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The Devin Townsend Project: Addicted

24/11/09 || GardensTale

Something very strange happens to me when I listen to this album. Muscles in my face twitch and cramp up, pulling the corners of my mouth upwards. My head compulsively starts moving in time with the music, and my foot does too. Images of sunny beaches and fun parties pop into my head. I can see bright flashes, colors the 90’s liked to combine in their dance halls and Eurovision pop contests.

And I love it.

Let me take a step back. We all know Devin Townsend around here. He’s been both loved and hated, but mostly loved, with nearly every album he made, but considering his progressive side, the “Biomech”, “Terria” and “Infinity” albums first and foremost are almost universally praised. With those three, Devin pretty much perfected the Wall of Sound. The massive feeling of being hit with the force of music… Any fans recall the first time they played “Infinity” and the opening track swept over you in massive, pulverizing waves of HALLELUJAH?

Many missed that sound when Devin returned to the scene after disbanding Strapping Young Lad and the Devin Townsend Band. “Ki”, the first part of the Devin Townsend Project quadrilogy, was mostly quiet, and the production was appropriately clear and silent. It seemed like Devin’s interpretation of Pink Floyd. Personally, I loved it. Devin doesn’t let one formula bind him. He tried different things and will continue to do so, all with his musical vision. I know this sounds like a lot of pretentious bullshit, but let’s face it; there’s not a lot of people who live entirely for and with music. The guy doesn’t do anything else! I highly suspect he wakes up and has a sandwich with guitar strings every morning.

So now, we’re back where this review began. “Addicted”. Considering every track has an exclamation mark, I’d have thought the album title would, too. And it’s poppy. It’s happy. It doesn’t meander from song structure to jam to skit to ambience, like “Ki”, like your average Pink Floyd record. For the most part, it’s in-your-face, simple, easy to swallow. Poppy. And, yes, it is good. And, yes, it is still metal.

The most metal is the production. The Wall of Sound is back in full glory, driving a fifty ton bulldozer across your face. But it’s a happy and boppy bulldozer, painted in stylish matte black with three different colors of fluorescent neon around the edges. There’s a lot of keyboards that remind of the good time disco tunes that were so sickeningly sweet everyone thought you were dancing as you were struggling to hold your lunch in. But, that’s not the case here. It’s addictive. It’s cheerful. It’s FUN! How often does metal promote fun? We used to think of the term ‘pop metal’ in connection to, say, Evanescence or similar borderline rock kind of commercial suck-up music. Well, ladies and germs, there’s a new kind of pop metal in town.

Devin doesn’t do it alone, of course. I don’t think he ever let someone else sing so much on a record of his own, but by the power of Greyskull, there’s some strange tingling feelings creeping up on me when Anneke van Giersbergen of The Gathering fame sings the lyrics to the entirely revamped Ziltoid song “Hyperdrive!”. Her voice is one of the most honest and beautiful I have heard in a long time, having sadly missed the Gathering freight train when it was still on its tracks. And there’s no denying the inescapable catchiness of her delivery during the chorus of the most poppy track on here, “Bend it like Bender”.

We are one and we have found they only wanted you around
To hold it down, so hold your ground,
We won’t be here forever!
We are young and we have fun and all we’ve found in being around is ‘All and all’ and ‘Holy cows’
While things keep getting heavy!

The hooks are plentiful and powerful in pretty much all songs. A single weak point goes to “In-Ah!”, the ballad of the album, which sounds a bit too forced to be sincere. It has its moments, but they’re few and mostly stem from neat producing tricks and the good vibe of the Devin-Anneke duet. However, I found this the only song that could really be pointed out as a weak link, and it still beats most ballads by a landslide.

The songwriting gets more and more dense towards the end, feeling more progressive, and the increasing layering seems to confirm this. By the time the gorgeous “Numbered!” rolls along, there’s three Annekes backing a freeform soloing Anneke. You can delve into each layer and find new details, depending on what you like to focus on. Of course, Devin himself still sings, and no decline in quality has been noted so far. In “Awake!”, his epic tenor is still very able to sweep you off your feet. But though the twin vocals are the main focus, the simple yet catchy guitars, unparalleled (yes, I used that word!) use of synths and precise, effective drums all fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

I understand many will be looking disgusted by now. Pop metal? Vengaboys got plastered with guitars? What? Relax. Take a deep breath. It’s okay to be happy and cheerful, sunny beaches are generally a good place to be, and we’re still metal. For some people here, I reckon metal is their dark scarring nightmare, the place where inspiration takes the shape of ugly nighttime monstrosities, and these dark demons is where you hide away from the sun. It’s okay, this is simply not your record. You’ll just need to wait for “Deconstruction”, which Devin claims to be a return to the dark complex brutality of Strapping Young Lad.

But in the meanwhile, I got me a fluorescent drink and am dancing on a beach in my head, still happy, still metal.

Information
Released: 2009
Label: HevyDevy Records
Website: www.hevydevy.com
Band
Devin Townsend: vocals, guitar
Anneke van Giersbergen: vocals
Mark Cimino: guitars
Brian Waddell: bass
Ryan van Poederooyen: drums

Tracklist
01. Addicted!
02. Universe in a ball!
03. Bend it like Bender!
04. Supercrush!
05. Hyperdrive!
06. Resolve!
07. Ih-ah!
08. The way home!
09. Numbered!
10. Awake!

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