Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Devin Townsend Project
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: year_month
Length: 57:58 (Sky Blue), 1:00:23 (Dark Matters)
Rating: 4.5/5
Hyperactive Canadian music nerd Devin Townsend has, believe it or not, put out twenty-three studio releases in twenty years of activity (counting Strapping Young Lad). That alone says plenty about the incredible productivity of his fruitful career, and when you add the fact that not a single one of those albums marks a major dip from the consistently high quality of his work, it’s clear that Townsend is without a doubt one of the greatest musical creators of the last twenty years. After Strapping Young Lad called it quits that’s maybe even more obvious, because even though the end of SYL was supposed to mean some kind of calming of his spirit and time for deeper, more contemplative songwriting, Devin simply broke off the chain. From 2009 to today he’s strung together the Ki-Addicted-Deconstruction-Ghost tetralogy, the pompous Epicloud (with its companion disc Epiclouder, which, despite being a bonus disc, often even tops its big brother), the London spectacle The Retinal Circus, and the quiet, calm, meditative and ominous project Casualties of Cool (again a double CD). Meanwhile, Devin kept working on, and announcing, sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly, the follow-up to one of the best albums of his career: the concept record about a bug-eyed alien with an unquenchable thirst for black coffee, Ziltoid the Omniscient. And Devin wouldn’t be Devin if Z2 weren’t a double album too. Well, actually it’d be wrong to call it a double album, since the package holds two completely different albums; Dark Matters is the continuation of Ziltoid, while Sky Blue is a sort of logical successor to Epicloud.
As a Devin Townsend Project album, Sky Blue is the logical continuation of Epicloud’s epic bombast. But while optimism practically dripped from Epicloud, and it was soaked in an almost over-the-top positive, purely beautiful view of life, Sky Blue stays firmly on the real ground of a life that also brings sadness, pain and loss. Sky Blue was born out of Townsend’s losses, which is also why it’s one of the more serious and darker moments of his career (at least as far as his metal releases go, since Accelerated Evolution). But thanks to the trademark wall of sound and the rich layering of the music, the melancholy stays subtly hidden beneath the surface and knocks quietly on your heart. Through the dark clouds, the sun of optimism still shines, along with a call for better times. On Sky Blue, Devin touches on his past releases like he hasn’t in a long time. It’s full of gorgeous moments that recall the unforgettable Ocean Machine, Accelerated Evolution and Terria. With their intimate, honest approach, songs like Midnight Sun, A New Reign and Rain City could easily find a home on any of those albums, while the »danceability« of Universal Flame, Warrior and Silent Militia brings back the lightness of Addicted! There might be a shade too many such pop moments on the record, but taken as a whole, the batch of songs is even stronger than on Epicloud. Once again Devin joins (vocal) forces with the angelic Anneke van Giersbergen, and their duets once more get the blood pumping and the hair standing up on your neck (a lovely example is the gorgeous title track). It’s just a shame that Devin gives far too much space to Anneke, who is excellent, of course, but that way some of the authenticity of his past releases gets lost, when his vocals alone gave them a stronger personal stamp. Proof of that are the two versions of Fallout; on the final version that made it onto the album, most of the verses are sung by Anneke, while on the promo version Devin takes care of them. And the latter sounds (at least to me personally) much, much better. There’s no need to waste many words on the instrumental side of the album, since it’s once again lifted onto a pedestal by memorable riffs, well-thought-out solos, a praiseworthy drumming performance from Ryan van Poederooyen, and, as the cherry on top, EPIC (yes, so epic they deserve capital letters) choruses that crawl under your skin in an instant. If Epicloud made you feel like you were really up in the clouds while listening, and was as contagious as Ebola with its bombast, Sky Blue leaves a deeper, bigger and longer-lasting impression with its melancholic look.
And so we come to Dark Matters, which couldn’t be more different. If Sky Blue is intimate, Dark Matters is its complete opposite. It’s a loud, theatrical continuation of the story of an alien who is annoying, disgusting and egotistical, can’t resist a fart joke, and strives for domination over the entire galaxy. Devin first metaphysically transformed into Ziltoid in 2007, and at the time the green alien symbolized, first and foremost, Townsend’s career at that point in his life, when he wasn’t sure whether he even wanted to continue with a music career. From that angle, Ziltoid the Omniscient is without a doubt one of Townsend’s most important records, since it sparked his creative streak again. That’s also why it’s one of the best and most honest records in his mighty body of work, and why its sequel was so eagerly awaited. If the predecessor, which Devin wrote, played and recorded entirely by himself, was like Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, then Dark Matters is like Bay’s Transformers. Big, pompous, full of special effects and huge explosions. This time the course of the album is absolutely subordinate to the Devin-style bonkers story, which sounds like an episode of Futurama, so the music often stays in the background. Excellent musical moments, especially the guitar work, often end up submerged under the numerous dialogues, which can make you laugh till you cry (especially the dialogues between Ziltoid and Captain Spectacular, in whose shoes Chris Jericho steps this time). Because it’s so tightly tied to the concept, there aren’t many songs that could stand on their own, nor are there such strong moments in the closing stretch as Color Your World or The Greys were on the first part. Still, Dark Matters delivers some fantastic moments that, with their progressive, saturated craziness, recall Deconstruction. In this space musical, War Princess (whose role is excellently played by Dominique Lenore Persi), Deathray and Ziltoid Goes Home work best. The hour-long Dark Matters demands more time and attention, so at first glance it doesn’t offer much, but with every new listen, more and more layers of galactic comedy reveal themselves. Thanks to the gargantuan production, this time the introspective elements, like the brilliant Solar Winds on the first part, get lost in the pomp and bombast. Because of them, the first Ziltoid was definitely a more intimate and personal record. Dark Matters is bigger and louder than its predecessor and therefore loses some of the magic the predecessor had. But it’s still magnificent.
Lineup
Devin Townsend – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Dave Young – guitar, keyboards
Brian Wadell – bass
Ryan Van Poederooyen – drums
Mike St. Jean – keyboards
Morgan Ågren – percussion
Kat Epple – flute
Anneke van Giersbergen – vocals
Chris Jericho – vocals (Captian Spectacular)
Dominique Lenore Persi – vocals (War Princess)
Mark Cimino – vocals (Poozer)
Chris Devitt – vocals (Planet Smasher)
Bill Courage – narration
Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Universal Choirs (additional vocals on Before We Die, Z2 and Dimension Z)
Production
Devin Townsend
Tracklist
CD1: Sky Blue
1. Rejoice
2. Fallout
3. Midnight Sun
4. A New Reign
5. Universal Flame
6. Warrior
7. Sky Blue
8. Silent Militia
9. Rain City
10. Forever
11. Before We Die
12. The Ones Who Love
CD2: Dark Matters
1. Z²
2. From Sleep Awake
3. Ziltoidian Empire
4. War Princess
5. Deathray
6. March of the Poozers
7. Wandering Eye
8. Earth
9. Ziltoid Goes Home
10. Through the Wormhole
11. Dimension Z
