine that hates you.

In terms of genre, many people call them "industrial-metal", but eh. When I hear that, I think ...And Oceans, Rammstein...later Danzig, yuck. SYL uses synth all the time, for sure, but this is not music you can dance to. This is music to CRUSH to.

So, if you're looking for a metal band with the speed and aggression of grind, but with the songwriting sensibilities of thrash and with a dash of humor, Strapping Young Lad is the band for you. Here is their song, "All Hail the New Flesh":



-James

Now playing: Strapping Young Lad - Room 429