You were going to get Billy Mackenzie’s Outernational, a slice of icy 90s pop, but I’ve had a fizzing shitstick of a week, so instead you’re getting about the most accessible thing Devin Townsend’s outfit Strapping Young Lad produced.
There’s a lot of very, very fast drumming and some very black humour.
Personal favourites include You Suck for basic silliness, Far Beyond Metal if for nothing else then for the lyric “You ironic punk-rock fuck”, and Almost Again for managing to sound quite plaintive, despite steaming past at 200 BPM.
This album is rated PG due to the gleeful abandon with which the F-bomb is thrown around.
I’d be grateful if someone could post a Tidal link.
For the truly desperate I’d be surprised if this wasn’t available on vinyl.
My only experience of Devon Townsend has been later DTP stuff. Apart from the extreme shredding, this has nothing, I say nothing in common. Yes there are proggy segues but DTP this is not.
As expected, I can’t get past the vocals. Not the proper, melodic singing but the shouting and growling. It does my ‘ead in.
Moreover, the white, middle class angst thing is just twee. I didn’t come across as tongue in cheek (although that may have been the intention), it came across as contrived.
Rapid fire (Thrash) drumming isn’t my thang but overall the music wasn’t bad. There are some very strong sections that with a different drumming style would be fantastic.