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Devin Townsend: Accelerated evolution

30/06/08 || The Duff

Ah, Devin. The finest musician of our time. Has released three stunning efforts under his solo project name, namely “Ocean Machine”, “Infinity” and “Terria”. What happens when he slips results in efforts like “Physicist”, “Ziltoid” and this effort here, yet “Accelerated Evolution” is still a breathtaking affair, filled with the usual “Complete Guide to Life in General”-style music the man is famous for; the two things that hold this effort back is that it kicks off far stronger than it finishes, and that it contains a pop/rock feel that greatly misrepresents the man’s traditionally unique, creative style.

On this album, you definitely get Devin’s most emotional performance, specifically in the vocal delivery (one reason I think Devin to be so untouchable as a musician is due to his vocal abilities), but following up on something as majestic as “Terria” wasn’t going to be easy; the music ranges from the aforementioned pop/rock (which isn’t so bad considering Devin still knows all there is to know about tone and how to create a larger than life sound), the feeling of the more sombre moments off of “Terria”, the downhearted quirky side to “Infinity”, and the uplifting vibe of “Ocean Machine” – very little is taken from the slightly underrated “Physicist”, except possibly the aggravated vocals that often generate tags such as “SYL-lite” when overlaid Dev’s solo outings.

So when I say the first half of the album being the strongest, this is to say the larger half, if there is such a thing. All tracks up until the mostly-instrumental “Away”, with the exception of “Traveller”, are up to the usual standard for a man as musically gifted as the Dev. Always one to wear his heart on his sleeve, tracks like “Storm”, “Deadhead” and “Suicide” show just how well the man connects his inner-self to the music he writes, and “Depth Charge” and “Random Analysis” are both just as profound only more in the metal/rock realm of things.

Also check out solos on “Suicide” and “Away” to show why the guy is one of metal’s most overlooked guitar players – technique is often sacrificed for feel in many of today’s players, yet Devin completely ravishes the listener with insanely complicated licks and techniques, yet these are overlooked from a technical standpoint because they radiate such an astounding degree of feeling; Devin has probably overtaken even legendary Steve Vai, who took him under his wing so many years ago.

So, of the three “dud” albums I believe Devin to be responsible for, this is by far the strongest. Any fan of past albums is unlikely to be disappointed with “Accelerated Evolution” as it’s an amalgamation of everything the man has done to this point in his career with a couple of added elements thankfully kept to a minimum, thereby not tarnishing the album as much as possible – Devin has kept very true to his fans with “Accelerated Evolution”, and refrained from being as adventurous as usual when releasing a new effort; this album contains some of his finest work and shouldn’t be avoided.

8/10.

Information
Released: 2003
Label: Inside Out
Website: www.hevydevy.com
Band
Devin Townsend: guitars, vocals
Ryan Vanpoederooyen: drums
Brian Waddell: guitars
Mike Young: bass

Tracklist
01. Depth charge
02. Storm
03. Random analysis
04. Deadhead
05. Suicide
06. Traveller
07. Away
08. Sunday afternoon
09. Slow me down

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