HEAVY AS A REALLY DEVY THING

As combustible balls of white-hot rage, the team behind MetalSucks' 21 Best Albums of the 21st Century...So Far wisely opted to avenge the list's incompleteness with a post script, and though my Crown pitch was shot to the ground, it was a thrill to instead tongue-bathe Strapping Young Lad's astounding tour de asskick Alien. More thrilling was the outpouring of pro-Devin Townsend comments; truly, I was shocked at the number of rockers who share my deep spiritual connection with DevyMetal, captured to quintessential effect on SYL's fourth.

Another 50000 words could've been devoted to Alien's depth of brilliance, though most gaps in my disrespectfully brief writing were filled by MS comment jockeys. But the freaky thing is that even among fans of Alien, none mentioned its cousin, Townsend's little-loved Physicist record. Called at the time "Strapping lite," Physicist was proto-Alien cacophony folded into some of Devy's most memorable messages and melodies (above, die if you don't love it). On MS, pastoral, expansive records like Ocean Machine, Terria, and Infinity (home to "Dynamics," current vote leader in the HooM! Funeral Song poll to the right) get all the love, but let's not forget the Revolver to Alien's Sgt. Pepper. Crank it.