City (Strapping Young Lad album)

Last updated
City
Strappingyoungladcity.jpg
Studio album by
Strapping Young Lad
ReleasedFebruary 11, 1997
RecordedJuly 1996 [1]
StudioRed Stripe Studio, Burnaby
Mothership Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length39:22
Label Century Media
Producer
Strapping Young Lad chronology
Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing
(1995)		City
(1997)		 No Sleep 'till Bedtime
(1998)
Devin Townsend chronology
Punky Brüster – Cooked on Phonics
(1996)		City
(1997)		 Ocean Machine: Biomech
(1997)

City is the second studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad, released on February 11, 1997. Frontman Devin Townsend assembled a permanent lineup of Strapping Young Lad to record the album, including prolific drummer Gene Hoglan, and 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", [2] and it is widely considered Strapping Young Lad's best work. The album was re-released in 2007 with several bonus tracks and altered cover art.

Contents

Background

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.

Devin moved to the UK to work with the Wildhearts, before moving back to Vancouver to work at a restaurant. He then decided to move to Los Angeles and "move in with some mutual friends and (I) slept on their couch and wrote Ocean Machine and City." [3] The album was written about the city of Los Angeles, [3] as well as being majorly influenced by the 1980s Japanese television anime series Dirty Pair as well as Yukito Kishiro's 1990s manga series Battle Angel Alita [4]

City was remastered and re-released in 2007, and included several unreleased tracks, as well as a Japanese bonus track and the video for "Detox". [5] The album was re-released in 2012, and includes a CD version of For Those Aboot to Rock: Live at the Commodore as a bonus disc. Teddy Möller (credited as "Septic Ted") from Loch Vostok appears as a guest saxophonist on the joke-track "Headrhoid". [6]

Bonus track "Centipede" is featured on all versions of No Sleep 'till Bedtime , and samples a percussion loop from "Happiness in Slavery" by Nine Inch Nails.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Chronicles of Chaos 9/10 [8]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 8/10 [9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Metal.de 8/10 [11]

City received highly positive reviews. Kerrang! praised the album for its heaviness, claiming it sounded like "sticking your head into the jet nozzle of a Stealth Bomber", [12] while Metal Hammer ranked it No. 13 on its "Top 20 Albums of 1997" list [13] and also included it in another list released in 2020 and containing what they considered to be the top 10 albums of that year. [14] The album gained a cult following and a loyal fan base for the band. [15] City is considered to be the band's best effort by a large number of fans [16] and critics alike. [17] [18]

In 2002, the album was No. 45 on Revolver magazine's "69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" list, [2] and was on their "Must Have Metal Albums" list in 2005. [15] It also appeared on the "100 Most Important Albums of the Nineties" list conducted by Terrorizer . [19] Townsend himself stated City "is the real Strapping record. That's the ultimate one out of all of them". [20] City had sold over 9,000 copies in the United States by 2002. [21] The song "Oh My Fucking God" was later covered by fellow Canadian extreme metal band Cryptopsy, for a compilation album by Century Media. [22]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Devin Townsend, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Velvet Kevorkian"1:17
2."All Hail the New Flesh"5:24
3."Oh My Fucking God"3:34
4."Detox"5:37
5."Home Nucleonics"2:31
6."AAA"5:21
7."Underneath the Waves"3:40
8."Room 429" (Tod Ashley) (Cop Shoot Cop cover)5:21
9."Spirituality"6:34
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
10."Centipede" (available on Japanese release and 2007 remaster)7:55
11."Home Nucleonics" ('96 demo, available on Japanese release of No Sleep 'till Bedtime and 2007 remaster)3:02
12."Headrhoid" (Gunt demo, available on Japanese release of No Sleep 'till Bedtime and 2007 remaster)1:38
13."Detox" ('96 demo, available on Japanese release of No Sleep 'till Bedtime and 2007 remaster)5:48
14."AAA" ('96 demo, available on Japanese release of No Sleep 'till Bedtime and 2007 remaster)5:22

Personnel

Strapping Young Lad

Additional musicians

The Cruxfrog Choir

Additional personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devin Townsend</span> Canadian musician (born 1972)

Devin Garrett Townsend is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also had an extensive solo career and has released a total of 28 albums across all of his projects as of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strapping Young Lad</span> Canadian metal band

Strapping Young Lad (SYL) was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.

Tenet is a heavy metal band formed as a side project by Jed Simon of Strapping Young Lad and Zimmers Hole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Hoglan</span> American drummer

Eugene Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his playing style is very technically demanding, he retains high accuracy at extreme tempos, earning him the nicknames "The Atomic Clock" and "Human Drum Machine".

<i>Accelerated Evolution</i> 2003 studio album by The Devin Townsend Band

Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative rock to hard rock to progressive metal. Townsend, the lead vocalist and guitarist, assembled a group of Vancouver musicians to perform with him on the album: guitarist Brian Waddell, drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, bassist Mike Young, and keyboardist Dave Young. This lineup, the Devin Townsend Band, was Townsend's first dedicated lineup for his solo material, and was created as a counterpart to Townsend's extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byron Stroud</span> Canadian musician

Byron Stroud is a Canadian bassist. He is the former bassist for metal bands Fear Factory, Imonolith and Strapping Young Lad, current bassist for metal bands City of Fire and Zimmers Hole, and studio bassist for 3 Inches of Blood.

Zimmers Hole is a Canadian heavy metal band from Vancouver. The band formed by the guitarist, singer Chris Valagao Mina in 1991, and features former Strapping Young Lad members Byron Stroud, Jed Simon and Gene Hoglan

<i>Alien</i> (Strapping Young Lad album) 2005 studio album by Strapping Young Lad

Alien is the fourth studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on March 22, 2005. The album was written by Devin Townsend and Gene Hoglan over a six-month time period. The album reached No. 32 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and No. 35 on the Top Independent Albums chart.

<i>Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing</i> 1995 studio album by Strapping Young Lad

Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing is the debut studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on April 4, 1995. Century Media Europe released a remastered version of the album on June 12, 2006, which includes the video for "S.Y.L.", several bonus tracks, and a 12-page booklet containing extended liner notes.

<i>Strapping Young Lad</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Strapping Young Lad

Strapping Young Lad is the eponymous third album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on February 11, 2003.

<i>Infinity</i> (Devin Townsend album) 1998 studio album by Devin Townsend

Infinity is the third solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first released under his real name. The album was released in October 1998 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.

<i>Physicist</i> (album) 2000 studio album by Devin Townsend

Physicist is the fourth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album was released on June 26, 2000, on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.

<i>The New Black</i> 2006 studio album by Strapping Young Lad

The New Black is the fifth and final studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on July 11, 2006, debuting at No. 200 on the Billboard charts. A music video was shot for the album's sole single, "Wrong Side", and another video, done in CGI, was made for the non-single song "Almost Again".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jed Simon</span> Canadian guitarist

Jedson Louis Simon is a Canadian guitarist. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, Tenet, and Vimic.

<i>No Sleep till Bedtime</i> 1998 live album by Strapping Young Lad

No Sleep 'till Bedtime is a live album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was recorded live in Melbourne Australia, on October 12, 1997; however, the live tracks presented here are the only ones recorded before the tape ran out. "Japan" and "Centipede" are new studio tracks that were added by the label as a bonus material. The title is a homage to and parody of Motörhead's No Sleep 'til Hammersmith live album.

<i>For Those Aboot to Rock: Live at the Commodore</i> 2004 video by Strapping Young Lad

For Those Aboot To Rock: Live at the Commodore is a live performance DVD by the Canadian Heavy Metal band Strapping Young Lad, released in 2004 by Century Media. A CD version was released along with the 2013 "Metal for the Masses" reissue of City to celebrate Century Media's 25th anniversary.

<i>1994–2006 Chaos Years</i> 2008 compilation album by Strapping Young Lad

1994–2006 Chaos Years is a retrospective compilation album from the heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. The album contains tracks from all of the band's studio albums, as well as a DVD with live footage and music videos. The album had a European release on March 31, 2008.

Chris "The Heathen" Valagao Mina is a Canadian singer, best known as the frontman for speed/thrash metal band Zimmers Hole. Valagao Mina is accomplished SPFX artist and pyrotechnician for film and television, director and producer of many music videos and a builder of custom motorcycles. He is of Portuguese and Norwegian heritage.

<i>Tour EP</i> (Strapping Young Lad EP) 2003 EP by Strapping Young Lad

Tour EP is an EP released by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. The EP was sold at live shows as a promo for their then-upcoming self-titled album, Strapping Young Lad. The EP includes alternate mixes of two tracks from Strapping Young Lad, two live tracks and "Oh My Fucking God". Only 2500 copies of Tour EP were pressed.

References

  1. ↑ "News for 1996 on Devin Townsend's official website". members.home.net/hevydevy. February 2, 1999. Archived from the original on 1999-02-02. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "The 69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Revolver . 2002, September/October.
  3. 1 2 "Devin Townsend: 'I Wanna be Part of Something. I Don't Wanna be the Thing' | Interviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com". Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2014-12-25.
  4. ↑ @dvntownsend (May 21, 2019). "...in fact, that and 'The Dirty Pair' played into the writing of City in a huge way..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ↑ City at AllMusic . Retrieved January 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ "The Omega Experiment on Facebook". Facebook . Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.[ user-generated source ]
  7. ↑ City at AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  8. ↑ Bromley, Adrian (February 4, 1997). "CoC : Strapping Young Lad - City : Review". Chronicles of Chaos . Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  9. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 425. ISBN   978-1-894959-62-9.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). "Strapping Young Lad". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7 (4th ed.). MUZE. p.  791. ISBN   978-0-19-531373-4.
  11. ↑ Oliver (December 24, 1996). "Strapping Young Lad - City Review • metal.de". metal.de . Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  12. ↑ Sheils, Liam. "Strapping Young Lad – City". Kerrang! . February 1, 1997, Iss. 633.
  13. ↑ "Top 20 Albums of 1997". Metal Hammer. December 1997.
  14. ↑ "The Top 10 best albums of 1997". Metal Hammer . Future plc. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  15. 1 2 "Strapping Young Lad: ALIEN CD Release". Metal-Rules.com. 2005-03-23. Archived from the original on 2005-03-28. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  16. ↑ Rademacher, Brian (2005-08-11). "Interview with Jed Simon". Rock Eyez Webzine. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  17. ↑ Bergman, Keith. "Strapping Young Lad – The New Black review". Blabbermouth.net . Archived from the original on 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  18. ↑ Begrand, Adrien (2005-03-25). "Strapping Young Lad: Alien review". PopMatters . Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  19. ↑ "100 Most Important Albums of the Nineties". Terrorizer . February 2000, Iss. 75.
  20. ↑ "Strapping Young Lad Are All Rocked Out". Exclaim! . July 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  21. ↑ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By SoundScan". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
  22. ↑ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – CRYPTOPSY Covers STRAPPING YOUNG LAD's 'Oh My F**king God'; Audio Available". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.