Strapping Young Lad gained notoriety through their relentless and timeless sophomore album City, though like many other popular metal bands, Devin Townsend originally flexed his Industrial muscles on a debut album that was sorely overlooked. Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, flawed though it may be, was the start of all the aggressive trademarks that SYL would carry with them throughout their five-album career, and while the thrash/death/grind tinged industrial metal hadn’t quite been perfected at this point, HaaRHT is much more than shelf space filler for Townsend completists. It’s a genuinely enjoyable album that contains a good deal of the oddball humor, varied songwriting, and general pissed-offedness of the band’s later albums, and while there’s not much stopping one from reaching for the superior albums City or Alien instead of Heavy Thing when craving some ‘Lad, there’s plenty to enjoy in this more-than-competent debut when given a chance.

SYL begins the album with the track, erm, S.Y.L., and what a way to kick things off indeed! Townsend’s insanity is in prime form here, complete with an unhealthy overdose of f-bombs and vocals that vary from lunatic whispers to frantic growls, though the chorus is undoubtedly reminiscent of his spacey, proggy solo work. And through the galloping riffs and thrashing drums, it is also apparent that there is a much heavier industrial influence than on other SYL releases, which is carried on in even more obvious forms in tracks such as Goat and Cod Metal King; the latter of these is a bit disappointing because of its synthetic drum sound and uninteresting guitar work, though the track is saved by its engaging song structure. Another thing to note is the production - it’s really, really good for a debut, and just as good as on City, though the kick drum is a bit too typewriter-y for my taste.

Another highlight is the downright insane Happy Camper (Carpe B.U.M.); the pace is nothing short of breakneck, and Townsend’s breathless vocals here make the song a sort-of precursor to the classic Oh My Fucking God. Following this track is the wonderfully thrashy Critic, though after this the quality of Heavy Thing slips a bit. Filler / Sweet City Jesus comes next, and while it starts off promisingly enough, the lack of variation (the same riff seems like it’s played for, literally, ages) makes it a major disappointment. The last two songs - Skin Me and Drizzlehell - are thankfully much better, though after the uninteresting Filler (appropriate song title, no?) I found my interest in the album had dipped quite a bit. My advice is to skip that track altogether while listening, though if you enjoy it (and I know of some that do) then more power to you. And at the end, there’s even a nice hidden track, Satan’s Ice Cream Truck, awaiting you; while not exactly a song you’ll listen to on a regular basis, it absolutely deserves mention because, well, it is the most insane thing that Townsend has ever written. And that’s saying a lot.

Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing is unfortunately not an example of Townsend at his top form because of somewhat inferior songwriting when compared to SYL‘s later releases, but even so, this is still a great album that still manages to dominate 90% of industrial metal today (but this is coming from someone whose fondness for industrial doesn’t extend much further than Ministry). It’s a very fitting entry in Devin’s catalog, as it should be in the shelves of many a metal fan; don’t let the 60% average rating on Metal Archives dissuade you, because Heavy Thing deserves to grace many a headbanger's generous ears.