CD Review: Devin Townsend Project – Addicted
November 5th, 2009 Filed under: Made In Canada, Reviews - Music by admin
CD Review – Devin Townsend Project
Addicted
HevyDevy Records/Century Media/E1 (Canada)
Let’s face it, for most artists who decide to sober up, the music they produce in their new founded clear-headedness becomes far removed from (and often inferior to) the music they produced with the help of their “friends.” Not to say that drugs are necessary to write good music, but if an artist usually writes in this way, removing one of the main ingredients in their process can lead to substandard results. An extreme exception to this rule is the recent work from the now sober Devin Townsend. Although he’s admitted that after quitting drugs he had some trouble getting back into writing, after 3 years away from the rigors of touring and fronting an active band, he’s managed to produce an abundance of quality material which he compiled into a four-part series consisting of the now-released Ki, the upcoming Addicted and the later Deconstruction and Ghost.
While each track contributes to the overall feel of the album, some that really stand out include “Awake,” “Resolve,” the beautifully powerful “Supercrush” and the Ziltoid cover “Hyperdrive” which Anneke van Giersbergen –who helps take on vocal duties – sings solo. While Addicted might take a couple run through to hook you, once it does it just gets better and better with each listen; it has a kind of reverse effect- the more you listen to it the less repetitive it gets. This can be attributed to the insane amount of subtle details Devin has worked into each track, many of which seem to emerge as your ear gets accustomed to the music.
While different from his work in both Strapping Young Lad and the Devin Townsend Band, there are many times when Addicted feels like a merging of the two, this time with more subtle and delicate layers woven in. The wall of sound is still present but in a more intricate and less extreme form as it was with Strapping. Shifting moments of introspection, power, uncertainty and determination create a different kind of intensity. Nonetheless, no matter which band or character he’s assumed throughout his career, Devin Townsend’s music has always retained an unquestionably unique feel; Addicted is no different.
Addicted is in Stores worldwide November 17, 2009.
By Alxs Ness
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[...] this time with a four-part series. ABORT Magazine’s Alxs Ness sat down with Devin to discuss his upcoming release ‘Addicted’, his experience behind the boards and his views on the music [...]