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I was wondering what you guys think of them? Ive been wondering if it was worth picking up a CD. What album would you guys recommend?

the last 2 SYL releases were annoying and gay, get all their other stuff. Can't go wrong with the DTB though.

Don't really understand the lack of enthusiasm for 'Alien'. I honestly felt that it was the best of Strapping Young Lad, but I guess it's such an odd album that different people react to it differently.

Agree with you on 'Ocean Machine', it's easily my favourite Devin Townsend work, though I'll admit I have yet to hear much of 'Terria', so that might change when I finally manage to track down a copy. Everyone seems to love 'Infinity' to death, but I found it a little staid, and eclipsed by most of his other works.

As for 'The New Black', well... I understand why he felt it necessary to make the album the way it was, but thats kind of why I dislike it. Devin basically stated in an interview, in regards to the Ozzfest tour and getting 'The New Black' out, that it was time to suck some corporate c**k, and thats pretty much what a lot of the songs on that album do, in a kind of self deprecating way. It's easily their most accessible stuff yet, with chugging 'modern' sounding guitar passages in songs like 'Hope' and '********', and Devin even acknowledges the change in their sound (from the last album, Alien) towards a new accessible rock sound in the lyrics for '********'.
"I've said it before, now I'll say it again
It was all too much for the Alien
So heavy metal, ******** it, rock
We're doing it for the baby"

Essentially, if this is his latest attitude, I'm glad he's taking a break from the music industry for a while (due to the birth of his child), because I was really bummed out by 'The New Black'. It has a couple of good songs ('Wrong Side' kicks insane amounts of a**, though) backed up by a lot of really 'easy', modern hard/alt rock. Thus far I have tried to avoid using the phrase 'nu metal', but I think as a descriptor for some of this album it does come close.

So yeah, theres my 10 cents!

I've heard the same thing about Synchestra. If it's thematically similar to Accelerated Evolution rather than Infinity, I'll have to pick it up. I love all of Accelerated Evolution, even the bonus project EKO tracks that came with it ('Sunday Afernoon' would have to be one of my favourite chill-out tracks ever. It's just so..... understatedly epic. If that makes any sense).
On flow, yeah, Alien didn't flow too well, but come to think of it, The New Black did have good flow. I guess I need to listen to their self titled album some more, I don't actually own it myself and haven't heard it in ages.

How about Devlab and The Hummer? I've heard one track from Devlab, and it's super insane out-there ambient noise-core. Or something. I'd definitely be tentative about actually getting either album though, they sound a little spacey, even for somebody who is partial to the occassional electronica styled band or album.

Devlab is noisecore/ambient/glitch. It's a fun listen if you're feeling like totally zoning out in a 'bad' way. Listen to it when you're dead tired or something.
As for the Hummer, it's ok. I was expecting something brilliant (cause it's Dev), but it's just ok ambient. Nothing special, just ambient the way it should be.

The lead singer looks REALLY weird. The bald in the middle and then really long hair.. Sorta creepy...yeah eek

Hes like an american physcotic Bill Bailey sweatdrop xp