Mastodon

Biography :

Mastodon is an American metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band comprises bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer Brann Dailor. They have released four full-length albums to date, expanding their musical borders from early raw sludge and post-hardcore riffs to later psychedelic multi-layered songs, yet maintaining progressive style with unusual time signatures and odd instrumentation.


History :

Formation and early years (1999–2003)

Mastodon was formed in late 1999 when drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher moved to Atlanta from Rochester, New York and met bassist/singer Troy Sanders and guitarist/singer Brent Hinds at a High on Fire show. They discovered they had a mutual appreciation of sludge metal bands Melvins and Neurosis and '70s hard-rockers Thin Lizzy, and shortly thereafter formed Mastodon. In an interview in 2009, Kelliher revealed that the first time Hinds attended a practice with the band, he "showed up so wasted he couldn't play".

They recorded a demo in 2000, which featured the band's first lead singer, Eric Saner on vocals. Saner left the band for personal reasons after just a couple of months. After recording a four song demo and a 7-inch picture disc through Reptilian Records, Mastodon landed a record deal with Relapse Records in 2001. They released an EP, Lifesblood in 2001 and their first full-length album, Remission, was released in 2002, with the singles "March of the Fire Ants" and "Crusher/Destroyer" (which was also featured on Tony Hawk's Underground). On each of Mastodon's first three full-length albums the last track relates to the Elephant Man.

Leviathan (2004–2005)

Brent Hinds, Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor in 2004

Their album Leviathan was released in 2004 to critical acclaim; the band won Album of the Year awards from Kerrang! and Terrorizer and was named second best by Metal Hammer. Leviathan was also rated 3rd best album in the last 20 years by Metal Hammer. Leviathan is a concept album loosely based on Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick. After the release of Leviathan, the band went on to play in The Unholy Alliance tour in 2004 in Europe with Slayer and Slipknot. The track "Blood and Thunder" features Neil Fallon, of the band Clutch, on lead vocals during the last verse of the song. Mastodon had previously toured with Clutch in 2002 and 2003.

Leviathan was followed by two releases: The Call of the Mastodon, a remastering and remixing of the band's first nine songs, and The Workhorse Chronicles, a DVD of interviews and concert footage, including material from the band's early days as a five-piece. These two releases were Mastodon's last for Relapse records, they would go on to sign with Warner Bros.. Before the release of their next album, Mastodon recorded a cover version of the Metallica instrumental "Orion". This was for a Kerrang! magazine special CD called Master of Puppets: Remastered honoring the 20-year anniversary of the release of the album Master of Puppets by Metallica.

NPR recently included Leviathan lead track "Blood and Thunder" in its list of the 50 most important recordings of the decade.

Also, Leviathan's lead track Blood and Thunder was featured in the soundtracks for the video games Need for Speed: Most Wanted Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010 video game) Project Gotham Racing 3, Saints Row and was added to "Guitar Hero: Metallica" as a playable track on all instruments. "Blood and Thunder" was also licensed song to the Japanese arcade music games Drummania V2 and Guitarfreaks V2.

Blood Mountain (2006–2008)

Their third studio album was eventually released on September 12, 2006 followed by the band going on tour to support the album, touring with Tool in Europe and Slayer in Australia and New Zealand. The Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala lent his vocals to the track "Siberian Divide." Similarly, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme contributed vocals for the song "Colony of Birchmen," and in a hidden track on the album contains a spoken-word piece from him, claiming to be a big fan and that he uploaded their new album on the internet. Before the release of Blood Mountain, Mastodon was a part of the North American Unholy Alliance tour. An online promotional Blood Mountain computer game was even made available.

The band performed the song "Colony of Birchmen" on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien on November 1, their first appearance on network television, to a viewing audience of around 2.4 million people. This song was also featured in the video games, Saints Row 2 and Rock Band 2.

The band's first single off Blood Mountain, "Capillarian Crest" was ranked number 27 in Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 100 Songs of 2006. The album itself was ranked 9th in the magazine's best albums of the year chart. The UK's Metal Hammer voted it the best album of 2006 in its end of year critic's poll. The album was voted in at #5 by Kerrang! in their end of year list. Also number 6 on PopMatters' Best Albums of 2006 and number 1 on The Best Metal Albums of 2006. About.com rated it the top metal album of 2006. Blood Mountain was also named best album of 2006 in the 10th anniversary birthday edition (issue 119) of Bizarre. It also came in at #2 on Revolver magazine's list of the top albums of 2006. The band was named Artist Of The Month for March 2007 at Gametap.com.

The band had been touring and playing numerous shows during this time. Mastodon joined Against Me!, and Cursive for a North American tour, with Planes Mistaken for Stars opening for one leg and These Arms Are Snakes the other. A performance in Milwaukee had to be canceled due to illness on the part of Brent Hinds. Mastodon would play the Hove Festival in Norway as well as on the Main Stage of the Download Festival and then the Pitchfork Music Festival. During this time the band opened for Metallica on the Sick of the Studio tour. The band also played at the 2007 Dubai Desert Rock, the 2008 Bonnaroo Music festivals, and the inaugural Mayhem Festival. Mastodon then toured with Slayer, Trivium, Lamb of God and several other metal bands in 2008 for The Unholy Alliance tour 2008.

The band performed "Colony of Birchmen" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards live with Josh Homme. After the televised performance, member Brent Hinds was reported to have sustained a severe head injury. Blabbermouth.net initially reported that it was the result of a brutal assault but the police report later suggested that an inebriated Hinds had started a fight with System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and vocalist William Hudson, also known as Reverend William Burke of Achozen.

With the explosion of rhythm-based home video games the band has gained additional mainstream exposure. "Sleeping Giant" was made available as a downloadable song for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and "Colony of Birchmen" was included on Harmonix's Rock Band 2. "Blood and Thunder" is also a part of Guitar Hero: Metallica. Mastodon also contributed a cover version of Harry Nilsson's "One" for the video game Army of Two's advertisement campaign. "Divinations" is featured in Madden NFL 10. The band members are fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and in 2007, Mastodon performed the opening song of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, "Cut You Up with a Linoleum Knife". The instrumental versions of the songs "Crack the Skye" and "Oblivion" are also included in the 2009 video game Brütal Legend.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Troy Sanders – Bass, Occasional Keyboards, Vocals (1999–present)
* Brent Hinds – Guitar, Vocals (1999–present)
* Bill Kelliher – Guitar, Backing Vocals (1999–present)
* Brann Dailor – Drums, Vocals (1999–present)

Former Members :

* Eric Saner – Vocals (1999–2000)


Discography :

* Mastodon - Remission (2002)
* Mastodon - Leviathan (2004)
* Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006)
* Mastodon - Crack the Skye (2009) Read More...!!

Mushroom Head

Biography :

Mushroomhead is an American alternative metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in Cleveland Warehouse District, the band's music can be described as a synthesis of alternative music, heavy metal, and electro-industrial. Their new album, Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children, has taken a more eerie Doom Metal tone. Mushroomhead have sold over 880,000 units worldwide, and have made 7 studio albums and 13 music videos. They still remain as an underground band.


History :

Mushroomhead, Superbuick and M3

In 1993, Mushroomhead was established as a side project. To differentiate itself from the members' existing bands and to dispel any misconceptions about the group's sound and musical content, Mushroomhead used costumes, masks and pseudonyms. Mushroomhead played its first show in 1993. Days later, the octet found itself on stage alongside established metal band GWAR. "We played our first show on a Saturday; we were going to play our first show on Friday, but I had to work, so it ended up being on a Saturday" said the band's drummer, Skinny.

In 1995, Mushroomhead released a self-financed debut album Mushroomhead, with their own record label, Filthy Hands Co. (also named as Mushroom Co.). For the members, Mushroomhead became a priority with their original bands breaking-up. Although the line-up saw many changes throughout the 1990s, the band stayed active, steadily releasing music and gaining followers. In 1996 they released Superbuick. In 1999, Mushroomhead released M3, which was the final album self-financed and self-released by the band. Original bass player, Joe 'Mr. Murdernickel' Kilcoyne, formerly of Mystik and the Spudmonsters, could be identified with his bald, pale faced vampire mask.

XX and XIII

In 2001 Mushroomhead released a compilation album titled “XX” on the independent label Eclipse Records. Later in the year, the band signed with major label Universal Records and the compilation was remastered and re-released internationally. The release of the album led Mushroomhead to major national and international tours including Ozzfest 2002; as well as television exposure via their first music video "Solitaire/Unraveling". Also in 2001, guitarist J.J. Righteous was replaced by one of the band's stage dancers, Marko Vukcevich. 2003 saw the release of XIII, their first album with new material for Universal Records. The album produced the single "Sun Doesn't Rise" which was featured on MTV: Headbangers Ball and the Freddy vs Jason soundtrack. Also featuring the hidden track "Crazy", a song originally by Seal. The album debuted at no. 40 on the Billboard Top 200 charts and sold 400,000 copies worldwide.

After an extensive world tour, singer J Mann announced he was leaving the band in August 2004 due to exhaustion and personal reasons. A major reason for his departure was the fact that his father was sick and he wanted to be there for him. He was replaced by Three Quarters Dead singer, Waylon Reavis. In August 2005 Mushroomhead self-released its first DVD on its own Filthy Hands label – "Volume 1". Produced, directed, shot and edited by the band, Volume 1 covers the band's rise in the 2000s with live performances, music videos and behind the scenes footage.

While on the road in 2005, Mushroomhead began the process of writing new material and recording a new album. In December 2005, Mushroomhead signed with Megaforce Records, ensuring the new albums availability nationally and internationally. On June 6, 2006 Mushroomhead launched Mushroom Kombat - an interactive flash feature as a part of the band's official website. The mini-game pits band members against each other in a Mortal Kombat-style environment, each member having a unique fatality.

Mushroomhead headlined with Dope, Nocturne, and New Orleans locals Invain on The Music For Freedom Tour sponsored by Jägermeister at the House of Blues in New Orleans, Louisiana on Tuesday, August 16, 2005. This show was one of the last big acts to play in New Orleans for a long time due to Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans on August 29, 2005.

Savior Sorrow and Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children

Savior Sorrow was released on September 19, 2006, and debuted at #45 on the Billboard 200 charts with sales exceeding 12,000. The band's label stated that sales were closer to 25,000 with the inclusion of sales made while on tour. As a result, SoundScan issued an apology the day following the release of sales data due to mistakes made in estimates. The primary reason given was the lack of inclusion of sales from the Best Buy retailer chain. Sales of Savior Sorrow were roughly 26,000 and the chart entry place was closer to the #30 spot than #73. Savior Sorrow's chart position was later officially adjusted to #50. Simple Survival, the pre-released single to Savior Sorrow, was placed at #39 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart one week after the release. Also in 2006, Daniel Fox (Lil' Dan) joined the band as a touring drummer.

The band has performed 3 shows on the Mayhem Festival tour, filling in for Bullet for My Valentine.

Live footage was compiled into the band's second DVD, titled "Volume 2". On December 29, 2007, Mushroomhead won Video of the Year 2007 on the MTV2 Headbanger's Ball for "12 Hundred" from the Savior Sorrow record. On September 17, 2008, it was announced that the band will release the "Volume 2" DVD on October 28 through Filthy Hands/Megaforce Records. The disc features two and a half hours of content, including live footage from the three-year Savior Sorrow tour, music videos including "12 Hundred", "Simple Survival", "Burn", the short video for "Tattoo", "Save Us" and "Embrace The Ending", video commentary and behind the scenes footage.

To support the DVD, Mushroomhead hit the road with The Autumn Offering, XFactor1, and Human Factors Lab from October 3 in Findlay, Ohio, until November 2 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After the tour, Mushroomhead returned to the studio to record their next album.

They released Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children in September 2010. Within the first week of it's release it became the #1 best selling metal album on iTunes. A new song, "Your Soul Is Mine," appeared on the Saw VI Soundtrack. on October 1, 2010, they released a music video for Come On on MTV at the Headbanger show. It has been confirmed that Mushroomhead is filming for a Volume 3 DVD.


Image and Style :

The members of Mushroomhead have identified themselves by wearing masks and by its distinct “X Face” logo – commonly worn on the masks of most members, as well as clothing and merchandise. The band originally adopted masks and stage names to not conflict with their original bands. The band's look has evolved over the years, featuring alterations to bring them up to date and freshen up the image for new albums and tours.

Since 1999, Mushroomhead has had an on-and-off rivalry with Iowa-based band Slipknot. The feud erupted (mostly among fans) due to the image similarities between the bands; such as the masks and costumes worn on stage. Before signing Slipknot, Roadrunner Records were interested in signing Mushroomhead, but Mushroomhead passed on the deal. The rivalry is now officially over as confirmed in several interviews with Waylon and Skinny. Recently Mushroomhead posted on their official Myspace page their thoughts about Paul Gray's death, they stated: "R.I.P. Paul Gray, This feud needs to end. Much Love and Respect to the guys in Slipknot". Oderus Urungus of the band GWAR has said that GWAR is friends with Mushroomhead, and not all monster metal bands are enemies.

In reference to Mushroomheads style, Allmusic said, "reviewers have mentioned everyone from Marilyn Manson to Evanescence to Slipknot and Sevendust. But truth be told, Mushroomhead had a distinctive, recognizable sound (and a devoted cult following in Cleveland) long before Evanescence or Slipknot broke through commercially — and it would be a huge mistake to think that Mushroomhead is actually trying to emulate any other artists."


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Jeffrey Hatrix (Jeffrey Nothing) – vocals (1993–present)
* Waylon Reavis (Waylon) – vocals (2004–present)
* Dave Felton (Gravy) – guitars (1999–present)
* Jack Kilcoyne (Pig Benis) – bass (1995–present)
* Tom Schmitz (Shmotz) – keyboard (1993–present)
* Rick Thomas (ST1TCH) – turntables, samples, electronics, water drums (2001–present)
* Steve Felton (Skinny) – drums, percussion (1993–present)
* Daniel Fox (Lil' Dan) – water drums, electronic drums, custom percussion (touring 2006-2008; member 2009–Present)

Former Members :
* Joe Lenkey (DJ Virus) – turntables, electronics, samples (1993–1995)
* Joe Kilcoyne (Mr. Murdernickel) – bass guitar (1993–1995)
* Richie Moore (Dinner) – guitars (1993–1999)
* John Sekula (J.J. Righteous) – guitar (1993–2001)
* Jason Popson (J Mann) – lead vocals (1993–2004)
* Marko Vukcevich (Bronson) - Guitars, (2001–2006), turntables, samples (1995–2001), dancing (1993–1995)


Discography :

* Mushroom Head - Mushroomhead (1995)
* Mushroom Head - Superbuick (1996)
* Mushroom Head - M3 (1999)
* Mushroom Head - XX (2001)
* Mushroom Head - XIII (2003)
* Mushroom Head - Savior Sorrow (2006)
* Mushroom Head - Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children (2010) Read More...!!

Strapping Young Lad

Biography :

Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia, 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.

Containing elements of death metal, thrash metal, black metal, progressive metal and industrial metal, Strapping Young Lad's music was characterized by the use of complex time signatures, polyrhythmic guitar riffing and drumming, blast beats and Wall of Sound production. The band's musical direction was mainly determined by Townsend, whose battle with bipolar disorder and dark sense of humour were major influences on his songwriting. Townsend was also noted for his eccentric appearance and on-stage behaviour, which greatly contributed to the band's intense live performances.

The band gained critical success and a growing underground fan base from their 1997 album City. After a hiatus between 1999 and 2002, the band released three more albums, reaching their commercial peak with the 2006 effort, The New Black. Townsend disbanded Strapping Young Lad in May 2007, announcing his decision to retreat from public view while continuing to record solo albums.


History :

Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing and City (1994–1998)

Strapping Young Lad began in 1994 as a solo project of Canadian musician Devin Townsend. Following his work as vocalist on Steve Vai's 1993 album Sex & Religion and its 1994 tour, Townsend believed he had been a "musical whore", spending "the first five years of [his] career working at the behest of other people". During a brief stint as touring guitarist for The Wildhearts, Townsend received a phone call from an A&R representative for Roadrunner Records, expressing an interest in his demos and an intention to sign him. The offer was ultimately rescinded by the head of Roadrunner, who regarded Townsend's recordings as "just noise". He faced further rejection by Relativity Records, the label behind Vai's Sex & Religion, who saw no commercial appeal in his music. Century Media Records subsequently contacted the musician, offering him a contract to "make us some extreme albums". Townsend agreed to a five-album deal with the record label.

Following his tour with The Wildhearts, Townsend began recording and producing his debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, under the moniker Strapping Young Lad. According to Townsend, the recording process took "about a week". Embracing The Wildhearts' anarchist approach, "while focusing on dissonance and just being as over-the-top as [he] could", Townsend sang on the record and performed the majority of its instrumental tracks (with the assistance of a drum machine). A few songs, however, featured local session musicians, including guitarist Jed Simon, Townsend's future band mate.

Released on April 4, 1995, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing was not widely recognized in the metal community. The album sold 143 copies in its first six months, but received favorable reviews from the heavy metal press. Its unusual musical ideas—a synthesis of death, thrash, and industrial metal influences—prompted Andy Stout from Metal Hammer to call it "one of the most disturbing albums you'll hear for a very long time". Nevertheless, Townsend has repeatedly expressed his distaste for the recording. He dismissed the album in the liner notes of the record's 2006 reissue, contending it contained only two great songs. He also deemed its production poor in interviews, referring to the album as "basically a collection of demos that were remixed". When Century Media advertised the reissue of Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing as the "rebirth of a genre-defying classic", Townsend called it "record company bullshit".

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", while Metal Hammer ranked it #13 on its "Top 20 Albums of 1997" list. The album soon gained a cult following and a loyal fan base for the band. City is considered to be the band's best effort by a large number of fans and critics alike. In 2002, the album was #45 on Revolver magazine's "69 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" list, and also appeared on their "Must Have Metal Albums" list in 2005. It also appeared on the "100 Most Important Albums of the Nineties" list conducted by Terrorizer. Townsend himself stated City "is the real Strapping record. That's the ultimate one out of all of them".

The band embarked on a world tour in 1997 to promote the album, which included dates in Europe, the US and Australia. On May 30, 1998, they performed at the Dynamo Open Air festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands, then continued touring the next month in Europe. In June 1998, the group released No Sleep 'till Bedtime, a live album containing songs performed at a 1997 performance at the HiFi Bar and Ballroom in Melbourne, Australia. Century Media was not initially interested in releasing a live record, but impressed with Townsend's production, the label agreed to release it. The band closed the year playing a few more dates in Japan and Australia.

On hiatus (1999–2002)

At the end of 1998, Townsend placed Strapping Young Lad on hiatus to concentrate on his solo career and on his work as a record producer. He had already released two solo albums, Ocean Machine: Biomech in 1997 and Infinity in 1998 and produced several other artists' albums. Townsend explained numerous conflicts with Century Media, and his struggle with bipolar disorder (for which he checked himself into a psychiatric hospital in early 1998), contributed to the curtailment of Strapping Young Lad's activities:

What happened? I signed a shitty deal, but luckily it was non-exclusive. I got tired of doing Strapping so I said, 'I can't do it anymore.' Then I freaked out and went into a hospital. My lawyer said that I was under mental duress when I signed the contract so the contract is void. At that point it was like, 'I just won't do another Strapping record.' Yeah, I went down saying 'CM was the shittiest label ever.' And they went down as saying that I was 'a complete, arrogant psychopath.'

Townsend remained productive between 1999 and 2002, recording two more solo albums, Physicist in 2000 and Terria in 2001, and producing albums for Zimmers Hole, Stuck Mojo and Soilwork, among others. Although Strapping Young Lad was officially on hiatus, they gave occasional live performances, including an appearance on the Foot In Mouth Tour in 2001 with Fear Factory. During this period, Townsend's bandmates were active musically; both Stroud and Hoglan recorded with other bands, and all three were involved in Townsend's solo efforts as studio musicians and as part of his live band as well. Hoglan and Simon also formed a side project called Tenet with Grip Inc. bassist Stuart Carruthers and Interzone frontman Rob Urbinati in early 2002.

In December 2001 Townsend announced, contrary to his earlier public statements, a new Strapping Young Lad album would be released in 2002. He emphasized he was not "forcing" his product upon fans to generate record sales, arguing his band—and its contract with Century—was never a lucrative endeavor. Instead, Townsend's motivation was the "creative anger" sparked by the September 11, 2001 attacks and further cultivated during their 2001 tour. For the first time, the album would be a product of collaborative writing; the band wrote "about half" of the material on the 2001 Foot In Mouth Tour, and the rest at home, starting January 2002. After playing a small number of festivals in 2002, Strapping Young Lad entered the studio in September of that year, to record their third album.

Strapping Young Lad and Alien (2003–2005)

The self-titled Strapping Young Lad was released on February 11, 2003, and became the band's first charting album, entering Billboard's Top Heatseekers at #97. The album received moderate critical success, Nate Smith from Rockzone.com called it a "solid addition to the Townsend catalog", but "not an instant classic", Xander Hoose from Chronicles of Chaos called it "a good album", but also pointed out it is inferior to City. Strapping Young Lad differed from City because it was less industrial and more reminiscent of death metal; the humor pervading the previous two albums became more subdued.

The band toured heavily throughout 2003 and 2004, making stops in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Although Townsend stated Strapping Young Lad might be the last album, the band re-signed with Century Media Worldwide in March 2004 and announced plans for a new album. On November 2, 2004, Strapping Young Lad released a DVD entitled For Those Aboot to Rock: Live at the Commodore, which documented the band's January 16, 2004, performance at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. Bonus features included two music videos, "Relentless" and "Detox", and interviews with band members.

Alien was released on March 22, 2005, selling 3,697 copies in its first week. It reached #32 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, and #35 on the Top Independent Albums chart. Critics praised Townsend's inventiveness and the dynamism of the songs in which "melody and discord meet midway"; Adrien Begrand of PopMatters wrote that "Strapping Young Lad have raised the bar yet again", while Blabbermouth.net's Krista G. called it one of the best albums of the year. Townsend and Hoglan were the primary writers of the album, since Simon and Stroud were busy with other commitments. To prepare for the recording of Alien, Townsend had stopped taking the medication prescribed to treat his bipolar disorder; he explained the experimental noise track "Info Dump" is a reflection on the panicked state of mind that ensued after he stopped taking his medication. The making of Alien was documented and made viewable online on Century Media's official site in February 2005. It was also available as a bonus DVD of the limited first edition of the album.

"Love?" was chosen as the sole single from the album. Its accompanying music video, inspired by the cult horror film, The Evil Dead, was directed by Joe Lynch. The video garnered the band wider attention, and helped "Love?" become one of their most recognizable songs. Jed Simon admitted to having produced a video for this particular song because it had "the most commercial potential". "Love?" was originally one of two confirmed songs for an EP that was supposed to contain four new songs and four covers. Although planned for release in 2003, the EP was eventually canceled.

The band embarked on a headlining tour in the United States in April and May 2005, then went on to tour in Europe. Starting at the end of June, they toured North America as part of the Sounds of the Underground tour, then joined Fear Factory on the Transgression Tour in the U.S. Throughout the tour, Fear Factory bassist Stroud performed with both bands at every concert. Strapping Young Lad concluded the year with a tour in the UK. While on tour, the band started writing the next album, then continued the work in January 2006, and finished the album by May. In the same month, Townsend announced his intention to "take a hiatus from making records for a while" after the end of touring due to exhaustion from continuous recording and producing for the past ten years.

The New Black, and dissolution (2006–2007)

The New Black, Strapping Young Lad's fifth and final studio album, was released on July 11, 2006. Century Media imposed a strict deadline on the release date of the album; it was to be ready before the 2006 Ozzfest festival. Despite this, Townsend stated the recording was not rushed, and The New Black became a critical, as well as a commercial, success. It was more melodic than any of the band's previous albums and brought back the debut album's tongue-in-cheek humor. Having sold more than 4,000 copies during its first week, The New Black reached #200 on the Billboard 200 chart, #15 on the Top Independent Albums, and #8 on the Top Heatseekers charts. Stylus Magazine's Cosmo Lee described it as "heavy, catchy, and with no filler", and About.com's Chad Bowar was also positive, stating that "this is a CD that's dense and heavy, but also has some memorable hooks".

A music video was shot in late May to accompany the sole single from the album, "Wrong Side". In June 2006 Strapping Young Lad embarked on a short festival tour of Europe, including performances at the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals in Germany and the Download Festival in England, which was followed by a second stage appearance at Ozzfest in July and August, where they played to some of their largest audiences in their career.

In an interview conducted by Terrorizer in August 2006, Townsend explained why he decided to put the band on hold:

At the end of the day, man, I'm just tired, and old, and bald, and fat, and grouchy, and bored. You know? So I was just like, I'm going to make this record, and do this stupid Ozzfest thing, and tell a bunch of stupid jokes in front of a lot of people at Download, then I'm just going to fuck off for a while. The bigger this gets, the less I care, to the point where I just need to go spend some time with my family. I don't wanna bastardise Strapping and all these other projects by doing it for the money. Strapping was about the big middle finger, and it still is, but I don't think it needs to go any further than this.

Although Hoglan initially denied the definitive break-up of the band, saying they would go on tour in March 2007, he later stated Strapping Young Lad is on "extended hiatus", and might never reunite again. In May 2007, during a press conference held to promote his new solo album, Ziltoid the Omniscient, Townsend announced his plans to retreat from public view, including giving interviews and touring, to concentrate on his family, and producing solo albums, as well as other people's music. As a result, Strapping Young Lad were effectively disbanded. Townsend discussed his future projects in a May 2007 Metal Hammer interview, where he stated "there may be some stuff I do in the future that is as brutal and heavy as Strapping, it's just not going to be Strapping".

The remastered 10th anniversary edition of City was released on June 7, 2007, in similar vein to the 2006 remaster of Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, with bonus tracks and extended liner notes by Townsend. A career spanning best of album, entitled 1994–2006 Chaos Years, was released on March 31, 2008, with a bonus DVD of live performances and all of the band's music videos.


Musical Style :

Influences

Strapping Young Lad drew influence from a wide range of music genres, most prominently, but not exclusively, heavy metal. Townsend cited, amongst others, Judas Priest, Jane's Addiction, Zoviet France, Grotus, and Frank Zappa as his influences, and also expressed his admiration for Meshuggah on several occasions, calling them "the best metal band on the planet". Simon and Stroud listed classic hard rock bands, like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Kiss, and old school thrash and death metal bands, like Exodus, Slayer and Morbid Angel among their influences, while Hoglan's influences range wildly in style from Stevie Wonder to progressive rock drummers like Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio and Nick Mason. Townsend stated his main influences for Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing were Napalm Death and Fear Factory, City was influenced by bands such as Foetus and White Noise, and The New Black's influences were Meshuggah, and "more traditional metal" like Metallica.

Lyrical Themes

Townsend was the band's primary songwriter. While the first two albums were solely his work, subsequent albums featured a minority of "riffs, lyrical ideas, and song titles" by his band mates.

Despite the brutality of Strapping Young Lad's music, their songs contain hints of tongue-in-cheek humor and self-parody. Frequently, Townsend's lyrics approached serious personal or political issues with a morbid sense of humor. He has likened the band's sense of silliness to that of "Weird Al" Yankovic. Townsend's lyrical influences covered a wide range of themes, including warfare, mathematical theorems, and movies. He also used the technique of cross-referencing, repeating lines from his own works, such as older Strapping Young Lad, or solo material.


Live Performances :

Strapping Young Lad was known for its energetic live performances, mostly owing to the eccentric appearance and persona of Devin Townsend. Adrian Begrand of PopMatters wrote "Nobody in metal today has the same kind of commanding stage presence as the self-professed Bald Bastard, Devin Townsend", and called Strapping Young Lad "one of the best live bands around". Townsend was famous for his on-stage antics; he integrated his ironic and tongue-in-cheek humor into live shows and interacted heavily with the audience. He would deliver comical, and often insulting remarks to them, organize circle pits, and parody heavy metal clichés as well as the genre itself.

The band's humorous approach was also evidenced by a song frequently performed live from 1997, entitled "Far Beyond Metal", a parody of classic heavy metal. It became a live staple and a fan favorite, with lyrics changing practically every performance. Although it was recorded live on No Sleep 'till Bedtime, and on the For Those Aboot to Rock DVD, a studio version was not recorded until 2006 during The New Black sessions. The band was also sarcastic about their own Canadian heritage, they used "Blame Canada", a comedic anti-Canada song from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut as intro music at many concerts in 2003 and 2004.

For a period of time, Strapping Young Lad also played Townsend's solo material live. In 1998, after the release of Infinity, they began performing both Strapping Young Lad and Townsend's solo songs, as two separate sets. It was not until the 2003 release of Accelerated Evolution when Townsend formed a separate band, called The Devin Townsend Band, to act as his full-fledged solo band.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Devin Townsend – guitar, lead vocals, keyboards (studio only)
* Jed Simon – guitar, backing vocals
* Byron Stroud – bass, backing vocals
* Gene Hoglan – drums

Former Members :

* Adrian White – Drums
* Chris Bayes – Drums
* Smokin' Lord Toot – Drums
* Chris Meyers – Keyboards

Touring Members :

* John Morgan – Keyboards (1997)
* Matteo Caratozzolo – Keyboards (1997–1998, 2003)
* Jamie Meyer – Keyboards (1998–1999)
* Jason Filipchuk – Keyboards (1999)
* Chris Valagao – Keyboards (2002)
* Will Campagna – Keyboards (2002, 2005–2006)
* Munesh Sami – Keyboards (2003–2004)
* Jon Miller – Bass (substituting Byron Stroud, July 14–31, 2005)
* James MacDonough – Bass (substituting Byron Stroud, August 1–13,2006)


Discography :

* Strapping Young Lad - Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing (1995)
* Strapping Young Lad - City (1997)
* Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad (2003)
* Strapping Young Lad - Alien (2005)
* Strapping Young Lad - The New Black (2006) Read More...!!