Strapping Young Lad - City
Released: 1997

Liam Sheils, KERRANG!!, England

The guitars on "City" pulverise, the drums only spasmodically drop below warp speed and the vocals sound like the death cries of the entire Klingon homeworld. There's not even a whiff of melody, save for the oddly out-of-place 'Room 429', and the overall effect is like sticking your head into the jet nozzle of a Stealth Bomber"

"Devin Townsend has become the Beck of heavy metal; what he does has been done before, but the way he does it is outrageous, and in the case of SYL, even innovative"

"The piston guitars of 'All hail the new flesh' give way to the hernia-inducing noise of 'Oh my fucking God' (Great title!) and, just when you think it can't possibly get any heavier, the lunatic bastard slams you in the mush with a length of lead piping masquerading as a song called 'Home Nucleonics'..."

"... that hyper bald kid who used to sing for Steve Vai (and regularly blew his nose on Steve's cool embroidered rock jacket), screams himself purple on this frightening industrial shriek-a-thon."

"When you hear this, you could think about the last Fear Factory without necessarily comparing the two. With SYL there is obviously a confused, bewildering and potentially more brilliant brain at work..."

"This is a very extreme sounding record with innovative ideas and sounds, as well as being able to combine elements of Front Line Assembly, Ministry and a slew of technical ideas. Living it loud and proud, Townsend takes SYL one step further into the mind of a madman."

"In a whirling of insane electronics, Townsend triturates the lessons of Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Godflesh, Puncture and Waving Korn, vomiting all his rage in schizophrenic and rough songs, but with an insane melodic research that is sometimes pure genius."

"Turned through the mixer, the result is a distinct apocalyptic chaos, but sounds like a miracle -- absolute, logical, retraced. The chaos proceeds, as though to speak in orderly tracks what lies in Townsend's talent to embellish the most weird, tonal inferno but with still beautiful, catchy melodies."

"A bad comparison would be Fear Factory gone warp speed and warped perspective. this music is full-bodied, full throttle devastating, sinus clearing, teeth jarring, jaw dropping. relentless!"

"After this explosion, you'll just have to put your Ministry albums back on the shelf with the 'chamber music' label."

"This album, filled with variation and self-irony is a must for everyone who likes Ministry and such."

"Nothing prepares you for the ultra metal meltdown showcased on "City", the latest release from Strapping Young Lad, where Vancouver whizzkid Devin Townsend conjures up some serious havoc in the company of ex-Death/[Dark] Angel drummer Gene Hoglan ..."