In actuality, who’s making worthwhile music seventeen albums into their career? Make that twenty-two if you count the albums with Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend has essentially done it all since fronting Steve Vai’s band back in 1994. With so much musical output, however, any other artist would normally burn themselves out of originality after a while. Regardless of your opinion on Townsend, one can’t lie that nearly every release is its own entity and sounds different than the rest. Transcendence is no exception to that. Kind of.
It’s been two years since the release of Z², in which Townsend released a double album that served as a sequel to his comedy-metal output Ziltoid the Omniscient (Entitled Dark Matters) and a more natural progression from 2012’s Epicloud. (Sky Blue) While history would suggest that this follow up album would evolve from Epicloud and Sky Blue, the truth is that it is not the case Transcendence is more of a throwback to Townsend’s more traditional 90’s style of writing, while still throwing in flavors of more of his recent exploits.
Most notably, Transcendence is more progressive than anything as a whole. The entire first half of the album marks a stark contrast to that of Deconstruction, in which it acts as an antithesis. More meditative than chaotic, Transcendence makes a strong connection to its album artwork, in which it feels like there is a musical balance at play here and perpetual harmony throughout. This becomes obvious from the opening moments, in which Townsend recreates his intro track “Truth” and transitions into “Stormbending.” While adventurous and breaking the rules of his own conventions, Townsend manages to use a familiar writing style and doesn’t rush through the album with typically fast tempos or songs serving as filler. While it’s nice to make note that every song serves a purpose, at times this slower pace can be troublesome.
The second half of the album is built of shorter, more direct songs that are generally more accessible and less progressive than the likes of “Secret Sciences.” Notably, “Offer Your Light” is the album’s fastest song and is more concerned with hooks and being straightforward instead of creating odd song structures with dynamic solos. This half definitely ends up being more passive and fun-oriented, which is complicated considering how actively engaged you must be to the first half given how much more emphasis is put on it being musical.
This works to great effects at times, as tracks like “Failure” feature a solid hook to compliment an extensive solo section that ranks among Townsend’s best in his career. Contrasting this is “Secret Sciences,” in which the song ultimately becomes confusing at times and plays with the expectations of where the song will go. While it’s acceptable to change the direction of a song and not get to the climax of it right away, the amount of time it takes to reach said point becomes nothing short of a tease when it starts over again at the verse.
Despite this seeming-setback, it encourages the listener to listen to this album actively and give it the repeated listens that it deserves. While people will undoubtedly love this album from first listen, it’s the little aspects in the music like orchestration and layers that truly make this an entertaining album. While the typically longer song lengths and the progressive sensibilities may alienate the casual listeners, those who give it the time and pay attention to it will be rewarded in the long run, especially given that the later half is more focused on direct song writing.
Even if those progressive metal structures and long musical sequences throw you off, moments like the masterfully tackled cover of Ween’s “Transdermal Celebration” give the album that extra appeal. The production requires recognition here for making the song sound genuinely massive and serve as a proper way to close out the album. These impressive moments with the production also surface during “Higher,” the album’s longest track, in which the eventual crescendo to the song comes together seamlessly. This song is a perfect instance when, ultimately, everything comes together precisely when it needs to.
The album can end there, however, but it is worth investing in the deluxe edition with the numerous demos included. Much like Epicloud and Casualties of Cool, the bonus disc adds more longevity to the album. Unlike those on of the aforementioned album, many of the demos are notably more raw than those on the main release. Regardless, these hold their own by still sounding genuinely great. While songs like “Canucklehead” are good fun and less on the progressive side, it becomes evident quickly as to why these songs were not included on the main disc, as they function better as stand-alone songs rather than an entire unit.
Everything else to discuss within the album is essentially the bare-bones Devin Townsend Project experience: Devin himself still has a strong voice and equally impressive all around, his bandmates are just as sickeningly talented as ever, and the sound is strictly unique to them from the opening moments. It seems that with each album that drummer Ryan van Poederooyen (somehow) becomes an even better drummer; multiple times across both discs resulted in me focusing on the drums and letting out a stunned, subtle “damn” as he did something completely otherworldly.
With that, we have another Devin Townsend album. Fans are sure to be pleased and those clamoring for something more progressive than Sky Blue or Epicloud certainly have their wish. Even still, Transcendence still includes as much as it can in terms of variety in sound. Not perfect, but still really good in every aspect, Transcendence gets better with each listen. Certainly, it has something for everyone.
Transcendence is available everywhere tomorrow, September 9th.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPjHUFe4AKk[/youtube]
