New Black

Strapping Young Lad is known for a particular sort of musical zaniness within the framework of its punk-metal sound; to their credit, they never shy away from extending metal's boundaries. That impulse reads stronger than ever on 2006's THE NEW BLACK as the band weaves in satiric commentary, jazz fusion, allusions to classic metal, and passages of surprising melodicism among the all-out-shredding heaviness. Frontman Devin Townsend is in fine form as a screamer and an unconventional lyricist (note the tirade of "You Suck"), but it is the band's ability to blend genres while delivering brain-crushing heavy metal that wins the day.