Strapping Young Lad: Alien = RUBBISH.

[Nitronium Blood]

[This thread is about City, not Alien. Sorry, my mistake.]

I just purchased City. Can somebody please explain this album to me?

God . I kept hearing good reviews about this album, and how much of a 'genius' Devin Townsend is. I've heard this album twice and all I can hear is nothing but excentric novelty industrial noisy RUBBISH that seems to have been bathed in a chamber of reverb!

This is a record that just does not give a shit.

The only good thing on this album is Devin's intro vocals to 'Room 429'.

Sorry Devin, you ruled on James Murphy's 'Convergence' and on Steve Vai's 'Sex and Religion', but this Frank Zappa/Wesley Willis type wannabe elitist bullshit is not my cup of tea. I'm returning this the next chance I get.

Are Devin's other projects like 'Ocean Machine, Terria, Infinity' et all similar to his work with SYL?

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Every Devin Townsend project is different.

 

[Nitronium Blood]

Every Devin Townsend project is different.

You're right!

I was just listening to clips from Accelerated Evolution and my mouth began to water!

I bought the wrong Townsend album. Rats.

 

[A Gruesome Discovery]

I bought the wrong Townsend album. Rats.

There's your problem; you meant to buy a Devin Townsend album. This is SYL! I don't mean to sound facetious, but the band differs greatly from the man.
That said, you may not like his solo work; it can tend to be quite experimental. "Terria" is his best in my opinion, though "Ocean Machine" is nearly as good and much more focused, while "Infinity" is the most experimental of all his albums, and requires some geekiness to enjoy on many levels.
One more thing: give City one more chance. Maybe because it's nearly a decade old, it doesn't stand so alone nowadays in the field of... whatever genre it is. But I have to admit; it took a few listens on me.
LISTEN #1:
What?!
LISTEN #2:
What the fuck, man!?
LISTEN #3:
Oh, I see.
LISTEN #4:
OH YEAH BITCHES

...and now it's in my top 10 all time. Results may not be typical.

 

[Impy]

I got hooked on City from the moment i heard Detox on the radio, bought the album instantly and have considered it one of my definite favourites of the collection since i got it 3-4 years ago or whenever it was i got it.
Like previous poster i suggest you give it another go, it's definately worth it.
It's pure madness, but oh what beautiful madness it is

 

[commandante]

And you like Trivium?

 

[Ermz]

Does Devin have any releases which are heavily doom/industrial oriented? Stuff in the vein of Blut Aus Nord with crushing riffs and big spacey ambient elements?

 

[Nitronium Blood]

And you like Trivium?

I knew this was comming...

 

[Fabbio]

I bought the album in 1997 (my god, I'm old...) and at the time it was the most outrageous thing I had ever heard (it outclassed even Sepultura, they were the MOST heavy thing I knew back then)!!!

It still is a good (somewhat) listening, but very soon (1998) i discovered Carcass and nothing has been the same since (year 1998, this one).

I personally think that ALIen it's not very compelling. Same interest level as the new Meshuggah (see my opinion on it on the 8.strings thread).

 

[Jeremy Krull]

As far as City goes, yea, I think it could do with a remaster...

but I mean Devin and Daniel Bergstrand really constructed some amazing soundscapes...and they really sell the whole cyber/digital vibe on that album...

I don't think it's Devin's best production work, but for what it is, it's very cool.

 

[Nitronium Blood]

Actually, I think I shall keep the album after all, mostly to 'support' Devin Townsend because he really is a musical king.

Also, as a few of you suggested I shall listen to it a few more times and hope it will grow on me.

I didn't know City was really that old.

 

[Kazrog]

City is one of my favorite albums of all time. It changed my life.

But everyone has their own opinion. Wooohooo!

 

[Jeremy Krull]

Yea, City was really the coolest sounding of them (not necessarily the best mix/master of them), even after SYL came out, but I think Alien pretty much takes the cake as to how insanely ridiculous an SYL album can sound.

 

[Black neon bob]

Hey guys, had to jump into this one...

first time i bought city, i was not impressed by this dis-orientating piece of music, all that industrial stuff and synths, and one big mess of sounds, vocals, etc...

did not like it that much at all, all songs were just to weird for me...

Month later, i tried again.. still the same, only this time i kinda knew what was coming for some parts... i tried again later, and hmmmmm.. getting better...

after a week, i was freakin hooked on this disc! i could not leave it alone, like a drug... holy shit! every listen i heard something new.. i was discovering Devin's amazing piece of work.. i ordered some more SYL, and some solo work of Devin, and i am a fan since then..

And you know what, i envy you! how great it would be to hate that album again, to dislike it so much, only to find out that in fact it's a masterpiece that still blows stuff nowadays away... so much power, so much confusion.. it's great..

I love how Devin builds something up, you keep thinking, "cut it out, this is starting to irritate me!" and then he releases that pain with a really great part after the irritating part.. that way you start to build up a relation ship with those song he does that in... freakin genius!

 

[SPLASTiK]

I saw SYL a couple weeks ago, Zimmer's Hole last week (Ani Kyd opened for Zimmer's with Gene Hoglan and Byron Stroud playing in her band).

I love City, was much better than the next release. Alien is great though.
I like Devin's solo stuff as well, he's awesome.

I'm also seen like 50 times in the new SYL DVD, they're locals.

 

[Jeremy Krull]

That DVD is insane man,

love the ridiculously triggered awesome drum sounds too lol

 

[~BURNY~]

I like SYL but I dislike their flat top sound and their over triggeded drums .Such a shame such for a great drummer as the mighty Gene Hoglan, what a waste... He's probably one of the best funkiest metal drummer ever(remember his awsome work on Symbolic or Demonic?).

 

[Jeremy Krull]

yea I kinda agree with you. But, I think the triggering helps attain a certain mood. I mean the same with Fear Factory specifically, those drums sound so much more intense and powerful because the sounds are completely fake. I mean that brand of metal is complemented by that sound, at least I'd like to think so. Not to kiss Andy's ass, but the more old-school sounding stuff, like The Gathering, is definitely meant for acoustic drums, I mean if that's the kind of stuff SYL was doing, I could understand it. But I kinda feel like there is a level of intensity attained with the triggers, at least for the SYL stuff, that you can't attain with acoustic drums.

 

[Kazrog]

yea I kinda agree with you. But, I think the triggering helps attain a certain mood. I mean the same with Fear Factory specifically, those drums sound so much more intense and powerful because the sounds are completely fake. I mean that brand of metal is complemented by that sound, at least I'd like to think so. Not to kiss Andy's ass, but the more old-school sounding stuff, like The Gathering, is definitely meant for acoustic drums, I mean if that's the kind of stuff SYL was doing, I could understand it. But I kinda feel like there is a level of intensity attained with the triggers, at least for the SYL stuff, that you can't attain with acoustic drums.

Andy generally triggers drums, and The Gathering is among these examples. The difference is not between triggering vs. raw sound, but in the samples that you trigger in the first place. I happen to like the production of the SYL records, it fits the music perfectly.

 

[Jeremy Krull]

well yea, but you know what I'm saying, I mean when Andy's sound replacing tracks, he's sound replacing them not to make them sound artificial. However with Devin, I frankly don't think he cares. Because as we all know, Devin is 100% completely nuts.