Strapping Young Lad
The New Black

THE REVIEW

A bolt from the blue, this latest work by Strapping Young Lad.

Certainly, one does not expect a follow-up to 'Alien' from them about a year later, and Townsend's interviews, which were supposed to promote it, turned out to be nothing more than the outburst of a tired and pissed-off person who wanted to unplug; in short, all elements that certainly do not cast a benign shadow on the quality of the album and fatally, unfortunately, "The New Black" disappoints.

However, let it be clear that not everything should be thrown away; flashes of inspiration run throughout the album, which flows between classic blasts à la Strapping and absolute novelties for their characteristic sound. What strikes about this album is the presence of several songs ready to desecrate metal clichés: "You Suck" for example, a song that is nonetheless uninspired, textbook-like, with all the classic elements we would expect: sick chorus, schizophrenic solo, and schizoid rhythm, all topped off with a rather banal text... of the same caliber is "Far beyond Metal", a familiar presence in live shows for fans and recorded as track number seven. Not exactly the pinnacle of originality to include it in this album, an unfortunate choice in my opinion that diminishes the importance of the record, as if it were a collection of b-sides or outtakes... at the metal derision fair and the less original things I also add "Fucker", with its awkward and banal rhythm, given that we're talking about people who have gotten us used to something different.

But little gems exist here too, you just have to know how to grasp them: "Antiproduct" for example, with the addition of strings, or "Wrong Side", furious, with an epic chorus, "Hope" slow and cadenced that PROGresses into a vortex of devastation, then "Almost Again", practically of the same kind, all really interesting.

A careful listening of "The New Black" deduces the hastiness, the addition of tracks inserted just to make up numbers (contract expiration with Century? Very likely) that are not up to a group that has always been distinguished for genius and innovation, which is partly there but not sufficiently. Waiting for better times... if good Hevydevy will feel like it...