The New Black

This article is about an album by Strapping Young Lad. For other uses, see The new black.

The New Black is the fifth and final studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on July 11, 2006, debuting at No. 200 on the Billboard charts.^[1] A music video was shot for the album's sole single, "Wrong Side", and another video, done in CGI, was made for the non-single song "Almost Again".

The New Black
Studio album by Strapping Young Lad
Released	July 11, 2006 (2006-07-11)
Recorded	2006
Genre	Extreme metal industrial metal progressive metal
Length	42:43
Label	Century Media
Producer	Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad chronology
Alien (2005) The New Black (2006) 1994–2006 Chaos Years (2008)
Devin Townsend chronology
Synchestra (2006) The New Black (2006) The Hummer (2006)

Background

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,^[2] 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 humour.^[2]

"Decimator" references "Depth Charge" from Accelerated Evolution. "Far Beyond Metal" is a studio recording of a tour song previously released on No Sleep 'till Bedtime and For Those Aboot to Rock. "Almost Again" emulates the keyboard-heavy ending of "Truth" from Infinity. "Polyphony" shares a riff with "Judgement" from Synchestra. A riff from "Monument" was later used as the bridge riff of "Lucky Animals" on Epicloud. An instrumental version of "Fucker" was released on Contain Us.

Promotion and touring

A music video was shot in late May to accompany the sole single from the album, "Wrong Side".^[3] 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 the largest audiences in their career.

Packaging

The album comes packaged with a second CD featuring a sampling of various other Century Media artists. The European version contains two bonus tracks: "The Long Pig" and a cover of Melvins' "Zodiac".^[4] The Japanese version contains "The Long Pig" and the instrumental "C:enter:###".

Release

The New Black was released on July 11, 2006. Having sold more than 4,000 copies during its first week, The New Black reached No. 200 on the Billboard 200 chart,^[5] No. 15 on the Top Independent Albums, and No. 8 on the Top Heatseekers charts.^[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[7]
Allmusic	[8]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	6/10[9]
Stylus Magazine	B+[10]

Stylus Magazine's Cosmo Lee described the album as "heavy, catchy, and with no filler",^[10] and About.com's Chad Bowar was also positive giving the album four and a half stars out of five, stating that "this is a CD that's dense and heavy, but also has some memorable hooks".^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Decimator"	2:53
2.	"You Suck" (featuring Cam Kroetsch)	2:40
3.	"Anti-Product"	3:56
4.	"Monument"	4:11
5.	"Wrong Side"	3:35
6.	"Hope"	5:02
7.	"Far Beyond Metal" (featuring Oderus Urungus)	4:36
8.	"Fucker" (featuring Bif Naked)	3:53
9.	"Almost Again"	3:43
10.	"Polyphony"	1:54
11.	"The New Black"	6:15
Total length:		42:43

All lyrics are written by Devin Townsend; all music is composed by Strapping Young Lad

European bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"The Long Pig"	1:22
13.	"Zodiac" (Melvins cover)	3:59

Japanese bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"The Long Pig"	1:22
13.	"C:enter:###"	3:04

Personnel

• Devin Townsend – vocals, guitar, production
• Jed Simon – guitar, backing vocals
• Gene Hoglan – drums, percussion
• Byron Stroud – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Will Campagna – keyboards, backing vocals
• Cam Kroetsch (The Almighty Punchdrunk) – guest vocals on "You Suck"
• Oderus Urungus (Gwar) – guest vocals on "Far Beyond Metal"
• Bif Naked – guest vocals on "Fucker"
• Chris Valagao Mina (Zimmers Hole) – guitar, backing vocal
• Shaun Thingvold – engineering
• Mike Fraser – mixing
• Ryan Van Poederooyen – drum technician
• Travis Smith – artwork and photography

Charts

Weekly chart performance for The New Black

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11]	63
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[12]	17
French Albums (SNEP)[13]	139

References

1. Century Media Records
2. Donnelly, Justin. "Devin Townsend Feature Interview". Blistering. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
3. "Strapping Young Lad To Film 'Wrong Side' Video; Extras Needed". Blabbermouth.net. May 24, 2006. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. Voivod. "Century Media Records". .centurymedia.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
5. Harris, Chris (July 19, 2006). "Thom Yorke's No Match For Chamillionaire, Kelly Clarkson In Billboard Race". MTV. Archived from the original on January 2, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
6. "Artist Chart History - Strapping Young Lad". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
7. Bowar, Chad (2006). "Strapping Young Lad - The New Black Review". About.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
8. The New Black at AllMusic. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
9. Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 471. ISBN 9781-926592-20-6.
10. Lee, Cosmo (July 31, 2006). "Strapping Young Lad - The New Black - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
11. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 269.
12. "Strapping Young Lad: The New Black" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
13. "Lescharts.com – Strapping Young Lad – The New Black". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2022.

External links

• The New Black at Century Media Records