STRAPPING YOUNG LAD: The New Black

Produced by Devin Townsend

Released: 2006

There are perhaps few more anticipated things among many metal fans than a new Strapping Young Lad album, yet if Devin Townsend’s musings about taking a break from music are to believed then The New Black could well be the final chapter in the SYL story for some time to come, or possibly ever. Such a shame it is then that this last album didn’t quite come up to the same standard long expected of Strapping Young Lad.

The New Black is as close as anything Townsend’s had a hand in to being half-arsed. Everything is just as manic and teetering on the brink of complete chaos as always, but in the end one is left with the feeling that on The New Black the band is playing it very much by the numbers and comes across as a bit forced. The presence of complete throwaway tracks like “You Suck” and “Fucker” bare this out. SYL’s lyrics are often far from profound, but an entire song that repeats little more than “Hell yeah we fuckin’ suck” is perhaps pushing the envelope a bit far.

Of course, as always there are also distinct highlights. Early in the piece we are treated to “The Antiproduct” with its nice jazzy section featuring some understated trombone and the fierce but melodic “Decimator” is a great opener. Eight years after it first appeared on No Sleep til Bedtime, “Far Beyond Metal” finally gets the full studio treatment, complete with guest vocals from GWAR’s Oderus Urungus, and is a clear stand-out (read: best track on the album). But elsewhere The New Black suffers from just sounding too much like earlier albums, right down to the typically clinical, overbearing production.

Townsend’s vocals are characteristically diverse and the inclusion of guest singers on a couple of tracks is a cool touch, but overall the album simply doesn’t have the impact of previous issues. It’s almost as if the worst had happened and Devin had either finally driven himself out of ideas or was pandering to fanbase expectations and if either was the case then taking a break is probably the best thing he could have done.

1. Decimator
2. You Suck
3. The Anti-product
4. Monument
5. Wrong Side
6. Hope
7. Far Beyond Metal
8. Fucker
9. Almost Again
10. Polyphony
11. The New Black

Rating: 72%