SilentScream213 The sophomore album by Strapping Young Lad is a much more concise piece of music with a clear direction. There were many aspects I liked about this album: - The rhythm section is fantastic. Drums are energetic and aggressive just as I prefer. - Production is pristine. Every instrument is audible and some interesting Industrial sound effects add layers to the compositions. - Devin’s voice is awesome. His range is incredible, usually hitting somewhere between melodic singing and screaming, but going every which way up and down that spectrum, and doing it all very well.

Unfortunately, this album has a lot of weakness that really stifle the enjoyment for me. - The riffs are boring. They are mostly rhythmic, with very little lead guitarwork and nothing at all memorable being crafted with the guitars. - The lyrics are mostly bad, with too much unnecessary vulgarity that just doesn’t work. - Devin adopts a “tough guy” persona on the album and whether it’s a joke or not doesn’t matter, it’s really annoying and really cringy. - Devin is known for being a musical chameleon, but this album is (among his work) quite samey front to back, with most songs being Thrashy/Groovy Industrial Metal. That wouldn’t be a problem, but they all suffer from the same exact weaknesses, which makes the samey-ness that much more offensive.

That leaves this album a really mixed bag for me. It’s a good album, but it has way more potential than it ever reaches, and too many weaknesses that hold it back.

UMUR "City" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian industrial extreme metal act Strapping Young Lad. The album was released through Century Media Records in February 1997. It´s the successor to "Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing" from 1995. An album which was essentially a solo album by lead vocalist/guitarist Devin Townsend, featuring some contributions from session musicians. After the release of "Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing (1995)", Townsend temporarily moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote the material for "City". Before entering the studio Townsend assembled a permanent lineup, thus making Strapping Young Lad a band instead of a solo project. New in the lineup are guitarist Jed Simon and bassist Byron Stroud, who Townsend had worked with before, and to complete the lineup he recruited drummer Gene Hoglan, known at that point for his work with Dark Angel and Death.

"Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing (1995)" was an erratic and experimental industrial metal album, which featured moments of absolute brilliance, but it was ultimately a bit too inconsistent in style and quality to reach the sky in terms of high ratings (my subjective opinion). "City" is in many ways a completely different beast. Townsend and Co. have created a more clearly defined extreme metal sound although the music retains some of the debut´s dark scizophrenic approach. The industrial elements are toned down a bit (which doesn´t mean they are gone) in favor of a more aggressive guitar driven sound, which takes its cues from both death- and thrash/groove metal. Townsend have in many interviews stated that he was strongly influenced by Fear Factory in those days, and while Strapping Young Lad has a very different (less accessible and generally more extreme) sound to that band, there are audible similarities and the influence is definitely heard more than once during the playing time.

"City" is the kind of album which opens by sending a jackhammer to the face of the listener. From the opening intro track "Velvet Kevorkian" until the sixth track "AAA", where things finally slow down and become a little more melodic and mid-paced, the listener is bombarded with a wall of sound and alien atmospheres. Sometimes the riffs and rhythms move at a frantic pace, while the vocals by Townsend are completely schizophrenic changing from ultra aggressive shouting/screaming, to melodic singing, to unintelligible almost cartoonish babbling. Everything of course delivered with ease and great skill by Townsend. "Oh My Fucking God" is probably the prime example of Strapping Young Lad, when they are most extreme. "All Hail the New Flesh" and "Detox" at least feature some handles to hold on to, while still being incredibly energetic and intense tracks.

As mentioned "AAA" is a heavier, mid-paced track, which is a breather after the album opens in such an intense fashion, and actually after "AAA", "City" changes character a little bit and becomes more varied. "Room 429" is another heavy and more melodic track, while album closer "Spirituality" features an almost dreamy ethereal atmosphere. It´s a track which wouldn´t have felt wrong on one of Townsend´s solo albums. So "City" is most definitely an eclectic size and its frontloaded aggression and craziness doesn´t continue throughout, which is a clever move from the band, as it would probably have lessened the impact of the high energy aggressive tracks on the album. Aggression and brutality are almost always most effective when delivered in doses.

"City" features a detailed, powerful, and futuristic sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. It´s just one of the features of the album which have been improved upon since the debut album. The idea to assemble a permanent lineup of skilled musicians is another and "City" just reeks class and skill in every department. This is not only a unique sounding release, it´s also a very well crafted one. A 5 star (100%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Although I find Devin Townsend's progressive metal material very hit and miss, Strapping Young Lad's second album (their first as a fully-fledged band project as opposed to a Devin Townsend solo project. And it's a beaut too, offering an incredibly angry industrial-thrash hybrid which demonstrates than when he wants to, Townsend can reach deep down inside himself and draw out a truly volcanic eruption of fury. One of the few Townsend albums I've encountered where the technical proficiency on display is matched by genuine-sounding emotional expression to the fullest extent, this makes me see his catalogue in a whole new light.

topofsm Ask any Strapping Young Lad listener and they will point to one of two albums: Alien and City. While Alien is fantastic too, this came before all the over the top synthesized orchestras, gigantic layers of sound, and orchestrated goofiness. So basically what you're left with is an over-the-top pissed off album.

This album is mostly industrial metal with a few thrash elements. It's difficult to categorize, but most of Devin Townsend's work is difficult in that respect. You can see where Fear Factory got a lot of inspiration since there are tons of dry, pounding riffs all over the place. Admittedly, there is a lot that nu-metal seems to have taken from the album as well, most often through Devin's singing voice (The Track AAA is egregious in nu-metal too). But overall if you know Strapping, you know what you're getting into.

The album starts of great. The intro, "Velvet Kevorkian" is a crushing intro. It leads directly into "All Hail the New Flesh", which is filled with bombastic melodies and melodramatic singing that is completely headbanging worthy. The first half of the album is all a total mosh-fest. "Oh my Fucking God" and "Home Nucleonics" are particularly insane, as they are filled to the brim with blasting tempi and gritty riffs.

My main beef with the album is it slows down as it goes. After the blast that is "Home Nucleonics", you're treated to "AAA", which already stated is a midtempo groovy nu-metal track (albeit a good one). A couple songs later, "Room 429" and "Spirituality" close off the bunch, which are pretty slow tracks that don't add much to the album. Overall there's just a couple tracks that don't stand out as much as they could on the album.

However, as for most of it, it's a very cyberpunky angry, blistering, over-the top sandwich of metal. Devin Townsend and Strapping fans will of course have it, and it has a rightful spot in anyone's collection.

Negoba Raw Anger and More

So the boss has been on your arse all day with some total crap and you go home, head into the garage to lay into the heavy bag or lift and jam out to some intense music. Metal has been for just these moments for a long time. Back in my day, I listened to Master of Puppets and Cowboys from Hell for this purpose. But even 15 years later, there may be no better album for beating the hell out of something than City.

Of course, raw anger is in alot of metal, but nowhere is it quite as intense and intelligent at the same time as here. "Detox" and "OMFG" are some of the most intense music ever made. (This has been said about this album so many times, but this is the first review here so I had to get that out.) Other songs like "All Hail the New Flesh" are actually just extremely intense versions of Devin Townsend's usual wall of sound.

Devy is perhaps the most talented metal musician of his generation and on City he lets his maniacal self free. Like Mike Patton, Devy can be twisted and complex and still appeal to very deep in the stomach emotions. And the feelings boil over, enough to recruit a fantastic supporting band including the hellacious Gene Hoglan, one of the most precise and brutal drummers ever.

Bottom Line: The Best Album from Evil Devy and the Boyz