Weekly Dose of Prog: The Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction/Ghost

A couple of months ago I featured The Devin Townsend Project's latest (at the time) releases, Ki and Addicted, with an article, now I continue (and finish) the cycle, with the upcoming pair of releases from the madman that is Devin Townsend, with Deconstruction and Ghost. The first two releases were a clever mix of ambient and heavy/extreme metal, with Ki being more on the ambient side of things while Addicted brought elements of industrial music. That first pair was plenty for any other band, but Townsend seems fixated on going above and beyond (Deconstruction and Ghost haven't even been released yet and he's already announced the name of his next record). I'm covering them as a pair because they are being released in that fashion; while they aren't directly linked, the project seems to follow a sweeping style-arc which flows together rather well. If he (Townsend) had released all four at one I'd probably put the entire project into a 'Weekly Dose of Prog.'

While Ki and Addicted seemed more stylistically split, Deconstruction is a more even mix of the metal and ambient music that The Devin Townsend Project is known for. It's also far more eclectic, with the album opening with "Praise The Lowered," a very ambient song, then "Stand," a ten-minute progressive song, light on the ambient but heavy in pretty much everything else, followed immediately by "Juular" which sounds something more like Strapping Young Lad (Townsend's previous band/project) would release, coming across borderline thrash/NWOAHM with bits of lighter vocals (but still heavy instruments, especially the percussion) thrown here or there for effect. Although it sounds weird, it actually works really great, bringing Deconstruction a much more memorable feel then the previous pair of releases. My one complaint of the album, however, are the longer tracks. It seems that the songs that cross the ten-minute marker just can't pull it together well enough to warrant that amount of time. "Planet of The Apes," "The Mighty Masturbator," and  "Deconstruction" are the main examples of this ("Stand" keeps it together pretty well, plus it's just under ten), with certain parts that work very well - namely the beginnings - but they just lose focus, or change styles too much, or have to much out there stuff (spoken word and whatnot - "Deconstruction" anyone?) to be as enjoyable as the rest of the album. Other then that, the album is almost priceless.

Weekly Dose of Prog: The Devin Townsend Project - Ki/Addicted

My knowledge and experience with Devin Townsend and his various 'projects' is limited at best. I've only heard a couple of his albums, all from his progressive side, and the only one I actually remember listening to with a 100% assuredly is Ziltoid The Omniscient, and that is ...well, a special case to say the least. So the should-have-been double album of Ki and Addicted will be my return to this crazy individual's bi-polar induced mind. Fare me well.

As a man who has released numerous albums all over the genre spectrum, you never really know what you're getting from Devin Townsend on any of his albums. He's released extreme music as Strapping Young Lad, and various styles of progressive music (including ambient records) under different makes of his name: originally as Devin Townsend, followed by a short reprieve as The Devin Townsend Band, and now currently The Devin Townsend Project. Each name takes on a slightly different style and skill of album released, but my own experience is admittingly limited, something that I hope to rectify over the coming weeks.