Type: Contains explicit content, Lyrics are included with the album
Genre: Rock
Review
A sense of humor is something that very few artists in underground metal possess -- and that's precisely why Canadian Devin Townsend and his wall-of-noise industrial-thrash outfit Strapping Young Lad stand out amongst the melee. City is a fine example of Townsend's metal-mad scientist approach (dubbed "Devy metal" by affectionate followers): An absolutely manic cyber-grind propelled by the elephant stampede kicked up by drummer extraordinaire Gene Hoglan (ex-Death, Dark Angel), thickened by frenzied, nigh out of control guitar riffs and existing in a cloudy electro-haze of pulverized circuit boards crushed to dust, shot into the atmosphere, and breathed in by all involved parties. So this album's predecessor, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, was appropriately titled, although City is a smidgen more focused, mature, and, yes, heavy, although Townsend's subsequent solo projects, Ocean Machine, Infinity, Physicist, and Terria, are less overtly metallic, more fully realized, prog-influenced, and ambitious. What makes Strapping Young Lad most compelling isn't the band's capacity for schizoid arrangements, but rather Townsend's realization that the over the top clichés of the metal genre -- which he robustly embraces with a maniacal grin -- are innately absurd. So he trots out irony-packed tunes such as "Oh My Fucking God," "All Hail the New Flesh," and "AAA" with such ridiculous bombast and bizarre, borderline non sequitur lyrics (a quick sample: "Devy in the corner of his teen year/Born to run away/Children in the middle with the village idiot/So he never made the potty grade" from "AAA"), all used to skewer the inherent ludicrousness of not just metal, but life in general. On the surface, City is a noisy excuse to put yourself in a neck brace, but closer inspection will reveal Townsend's mentally depraved genius, his mind weighted down with, um, really heavy things. [A Deluxe Reissue from Century Media was released in 2007.]~ John Serba, All Music Guide
Daniel Bergstrand (Engineer), Dan Collins (Photography), Sean "Puffy" Combs (?), Masa Noda (Photography), Syl (Arranger), Chris Valagao (Vocals), Devin Townsend (Producer), Steve Good (Assistant Engineer), E. Val (Choir, Chorus), Tower (Choir, Chorus), Lulu Devine (Editing), Matteo Caratozzolo (Overdubs), MC2 (Editing), Gene Hoglan (Drum Arrangements), Gene Hoglan (Drums), Byron Stroud (Bass), Devy Metal (?), The Flames (Choir, Chorus), Daniel Bergstrand (Producer), Jed Simon (Guitar), Adrian White (Drum Arrangements)
City is the second album by Canadianheavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on February 11, 1997. The album was re-released in 2007 with several bonus tracks and altered cover art.
Frontman Devin Townsend assembled a permanent lineup of Strapping Young Lad to record City, including prolific metal drummer Gene Hoglan, along with Townsend's former bandmates Jed Simon on guitar and Byron Stroud on bass. The album was critically acclaimed, with Revolver naming it one of "the greatest metal albums of all time",[1] and it is widely considered Strapping Young Lad's best work.
The song "Oh My Fucking God" was later covered by fellow Canadian extreme metal band Cryptopsy, for a compilation album by Century Media.
After releasing the first Strapping Young Lad album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, as a solo album, Townsend recruited a permanent line-up for the second album: Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums. City was released on February 11, 1997 and received highly favorable critical reception. Kerrang! praised the album for its heaviness, claiming it sounded like "sticking your head into the jet nozzle of a Stealth Bomber",[2] while Metal Hammer ranked it #13 on its "Top 20 Albums of 1997" list.[3] The album soon gained a cult following and a loyal fan base for the band.[4]City is considered to be the band's best effort by a large number of fans[5] and critics alike.[6][7] In 2002, the album was #45 on Revolver magazine's "69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" list,[1] and also appeared on their "Must Have Metal Albums" list in 2005.[4] It also appeared on the "100 Most Important Albums of the Nineties" list conducted by Terrorizer.[8] Townsend himself stated City "is the real Strapping record. That's the ultimate one out of all of them".[9]City sold well over 9,000 copies its first week.[10]
