Strapping Young Lad - Alien Review
Posted by Evocator Manes on 12.24.2005
OMFG
Sure, I am stealing both from "net-speak" and an acronymed title from Strapping Young Lad's own great album, City, but it is nothing if not completely appropriate. I don't think I have heard anything quite so intense from start to finish, including the "comeback" album, SYL, reviewed once upon a time here by yours truly.
The albums starts with a wallop, but since so much of it is personal, sometimes even uncomfortably so, by the time the album hits Shitstorm, if you're not buckled in for the ride, you may fully expect your head to be torn from your shoulders. This is the first "band" effort, instead of it being Townsend's own personal project and it shows. A lot of the musical insanity is reigned in and the sound becomes more of a tightly-focused laser beam of audio brutality than the somewhat nutty schizophrenia of many of the earlier outings and of Townsend's solo projects. The music is stronger and edgier due to the contributions of the participants and it makes one wonder why it didn't happen sooner.
The focal point of the band, however, is still Devin Townsend. Townsend is the genius resident musical lunatic, no question and like a man trying to shed himself of uncooperative demons, the lyrics and vocal delivery are equally insane. Combining parts of madness, black humor, anger, a keen intelligence and mania, the album almost seems more like someone is systematically self-destructing before the microphone, shedding layer after layer of skin in order to expose a core that the self is afraid is fundamentally rotten, if there is even a core to begin with. The song Possessions, for instance, gives a very skewed view on relationships, yet as will all things Devy, even if it is further out there than most of us would ever consider intentionally going, there is an overriding kernel of truth to it, upon which it is built. That the seed of truth is then taken to the nth degree conclusion and greatly and grandly exaggerated is no matter, there IS that element of it which renders things very dangerous. This is one of the few album, Hell, one of the few musical acts that may cause listeners some dismay and self-examination if they delve too deeply into the world created here. Most people cannot stand that kind of heavy "stare deeply into the mirror" self-examination and are content to keep it as a "interesting place to visit, but I would HATE to live there" aspect.
The front cover artwork is pretty cool, featuring the logo in chromium upon its own plastic card followed by the bleakness of the dark booklet, which itself is a picture of the same logo along with a shot of planet Earth, further illustrating both isolation and the "from outer space" feel of the album title. Inside is lyrics, which may be difficult to decipher without a printed guide, credits and thanks.
The 411: For those who can take it, this can be a very rewarding glimpse into the mind of a genius artist, both the redeeming and the less savory parts that make one human. For those not quite so interested in overwhelming psychological character studies in the form of rock lyrics, the music alone, with its depth, aggressively and layers upon layers of sound, brilliantly interweaved in the production, also by Townsend, should be enough to keep interested. For those who "get it", this will be a near-endless treasure trove of fascination. Easily the best album from this group. Highly recommended.
