Strapping Young Lad - Alien

This album is so chaotic, probably the most chaotic album released by SYL in my opinion. But it isn't quite as good as 'city' to be honest-nevertheless, 'alien' begs you to take a deep breath before listening to this 40+ minutes of madness(courtesy of Devin himself). The second nhalf of the album i find is much more controlled,and for that reason,better. Its still one of the best albums of 2005 though!

This one has a little less character than City.....which is a good thing.

Better than City. Magnum Opus. Infinitely chaotic and infinite insanity with the most massive and colossal production any album has ever offered.

Alien!

Written by Xytraguptor on 15.04.2012 at 07:38

Better than City. Magnum Opus. Infinitely chaotic and infinite insanity with the most massive and colossal production any album has ever offered.

City is far more chaotic than this album and the production does naught but take the edge off. I'm not comparing the quality of the two albums, but I'm just pointing out that what you're saying is a bit off...

God, this is so monumentally boring compared to City. The mind boggles how they have the same score.

Written by [user id=4365] on 04.01.2016 at 23:34

God, this is so monumentally boring compared to City. The mind boggles how they have the same score.

Yeah. ALso the one before this SYL is vastly superior and way more varied than this piece of compressed monotony.

Written by [user id=4365] on 04.01.2016 at 23:34

God, this is so monumentally boring compared to City. The mind boggles how they have the same score.

This sentence from Jup's review of this album Always cracks me up:

Quote:
"Alien" really isn't a bad album at all. As a matter of fact, its an enormous improvement over the band's previous, lackluster release;

If one album is totally lacklustre it is Alien.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.01.2016 at 00:06


If one album is totally lacklustre it is Alien.

Yep, and somehow outside of MS it seems to be equally loved as well. Shitstorm is probably the only track off this I ever listen to.

Written by [user id=4365] on 05.01.2016 at 00:08

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.01.2016 at 00:06


If one album is totally lacklustre it is Alien.

Yep, and somehow outside of MS it seems to be equally loved as well. Shitstorm is probably the only track off this I ever listen to.

Same here. Just Shitstorm for me.

But all in all I would say I prefer it over follow-up The New Black which sounded like a total rush job, obligated by going on tour and such, to me.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.01.2016 at 00:12

Same here. Just Shitstorm for me.

But all in all I would say I prefer it over follow-up The New Black which sounded like a total rush job, obligated by going on tour and such, to me.

I really don't remember much about that one, other than the production being the worst of the lot. I doubt I'll ever revisit it tbh.

The New Black feels forced indeed, SYL toned down and mixed with some non-SYL devin stuff. There are some decent tracks on it anyway.

The only track from The New Black that's worth listening to is Far Beyond Metal, but there's a better version of that one on the No Sleep Till Bedtime live album so TNB is completely redundant. Alien at least has Shitstorm.

After listening to the self-titled record, I got a little bit afraid. Afraid of the quality of new SYL output. Although Devin was doing great in his solo career, his interest in extreme metal seemed to have diminished. All my worries were dispelled when I heard the first 3 tracks of these album which are great, no, brilliant! "Imperial" implies grandiousness and it sound like that and it has some incredible death/black vocals courtesy of Devin Townsend. "Skeksis" is among the top 5 best SYL tracks. Devin himself has described it as his favorite song which only underlines its greatness. There is an amalgam of riffs, exciting tempo changes, amazing vocals, and a speed crescendo that is hard to rival in all of thrash metal. "Shitstorm" predicts a storm, but not of crap, but of exciting musical quality. One of the most intense and complex SYL tracks ever written. It takes more than 1 listen to catch the mightiness of this tune. The single "Love?" is quite good too, though a little bit too sluggish for my taste. This album contained better tracks that deserved the 'single' treatment. "Shine" and "Ride On" are good as well, but not as good as the first 3. "Possession" stands right there with the first 3 tracks and the girls choir is particularly brilliant, a very original moment. "Two Weeks" is a short, memorable acoustic track, its mood reminding me of "Spirituality" from City. It is more akin to what Devin composes for his solo albums. "Landscapes" (in some versions it is called "Thalamus") is ok too, but doesn't stand out much perhaps because it is a rehash of older SYL songs. "Zen" starts utterly boring but makes a 180 degree turn around the middle thanks to Devin's brilliant vocal harmonies, some of the best in any music. Essentially no filler tracks, just weak moments here and there. The reason why some people label it as a disappointment is because the guitar playing is not particularly heavy and crunchy as it was on the previous 3 SYL records. However, that is of little importance as there is brilliant song-writing to be found here.

Great tracks: Imperial, Skeksis, Shitstorm, Possession, Zen.

Good tracks: Love?, Shine, We Ride, Thalamus, Two Weeks.

A number of scattered great moments in a sea of well-produced monotony.

What Paulh said.

I find myself enjoying parts of this album, but it isn't as good as the previous two, not even close. SYL, in particular, is underrated compared to Alien, that album's a masterpiece, while this one is just "pretty good".

And math!

Maaath!

MAAATTTHH!!

I think Alien is easily their best album. I know most would say City, but it's a little overrated in my opinion.

I hated it just as I hated City but I don't like this genre (mainly the vocals), so my rating may be a little biased.