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''Alien'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian
extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
band
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad 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' ...
. It was released on March 22, 2005. The album was written by
Devin Townsend
Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) 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 ...
and
Gene Hoglan
Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) 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 pla ...
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.
Background
Townsend was diagnosed with
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
around 1998, a condition that was unknowingly exacerbated by his alcohol and drug use at the time.
To compensate, he was prescribed anti-psychotic medication, but by the time of the writing and recording of ''Alien'', he began expressing doubt about the initial diagnosis, and decided to stop taking the medication,
but continued with his substance abuse, and he eventually "flipped out" during the process, and called the resulting album "toxic" and "psychologically very unhealthy".
Townsend and Hoglan were the primary writers of the album, since Simon and Stroud were busy with other commitments.
Townsend has stated that the easiest track to record for the album was "Zen", and the most difficult track to record, "Skeksis", was also his favourite. 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. The band recorded a cover of
Tom Jones's "What's New Pussycat?" that was scheduled to appear on ''Alien'', but it was not recorded entirely because "it did not fit the flow" of the album. The song is not expected to be released anytime, even though
Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in Octob ...
has reported so.
Due to some kind of error, the unmastered promotional release of ''Alien'' (and subsequently the early leaks of the album on the internet) contained the longer version of "Love?" and a version of "We Ride" which had most of the guitar solos missing. Also, on this promo release the track "Thalamus" was credited as being called "Landscape". Previous to the promotional release, press releases credited "Thalamus" as being called "Mega Bulldozer".
The voice heard during the intro to the song "Two Weeks" belongs to a British mathematician
Andrew Wiles
Sir Andrew John Wiles (born 11 April 1953) is an English mathematician and a Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Oxford, specializing in number theory. He is best known for proving Fermat's Last Theorem, for which he was awar ...
. Wiles was interviewed for an episode of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary series ''
Horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...
''
that focused on Fermat's Last Theorem.
Song information
"Love?"
"Love?" was chosen as the sole single from the album. Townsend has stated that the chorus was "ripped off" from the song "
City of Love" by the band
Yes. Townsend added, "I met
Jon Anderson
John Roy Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across thre ...
at one point and told him. He seemed to find it funny." Allmusic described the song's chorused harmonies as "
King's X
King's X is an American rock band that originated in 1979 in Springfield, Missouri. They were first called The Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact for m ...
from hell".
In 2018, the band
Machine Head
A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...
released the album
Catharsis
Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...
which contained the song "Beyond the Pale", with a riff that mirrors that of "Love?" almost note by note. Machine Head's Robb Flynn claimed that it was accidental plagiarism, that he spoke with Devin Townsend, and Devin referenced the Yes "rip off". The two musicians are in good terms.
Its accompanying music video, inspired by the cult
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
, ''
The Evil Dead
''The Evil Dead'' is a 1981 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, produced by Robert Tapert and executive produced by Raimi, Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, who also starred alongside Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeMan ...
'', 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 cancelled.
A second music video was released for the track ''Zen'', which would also later appear in 2007 film ''
Shoot 'Em Up
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
'', where Clive Owen's character notices that the ''Zen'' music video calms a crying baby. The song "Love?" was featured in the 2005 video game ''
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown'' and later, the single was featured on the in-game radio station 106.66 The Blood, in ''
Saints Row: The Third''.
"Info Dump"
Townsend explained that the final track "Info Dump", an instrumental
noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
track, is a reflection on the
panicked state of mind that ensued when he stopped taking his medication prescribed to treat his bipolar disorder. The screaming child at the end is meant to represent his realization.
There are pulses of sounds heard in the middle of the track that, in
Morse code
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
, translate to the word "
om". The rhythm of these sound pulses were later used to create the rhythm used at the end of "Colour Your World" on Townsend's album ''
Ziltoid the Omniscient
''Ziltoid the Omniscient'' is the tenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records in May 2007, and distributed in America and Europe by InsideOut Music.
The album is a concept album about a ...
''.
In a retrospective point of view, Townsend said that the track was "basically structured noise containing a morse code for a math equation," and that during the recording of the album he watched a television program about mathematician
Andrew Wiles
Sir Andrew John Wiles (born 11 April 1953) is an English mathematician and a Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Oxford, specializing in number theory. He is best known for proving Fermat's Last Theorem, for which he was awar ...
about his solving of
Fermat’s Last Theorem. "
t was
T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...
a problem thought previously insolvable with a very elegant solution: X2 + Y2 = Z². Although I’m far from a mathematician, I enjoyed the thought that two opposing ways of thinking could be linked by a simple equation. I was just struck with that during the ''Alien'' time, and it just so happens that ‘Ziltoid 2’, ‘Z²’, is an answer for me—of how to proceed. It just seems to tie up everything, including Strapping, in a way that I think is satisfying."
Release
''Alien'' was released on March 22, 2005, selling 3,697 copies in its first week. It reached No. 32 on the ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers chart, and No. 35 on the
Top Independent Albums
The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by ''Billboard'' magaz ...
chart.
Critical reception
Critics praised Townsend's inventiveness and the dynamism of the songs in which "melody and discord meet midway";
Adrien Begrand of
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
wrote "Strapping Young Lad have raised the bar yet again",
while
Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in Octob ...
's Krista G. called it "a total and complete metalized SHIT FIT" and one of the best albums of the year.
Townsend himself has gone on to state that "Alien" is the Strapping album that he's "most proud of".
Track listing
Personnel
Strapping Young Lad
*
Devin Townsend
Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) 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 ...
–
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
,
samples,
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
*
Gene Hoglan
Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) 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 pla ...
–
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*
Byron Stroud
Byron Stroud (born February 12, 1969) 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 Inc ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, associate production
*
Jed Simon
Jedson Louis Simon (born February 27, 1964) is a Canadian musician. 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, and TENET. He is ...
– guitar
Additional personnel
*
Dave Young – keyboards, vocals
*Will Campagna – live keyboards
Male vocal choir
Chris Valagao, Rossy Living, Cam Krotche, Will Campagna, Shane Clark, Ross Gale, Christ Stanley, Will Cochrane,
Ash Manning,
Ross Empson,
Mike Quigley, Billy Marquardt and Jeff Cook.
Female vocal choir
Laurielynn Bridger, Marnie Mains,
Ani Kyd
Ani Kyd (born September 15, 1969) is a Canadian, Vancouver-based musician, actor, and life coach.
Career
Kyd has worked with musicians including Meegan Bradfield (Limblifter), Lisa Wagner (Cello player for Moist), Gene Hoglan (Strapping Youn ...
, Tammy "Tamz" Theis, Magdalena Bulak, Shay Ward, Steph Reid, Deborah Rodrigo-Tyzio,
Michelle Madden
Michelle may refer to:
People
*Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael
* Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle"
* Michelle (German singer)
* Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish w ...
, and Joanna Ussner.
Children vocals
Dorian Glaude-Living, Damian Moore, Ethan Belcourt-Lowe and Jayden Gignac.
Production
*Shaun Thingvold – engineering,
mixing
*Kristina Ardron – 2nd engineering, editing
*
Ryan Van Poederooyen
Ryan Joost Van Poederooyen (; born November 13, 1972), often referred to by his initials RVP, is a Canadian drummer. He gained international recognitionSharpe-Young, Garry (2005). ''New Wave of American Heavy Metal''. p. 157. New Plymouth: Zonda ...
– drum technician
*Alex Aligizakis – editing
*Scott Cooke – editing
*Bryan Seely – editing, assistant
*Rob Stefanson – assistant
*Alan Wong Moon – assistant
*Greg Reely –
mastering at Green Jacket Studios
*
Travis Smith – art consultant
*Per Johansson – artwork, layout design
*Omer "Impson" R. Cordell – photography
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2005 albums
Strapping Young Lad albums
Century Media Records albums
Albums produced by Devin Townsend
Albums recorded at Armoury Studios