Formed: 1995
From:
Vancouver, BC,
Canada
Last Known Status: Active
Background
With a musical resume that includes well-known names such as Steve Vai, Jason Newsted, James Murphy, Geezer Butler, Stuck Mojo, The Wildhearts, Skinny Puppy, Frontline Assembly, and Paradise Lost, the frenzied work ethic and more furious musical visions of the gifted and prolific Devin Townsend needed an outlet. In 1994, Strapping Young Lad was created to punish the senses of the metal underground and to create their own niche of labyrinthine metal. Their self-produced 1995 debut album, "Heavy As a Really Heavy Thing," was nothing short of premeditated assault and battery. Two years later, with the brotherhood of the band solidified, the scene was devastated with the impressively dark, savage, and self-produced obliteration of City (recorded at Steve Vai’s Mothership Studios with acclaimed Swedish engineer Daniel Bergstrand [Meshuggah, In Flames, Darkane]), which Revolver Magazine likened - in their “69 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time” list - to “getting hit by Muhammad Ali.” One listen and you’ll see why it is the perfect background music for the Clockwork Orange scene where Malcolm McDowell’s eyes are forced open as he’s subjected to endless scenes of violence. In the spring 1997, SYL embarked on the Full Of Hate European tour which included Entombed, Obituary, and Crowbar, and then returned to North America to tour with Testament. In an effort to capture the unfiltered and uncompromising insanity of their performances, the band recorded two shows in Melbourne, Australia in 1998 resulting in the once again self-produced "No Sleep Till Bedtime," which has become the definitive SYL live document crowned with splashes of humor, which fans at the Dynamo Festival could attest to.
Lending credibility to the statement “Genius knows no rest,” Devin Townsend has also nurtured a flourishing solo career while concurrently honing his talents as a producer. In the midst of seven official solo releases, Devin has cultivated production credits on Zimmers Hole (featuring SYL bandmates Jed Simon and Byron Stroud), Gene Hoglan’s The Almighty Punchdrunk, Just Cause, December’s Lament Configuration, and Natural Born Chaos by Sweden’s Soilwork, named Album of The Year for 2002 by Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles.
With so much hate expended out at the world, it’s a wonder there’s any angst left to guide you on another expansive odyssey across a vast, unexplored landscape of exasperation, but Devin Townsend is someone who abhors mediocrity and incompetence in any form. On this self-titled fourth album, "SYL," every song is an exhalation of life (regardless of its insolence) where you will experience three or four genres of metal in the course of the same album. The Armageddon-bound aggression (spawned from the events that centered around New York City on September 11th, 2001) can clearly be heard in the various tongues it speaks in: through its black and death metal riffs (courtesy of Devin and Jed Simon), in the thrash backbone firmly anchored by ex-Dark Angel/ex-Death/ex-Testament Gene Hoglan’s thunderous drumming, in the industrial-yet-still-human rhythms mimicking the unforgiving throbs of a migraine headache in Byron Stroud’s bass work, and in the rabid energy of the harsh, harmonic, and howled vocals of Devin’s manic verse with lung capacity that Luciano Pavarotti would envy.
Produced by Devin and recorded at the famed Armoury Studios (KISS, Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe) in Vancouver, British Columbia, SYL is bludgeoningly loud, lead-lined, unbridled, vein-rupturing, stroke-inducing, damn-the-consequences instrumentation. This is rage no longer turned masochistically inward but outward. This is an explosion in the face. This, without question, is war music. In the words of Devin Townsend, SYL is "an extreme assault of the most musical nature." In the layman terms of Kerrang! Magazine, the music of chaos believers Strapping Young Lad is "like sticking your head into the jet nozzle of a Stealth bomber."
Chaos is not hell, it is glorious, and it can create living blueprints of a master plan for retribution such as what you're holding in your hands right now. Never expect anything less than extremity from Strapping Young Lad.
Latest Strapping Young Lad News
Below is our complete Strapping Young Lad news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
Displaying records 61 - 80 of 145 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Last
Strapping Young Lad Post New Song Online
You can check out a new STRAPPING YOUNG LAD song here. The track comes off their upcoming new album, The New Black, which will be released on July 11th through Century Media.
Headline News
Avenged Sevenfold and DragonForce On Ozzfest 2006
It comes as little surprise that Avenged Sevenfold have been officially confirmed as the mystery band on the main stage for Ozzfest 2006. The real surprise announcement is that power metal band Dragonforce, recently signed to Roadrunner Records in North America and rumored to be joining Gigantour 2006, has been added as the main stage opener as well.
Ozzy Osbourne is now slated to headline the second stage on three dates (replacing some dates that he was previously thought to be headlining the main stage):
July 8 - San Bernardino, CA's Hyundai Pavilion of Glen Helen
July 11 - San Antonio, TX at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
July 22 - East Troy, WI at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre
OZZY says, "After 10 years of headlining Ozzfest's main-stage I think it's time for a change. I haven't had a chance to play this close to an audience in years and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it."
Also announced is that Ozzfest emcee Big Dave and professional Ozzfest party guy, Eddie, have begun their nationwide search visiting 19 of the festival's 26 cities to find the first-ever Miss Ozzfest. The duo will be accepting entries and taking photographs of Miss Ozzfest candidates in each city. Throughout the summer the Ozzfest fans can vote for your favorites at Ozzfest.com. All entries collected from Big Dave and Eddie will be posted for you to vote on. The top three in each city will be awarded FREE tickets to the show in their city, where at some point during the evening's festivities, the three contestants will be presented on stage to the fans who will vote on a winner. Photos of each winning contestant, including the top vote getters from Raleigh and West Palm Beach, will be posted once again on Ozzfest.com, where fans can pick their Miss Ozzfest 2006. Final voting will be held at Ozzfest.com on August 7 and 8. The winning beauty will be awarded the grand prize and receive round trip airfare and accommodations for her and a guest to attend the year's final show August 13 in West Palm Beach where she'll be crowned Miss Ozzfest 2006.
Here's a recap of the complete official Ozzfest 2006 lineup and tour dates: More...
SYL Drummer Checks In With Studio Update
Strapping Young Lad drummer, Gene Hoglan, has posted the following update on the band's website:
"Howdy folks! Well, let's get right to it. After those last few punishing rehearsals, where, I swear to god, I broke something (My back? My cloaca? My ass?), we packed all our gear into the mighty Armoury Studios. Now, the Armoury comes equipped with this beautiful Ayotte drumkit, and (ssshhh, don't tell any of my PEARL guys this) I have used it in the past, on both the 'Chicken Feather' and 'Alien' albums, but this time, I opted for my own kit. That Ayotte, great-sounding though it is, warm, big, nice, just lacks the oomph, the grrrr, that I've been striving for lo, these many years. I wanna have a terrifying drum-tone, and that really sweet Ayotte just doesn't scare me. But boy, my badass PEARL SRX sure does! A 13", 15", and an 18", which are retardedly large (and possibly uncontrollable) for the studio, but I figured, what have I got to lose? I haven't REALLY dug my own drum-tones since 'Darkness Descends', and that was my FIRST album! AND, it came out twenty years ago! But, since I am so smrt, I chose my own Pearl to do the job. And did it ever not disappoint! Wow! I actually LOVE my drum sound on this record! And, since it was mixed so MASTERFULLY by the mighty Mike Fraser, it all sounds clear as a bell.
"We booked three days again, and as usual, the majority of the first day was spent on setting up, mic-ing the fuck outta everything, and getting tones. I believe we used around 30 mics or so for this one. The kit was expertly skinned and tuned by our good pal Ryan VanPoederooyen from the [Devin Townsend Band], and at about 7pm or so, I started tracking. The first tune I blasted off was 'Fucker', since that's about the most straightforward number on the new one, and then I moved onto 'Monument', which has a rollicking, 'swashbuckling' sorta groove, and very little double-bass (don't worry though, dudes, there's PLENTY of haulin' doubles on this album!). Next up was 'The Anti-Product', another groovy one. I just wanted to get a few of the 'easier' ones outta the way on that shortened first day.
"Day two, and I don't really remember the order on that day, but suffice it to say, I tracked the rest of the album tunes that day. 'You Suck', 'Wrong Side', 'Hope', 'Decimator', 'Far Beyond Metal', 'Polyphony', 'Almost Again', and 'The New Black'. I guess there was no real reason to mention all the song-titles right there, other than I just wanted to start burning them into everybody's brains.
"On that second day, I met on of the guys working on the editing process of the record, Rob 'The Chicken' Shallcross, who resembles quite-a-bit our bus driver, Sean Sitka. I see this guy in fronta the computer screen, and I'm like, 'Hey! Sitk-you're not Sean...'. The first thing he says to me is, 'Chicken', while holding out this bizarre little rubber-chicken squeezy-toy thingy, that, when you squeeze it, a little yolk pops out its ass! The second thing he says to me is, 'Hey, check out this little movie. It's called, "I Hate It When That Happens"', and proceeds to pop up this little porn window on his computer. It's a spooning couple, goin' at it, she's in front, with her legs closed, then the dude puts his hand under her leg and lifts it, and behold! The 'she' is packin'! Holy moly! I pretty much blurt out, 'BAAAH!' sounding (and feeling) just like Hank Hill. Oh, my scarred eyeballs! And Rob commences to bust out laughin'. He just wanted to see my reaction. So, I start playin' it off for the next few days like he likes the trans-testicles, which puts him back in his place. I think. But, I doubt it. Either way, a new friendship is born...
"Day three, and that was the day we tackled the bonus tracks as well as revisited a couple of the parts I knew I could do better. First up was Jed's 'The Long Pig', a righteous thrashing number, with Jed's stamp all over it, and my, ' C : enter : # # # ' another righteous thrashing number, completely in the vein of The Almighty Punchdrunk. I'm glad alot of you were able to figure oot that title! At the end of the day, we were listening back to all the tracks, and Dev was singing along in the control booth, and pointing out what's gonna go where, and Byron and I were just getting caught up in his vision, and that's when the goosebumps started. Y'know, even though we've worked on the tunes all the way up to the recording, the rest of the band only really knows the basic elements of each song. The guitars, bass, drums, keys, the basic templates of the vocal-lines, that sorta thing. We all do realize however, that as of those first tracking days, the songs aren't gonna turn out any way close to the way we know them. Dev, on the other hand, has the entire landscape of each tune completely mapped out in his head, and no matter how grandiose my, Jed's, Byron's, or hell, even Willy's vision may be of what the final product might be, it in no way even comes close to what Dev hears in his head from the inception. That, my friends, is only a part of the genius that is Devin Townsend. And I get to work with the musician, save for Stevie Wonder, who inspires me most. HOW FUCKIN' COOL IS THAT?
"Okay, I guess that's it for now. I'll be back next week, when we move across town to Profile Studios. Where the rest of the record happens. Take care! 'THE NEW BLACK'-July, 2006.
Gene"
Bad Acid Trip Confirmed For Ozzfest 2006
In case you missed the quiet announcement (like we did), California metallers Bad Acid Trip have been added to the second stage for this summer's Ozzfest. The band, which has toured with System of a Down, released their debut, Lynch the Weirdo, on System frontman Serj Tankian's Serjical Strike label in 2004. The album was produced by System guitarist Daron Malakian. This year's Ozzfest begins June 29 in Auburn, Washington, and will run through August 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
To recap, the Ozzfest 2006 tour dates and lineup are as follows: More...
Sounds Of The Underground DVD Info Revealed
Last year marked the inaugural Sounds of the Underground tour, which saw 17 of the best and most brutal metal acts around traverse the U.S. and Canada in what proved to be a very successful alternative to the more commercial Ozzfest. The tour hit the parking lot of the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on July 2nd, 2005, and with it came almost 5000 fans. Metal bands like A Life Once Once Lost and Strapping Young Lad hammered out their sets alongside hardcore acts like Madball and Throwdown in the sweltering 95+ degree midday heat. As the sun began to set, stalwarts like Chimaira, Poison the Well and From Autumn to Ashes played well into the darkness. All of the passion and power of that day is captured in Sounds of the Underground Live: Vol. 1, which will hit streets on June 20th.
DRT Entertainment will be releasing the DVD which documents the day's festivities, complete with performances from 16 of the 17 artists who participated in the tour. Along with over 90 minutes of performance footage, the DVD also features vignettes on every band on the tour, along with a host of hilarious 'guest interview' segments from members of GWAR, Every Time I Die and Throwdown. The DVD was filmed by Doug Spangenberg of Highroller Studios (Lamb of God's Killadelphia).
Featuring live performances from:
All That Remains
DevilDriver
A Life Once Lost
Madball
High on Fire
Strapping Young Lad
Throwdown
Norma Jean
Every Time I Die
Gwar
Chimaira
Unearth
Clutch
Poison the Well
From Autumn to Ashes
Lamb of God
SYL Complete New Album, To Reissue Debut
Canadian extremists Strapping Young Lad have completed tracking their highly anticipated new album, '"The New Black," which frontman Devin Townsend promises to be the group’s definitive release. The soon-to-be genre defying epic will showcase a new dimension of the SYL beast that puts an emphasis on incorporating more hooks and catchier melodies into the group’s renowned insanity, which is backed up with an abundance of devastating guitar solos. It would be safe to say that you can expect the unexpected.
The album’s U.S. touring campaign will kick off June 29th, as the group joins the second stage lineup at Ozzfest alongside such acclaimed acts as Atreyu, Bleeding Through and Unearth, among others. Townsend further describes his excitement over being a part of Ozzfest and sheds some light on their new disc: “The recording process went amazingly well, and Strapping as a whole is really excited about this effort. We were very inspired with the idea of doing Ozzfest, and the concept we are running with on this record is really based around abhorring the current music scene, yet being a part of it in some weird way. SYL is ready to be a subversive product for the unwitting 14-year-olds to scream along with.
“We also intend to sprinkle a little ugly around all the pretty bands this year. You can think of us as the proverbial pubic hair in the cheesecake of this year’s festival. We are ugly, large and angry. We have also been around longer as a band than 90% of the other bands. This summer is going to be crazy. See you all soon.” More...
Video Interview Of Strapping Young Lad On 4QRadio
4QRadio.com has posted a video interview with Devin Townsend from Strapping Young Lad. Head over to 4qradio.com to watch.
DTB To Play With King's X In Vancouver, SYL Update
The Devin Townsend Band will be playing a one-off show with King's X on April 24th at the Red Room in Vancouver, BC. The bands will play two full sets, no opening bands. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
Devin Townsend is back in studio with Strapping Young Lad and the new songs were mostly written before the Opeth/DTB tour. Devin provided demos to the band to rehearse before he left and now the band is working together on the follow-up to 2005's "Alien." Strapping Young Lad has also secured a second-stage slot at this year's Ozzfest, which is scheduled to kick off July 1 in San Francisco, California.
Initial Ozzfest 2006 Tour Dates Released
The initial dates for Ozzfest 2006 have been announced. The tour dates are as follows:
Jul. 01 - San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater
Jul. 02 - Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheater
Jul. 07 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
Jul. 08 - San Bernardino, CA @ Hyundai Pavilion
Jul. 14 - Kansas City, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Jul. 15 - St. Louis, MO @ UMB Bank Pavilion
Jul. 16 - Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Jul. 19 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Music Energy Center
Jul. 21 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre
Jul. 22 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
Jul. 23 - Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
Jul. 26 - Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
Jul. 27 - Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Jul. 29 - New York, NY @ Randall's Island
Jul. 30 - Hartford, CA @ New England Dodge Music Center
Aug. 01 - Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
Aug. 04 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at The Waterfront
Aug. 05 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion
Aug. 06 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Virginia Beach
Aug. 09 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltel Pavilion
Aug. 13 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Sound Advice Amphiheatre
To recap, the official lineup for this year's Ozzfest is as follows:
Main Stage:
OZZY OSBOURNE (10 shows only)
SYSTEM OF A DOWN
DISTURBED
TBA**
HATEBREED
LACUNA COIL
**Major main-stage band to be announced on May 23
Second Stage:
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
ATREYU
UNEARTH
BLEEDING THROUGH
NORMA JEAN
Second Stage (rotating):
A LIFE ONCE LOST
STRAPPING YOUNG LAD
THE RED CHORD
FULL BLOWN CHAOS
WALLS OF JERICHO
ALL THAT REMAINS
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME
Breaking News
Official Ozzfest 2006 Lineup Revealed
Here is the lineup for Ozzfest 2006 according to a posting on Ozzfest.com, a few hours prior to the previously announced 9 p.m. EST:
Main Stage:
Ozzy Osbourne
System of A Down
Disturbed
Hatebreed
Lacuna Coil
Second Stage:
Black Label Society
Atreyu
Unearth
Bleeding Through
Norma Jean
A Life Once Lost
Strapping Young Lad
The Red Chord
Full Blown Chaos
Walls of Jericho
All That Remains
Between The Buried and Me
A major mainstage act is also said to be announced on May 23rd. There's much speculation of this being Metallica, although their record label and the band have denied those rumors. The full press release posted on Ozzfest.com follows. More...
Century Media U.S. Office Celebrates 15 Years
Century Media has issued the following press release pertaining to their 15th anniversary of their US offices and planned reissues:
Century Media Records' U.S. office, relentlessly championing barrier-shattering music, celebrates its 15-year Anniversary in 2006. Quickly establishing itself as an incendiary musical force, Century Media brought its vision to North America in 1991 delivering its unique European style metal largely ignored by mainstream and underground labels. Tirelessly supporting a disappearing music scene, the label at once became a bastion for the artists creating extreme music and a haven for fans who found themselves disassociated , and thus Century Media generated a resurgence of the musical style.
To celebrate the anniversary, Century Media documents the past while pioneering the future. Commissioning a unique logo for its official releases and communications (as above) the label signifies the anniversary's importance. In the coming months Century Media plans new studio efforts from label heavyweights such as Lacuna Coil and Shadows Fall, and also to reissue early albums from artists who have helped shape their current distinctive image like: Nevermore, Strapping Young Lad, The Gathering, Iced Earth, Moonspell and Stuck Mojo. These reissued CDs will contain reworked artwork, new liner notes with artist comments, and bonus tracks. Passionately expressing songs with images, Century Media artists have been creating videos from the label's onset and two different DVD sets will be forthcoming chronicling these efforts. First off is Century Overload, 2-discs exploding with Century Media's more recent talent delivering musically as well as visually. The discs include over 60 different recently released videos from our current roster including God Forbid, Napalm Death, Arch Enemy, Lacuna Coil and more. Due to incessant demand Century Media has compiled their three out-of-print VHS collections, highlighting the company's first dozen years, and combined them into their second DVD set the 2-DVD release entitled The Visual Experience. Finally, Century Media artists themselves have also contributed special recordings for a CD whose nature will be announced at a later date.
The flagship label of The Century Family, Century Media Records was founded in 1988. Its American branch opened three years later. With nine offices around the globe, the label employs more than 150 people worldwide. Featuring a rich catalog, the label's leading artists today include Shadows Fall, Lacuna Coil, God Forbid, Arch Enemy and Nevermore.
Strapping Young Lad To Release Album In 2006
STRAPPING YOUNG LAD drummer Gene Hoglan has posted the following message on the group's official web site:
"We have just commenced writing for the follow-up to 'Alien'. We're only a week in, and we're already up to four wicked new tunes! I'm really psyched with the new stuff, hell, we all are. And Jed's [Simon, guitar] not even here yet! As everyone knows, STRAPPING is sort of an evolution in progress, and this album will be no different. Anyone looking for an 'Alien Pt. II', or a 'City Pt. II', or hell, even a 'Chicken Feather Pt. II', knows that's not how we work. Fresh new STRAPPING sounds for a fresh new chapter. And, what an exciting chapter this is looking to be. Because, one of the other reasons 2006 is gonna be so rippin' is that, come July, upon the new one's release, STRAPPING has some CRAZY touring plans, which we'll go into later. But, suffice it to say, this will be our most prodigious year, indeed. I'll tell ya all about it next month, no problem... Not that I'm gonna wait a month to drop a new a new batch of verbiage on ya or anything, but, indeed, next month we'll just know more...
"Now, on a side note, I've been hearing from a lot of folks that many of you have not been able to see the 'Zen' video, and we don't have it posted on this site. Well, I promise to get that thing uploaded on here [as soon as possible]. As soon as I figure out how to upload stuff, as I am still a web-troglodyte. Fuck, a 10 year-old kid is a GENIUS compared to me on computers. Yeah, but I bet I could kick ANY 10-year-old's ass in a fight! 'Put 'em up, ya little ankle-bitin' fuckers!' Hey, it could happen..."
Strapping Young Lad Drummer Checks In From Tour
STRAPPING YOUNG LAD drummer Gene Hoglan has posted the following message on the band's official web site:
"What's up there? We are pulling into Glasgow as I write this. The flight over to the U.K. was a piece o' cake, and we got to see the huge oil refinery fire that happened just outside London, fully ablaze as we were landing. Lighting up the sky, like a giant patio lantern. It looked like a RAMMSTEIN concert gone freakishly wrong. Or right, depending on your view of 'em.
"They tried to sweat Willy The Keyboard Guy at immigration for not having the proper documents, which had us bitin' nails for a few minutes, but then Willy slipped the agent a 20, and breezed on through. I didn't know customs agents worked on tips.
"We exited the terminal, to see our new tour bus. Wow. It's very...yellow. A giant, double-decker banana. You'll know the STRAPPING men are in town just by the bus. The very not-cool one. But, it came equipped with quips. Our driver, Little Matty (think Richard Kiel — 'Jaws' from the Bond movies), is quite a character indeed. A rather large man from Newcastle, he's had us crackin' up the whole time we've been over here. Well, when we can decipher the thick Geordie accent. Last night, he was extoling the virtues of black pudding to Dev, 'It's like an angel shitting on your tastebuds.' And a few minutes earlier, also to the Dev, he was recounting his days as a drinker;
"'Back when I drank, I used to like vodka' -Matty
"'With anything?' The Dev.
"'Yeah, another one.' without skipping a beat. That one had me in stitches.
"We've been sharing the bus with our buds THROWDOWN, a pack of righteous dudes, absolutely. Shame the tour's not a little longer, so we can hang a little more, but these five days are quickly cruisin' by.
"Got to hang with the fine ARCH ENEMY folks, very nice. Old buds Jed and Sharlee have been giggling like a couple o' schoolboys about to get into trouble, and I'm sure they'll find it! Haha!
"Unfortunately, the shows we did in Cardiff and Manchester were a little rough and quite unenjoyable for me, just loads of gear problems, which are never fun. But, it doesn't seem that anyone but me noticed how crap my playing was, so thank god for the smoke and mirrors.
"Ya know, when we're supporting, we never get soundchecks, which is totally fine by us, but I've noticed how, until we hit that first note in 'Imperial', we have no idea what that stage is gonna sound like. It's always an interesting crapshoot. C'mon, lucky 7...
"I'd like to point out that yesterday was the 4th anniversary of Chuck's [Schuldiner] passing. Indeed, the man is missed. As is Dime. Mine and STRAPPING's respect to the memories of both fine men, taken by tragedy too soon...
"Tonight looks to be yet another nightmare of stage space. Fucking fun."
Death's 1995 HBB Video Interview For Download
A three-minute video interview with late DEATH mainman Chuck Schuldiner and then-DEATH drummer Gene Hoglan (DARK ANGEL, now in STRAPPING YOUNG LAD), conducted by MTV's "Headbanger's Ball" in Amsterdam, Holland in April 1995, has been posted online at the group's official web site. You can download the clip, which features footage from the band's live performance at Amsterdam's Paradiso in April 1995, at this location (.MPG file, 66 MB).
Schuldiner passed away exxactly four years ago, on December 13, 2001, after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.
Darkane's Road Misfortunes
DARKANE guitarist Christofer Malmström has posted the following tour reports on the band's official web site:
"Yes, tonight ( 12/04) we played the 32nd show of the U.S. tour here in Seattle, WA and tomorrow we'll end the tour in Vancouver where I will finally meet the drummer of my solo project NON-HUMAN LEVEL, Ryan van Poederooyen.
"OK, so we crashed into Seattle... sorry, ...no, we actually crashed in Seattle this morning. Everybody was sleeping when we suddenly woke up by the bus shaking and braking heavily. I thought it would flip over, but in the last second everything was still. All curtains of the bunks opened and a lot of surprised metalheads stuck out their heads. It turned out we had crashed into another car on the freeway right outside Seattle. It was kind of scary, but no one was seriously hurt, I think. After an hour or so, we could leave and head for downtown Seattle, which I think is a very nice city!More...
New Opeth Album Tops Unrestrained's 2005 List
Canada’s UNRESTRAINED! Magazine has named Opeth’s "Ghost Reveries" as the #1 Album of 2005 in their year-end issue that will be on stands December15th, 2005.
The full Top 20 of 2005 (as chosen by the staff) is as follows:
UNRESTRAINED! TOP 20 OF 2005
1. Opeth - Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner)
2. Nevermore – This Godless Endeavour (Century Media)
3. Primordial – The Gathering Wilderness (Metal Blade)
4. Clutch - Robot Hive/Exodus (DRT)
5. Lurker Of Chalice – Lurker Of Chalice (Southern Lord/Total Holocaust)
6. Deathspell Omega – Kenose (N.E.D./Ajna Offensive)
7. Corrosion Of Conformity - In The Arms Of God (Sanctuary)
8. Hypocrisy – Virus (Nuclear Blast)
9. Strapping Young Lad – Alien (Century Media)
10. Between The Buried And Me – Alaska (Victory)
11. Dark Tranquillity - Character (Century Media)
12. Ulver – The Blood Inside (The End)
13. Napalm Death - The Code Is Red... Long Live The Code (Century Media)
14. Rammstein - Rosenrot (Universal)
15. Torche – Torche (Robotic Empire)
16. Green Carnation – The Quiet Offspring (The End Records)
17. Leaves’ Eyes – Vinland Saga (Napalm)
18. Jesu - Jesu (Hydra Head)
19. Slough Feg – Atavism (Cruz Del Sur)
20. Red Knife Lottery – So Much Drama (Uprising)
For more information, visit www.unrestrainedmag.com.
SYL Begin Writing Material For New Album
STRAPPING YOUNG LAD drummer Gene Hoglan has posted the following tour update at the band's official web site:
"What's happening? We're pulling into Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I've got my eyes peeled for that 900 ft. Jesus. I don't see anything. But hey man, if Jesus saves, I'd like to know where he shops...
"Our three shows in Texas were wicked indeed. Houston, Ft. Worth, and San Antonio, all righteous. Texas has always been a strange place to play, sometimes it's fully stormin', sometimes it's blah. This time it was rockin'. In Ft. Worth, we played this ex-movie theater, the Ridgelea. No lightshow to speak of, but FEAR FACTORY had a pretty stormin' slideshow, all thrown together on-the-fly by Burton [C. Bell, vocals]. Nice work, budday...
"In Houston, I got to hang with my bro Kevin Radomski from Pro-Mark Sticks, and he filled me in on the fact they're selling my signature sticks in the stores now, kind of a limited run, but still pretty neato for me! More...
Century Media Release Metal For The Masses Vol 4
Continuing the highly successful Metal For The Masses series, the Century Family unseals Metal For The Masses Volume Four, once again exclusive to Hot Topic locations nationwide. The 2-disc compilation contains 40 tracks totaling over 2 hours of music. The artwork for Volume Four incorporates the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to stunning effect and also depicts the album art for each featured artist within as well as additional artist and album information. Volume Four comes housed in a deluxe double Digipak and is available now at all Hot Topic locations nationwide.
Started in 2003, Metal For The Masses has become The Century Family's largest-selling compilation series, replacing the budget priced Identity series. The Metal For The Masses series is also one of Hot Topic's longest-running exclusive compilations. Selling well over 60,000 copies each, Metal For The Masses continues to disseminate the word of metal.
Disc One Includes Century Media Artists:
God Forbid, Manntis, Diecast, Brand New Sin, Agents Of Man, Shadows Fall, Arch Enemy, The Haunted, Behemoth, Old Man's Child, Naglfar, Strapping Young Lad, Nevermore, Eyes Of Fire, Into Eternity, Cryptopsy, Watch Them Die, Napalm Death, Despised Icon and Immolation
Disc Two Includes:
Nuclear Blast Artists: Dimmu Borgir, Soilwork, In Flames, Meshuggah, Bleed The Sky, Darkane, Mnemic, Hypocrisy, Exodus and Cathedral
Liquor And Poker Music Artists: Fireball Ministry, Nebula, The Hellacopters, The Illuminati, The Black Halos, Crash Kelly, The Thieves, Scott Reeder, American Heartbreak and Backyard Babies
SYL Drummer Checks in From Virginia
STRAPPING YOUNG LAD drummer Gene Holgan has posted the following message on their official website:
"So, last night, we're at the Norva, in Norfolk, Va. It's one of the nicer clubs in North America, with real friendly people, a HUGE greenroom with loads of cool amenities, and a JACUZZI in the headliners' dressing room. Wow! Now that jacuzzi, while cool in theory, is something you'd never see ol' Gene jumpin' into. Bathing in countless other bands' 'egg-drop soup'. Wicked. Sign me up. Maybe set that thing on fire 2 or 3 times, then I might consider it... More...
SYL Concert Video Footage Downloadable
There is a new live performance video of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD playing the track “In The Rainy Season” available in the video section of the Underground Video Television website. The footage was taken during a club off-date of the Sounds Of the Underground Tour over the summer at The Penny Arcade in Rochester NY.