Rating: NNNN
It’s really hard to identify those few albums that in their time could truly be called classic. Who would have been able to predict the impact of Slayer’s Reign In Blood or At the Gates’ Slaughter Of The Soul? On album number six, Vancouver’s SYL offer a devastatingly ferocious beast of a record on which every rousing, anthemic track sounds like it was lifted from a ‘how to write the perfect metal jam’ book. While the production and pacing is exciting and captivating, the band allows for plenty of experimentation with weird funk breakdowns complete with horns, and a lyrical wit you don’t often hear in metal.
Strapping Young Lad play Monday (July 17) at the Opera House.
