Strapping Young Lad

The new release from genius musician Devin Townsend and his crew signals the band’s return to a sound similar to 1997’s City. Whether you call it speed or thrash metal, the album offers blasting guitar solos and breathtaking walls of vocals layered over the most awesome and devastating rhythm-section display a metal head could hope for. “Skeksis” and “Shine” are classic SYL, but “Shitstorm” is more like an opera delivered at 165 mph. With Alien, the band has grown up and delivers the goods on all fronts. “Love?” is the most radio friendly track, that is, if you could ever say that about this band. But that may be the beauty of it all. In the midst of turning out the most psychotic music anywhere, this band is capable of breakneck metal and mainstream songs. All hail the new flesh!