Recently, heavy metal has been in a sad state of affairs. Save for a few notable exceptions, most bands masquerading under the metal genre are about as heavy as balsa wood (yes, I know that's a lame comparison). Well, fear no more! Strapping Young Lad (SLY) has put out a new (self-titled) album. It's really loud, really aggressive, really fast, really noisy, and available NOW (I'm so happy I could cry).

Strapping Young What?
If you live in North America, you've probably never heard of Strapping Young Lad; unless of course they happen to be your pet band. In Canada however, from where the band originates, and in Europe, there is quite a following. Truth be told, the band is essentially one man, boy wonder Devin Townsend. His distinctive and ridiculously agile voice sets SLY above other metal bands.

Scream Baby!
I cannot explain how much screaming there is on this album. And what glorious screaming it is! Just look at the picture of our hero in action to get an idea of the intensity of this stuff. This guy has such an insane amount of vocal power. He's reportedly blacked out when recording from such intense vocals. He even hits notes so high they'd make Prince blush. I honestly have no idea how he hasn't killed his voice. But he can sing normally, too. Really sing. Which is why he's so much better than your average metal singer.

In my opinion, he's second only to Tom Waits for having the best scream out there.

Anger Management
I loved that this album is so relentless. There are no ballads for relief; it's full on from the first track to the last. The anger, aggression and hate that come out of the speakers is really astounding. One listen to "Rape Song" and you'll understand. ("Rape Song" is incidentally one of the better songs about rape this side of Tori Amos' "Me And A Gun".) This isn't happy music, but it is good music. I usually have to put on Sade after listening to SLY to calm myself down.

If you have no anger or angst in your life, this may not be your type of music. I really dig it however. I like to listen to it in the morning. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I think you should go get this mighty album. If you consider yourself a fan of heavy music at all you must hear this stuff. And if you're an angry loner you no doubt already own it.

Listen to the single!
On the web: mp3.centurymedia.com/SYL_Devour_SYL.mp3

And go check out www.hevydevy.com for all things Devin Townsend.

Strapping Young Lad has returned and will put the whiplash back in your head banging.