The Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction/Ghost

Devin Townsend has been a busy man. Since the release of Addicted, he has given us ever increasing doses of the finale of his Devin Townsend Project, the last two albums: Deconstruction and Ghost. While released at the same time, the albums couldn’t be any more contrasting in sound. For me, I NEED to listen to Ghost after the chaotic influx that is Deconstruction.

The “third” album of the series, Deconstruction is a very dense record, that becomes even more so the deeper you delve into the album. The first few tracks carry on fairly conventionally, traveling through standard riffs and industrial sounds before blasting into the third track “Juular”; an outburst of aggressive guitar and drum work lays the base for Townsend’s wide range of vocals. The additional accompaniment of a choir give the track a playful but epic feel. Townsend’s clean vocals give way to a more harsh scream and a building momentum into blast beat territory before channeling into the eleven-minute “Planet of the Apes”. Devin’s unique lyrical delivery really shines through as you get a real sense of the range he has. The fifth track “Sumeria” features Joe Duplantier of Gojira (one of MANY guests  on the album) and you can definetely hear his influence in the song. The marching of the guitars and the blend of electronic wizardry in the chorus are just one of the many things to focus on. The choir and vocal delivery is so layered and there’s so much going on, this is where I had to buckle down and settle into the adventure Hevy Devy was guiding me through. The next track “The Mighty Masturbator” is boundary pushing to say the least. A soothing intro breaks way into one of the more powerful moments on the record, the song sounds absolutely MASSIVE. Townsend’s vocals are at his strongest as you hear shades of Addicted‘s “Numbered”. The madness continues through the 16-minute trek as his guitar work really shines before entering an industrial filled interlude of vocal ramblings before the grand finale reminiscent of something you would hear at a fair or circus or Disneyland…Shit gets real. The track “Pandemic” may be the most “metal” track on the album. Hellish drum blasts,  ferocious guitars licks, and a song that was gone just as fast as it began. The title track “Deconstruction” begins with a fart, expands to a cheeseburger, and mentions of penis, drugs, sex and money all occur before Devin completely SHREDS his fretboard, only to exclaim “Good Lord, it’s a cheeseburger! A double!”. Things get weirder as a choir echoes “all beef patties, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”. The deconstruction continues and before you know it, you’ve survived one hell of an aural jolting. A post on Twitter may describe this album best; apparently coming from Greg Puciato (no way to officially confirm) but “Check it out if you wanna sit down and feel like you’re losing your mind”. 

Then comes the finale, the ethereal Ghost. This truly shows the scope of Devin Townsend’s talents, as it is a polar opposite of Decontruction. With a heavy dose of electronics and acoustic instrumentation, the album creates a slow moving, relaxing, and transcending journey exploring a completely different spectrum of the music world. It would be easy for people to believe that Ghost and Deconstruction are albums from two completely different artists. While many metal fans may be wondering “WTF!?!?!” There is plenty to appreciate in these works. While I love metal music, I have an appreciation and respect for a variety of other genres, and as far as a relaxing element goes, Ghost is near the top. I never like to say an album is good to sleep too for fear of making it sounds boring, but damn it, it’s good to sleep to!!!

While these albums bring an end to The Devin Townsend Project, Townsend is probably already hard at work on his next musical move. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here! He is currently on tour with Children of Bodom, Obscura, and Septic Flesh, go check him out!

-Chris

July 13, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Addicted, Deconstruction, Devin Townsend, Ghost, review, The Devin Townsend Project | 1 Comment »