ALIEN
Devin Townsend is an Evil Genius. He's a mad scientist. He's a heavy metal workaholic, who is constantly on the prowl for the perfect angst-ridden composition to showcase his signature brand of double-bass drums, fierce guitar riffs, mult-layered choruses, and demonic growling. With
Alien, Townsend moves one step closer to enlightenment with eleven tracks of brutality sure to shake your fillings loose.
It's not easy for a heavy band to create melody... I think it's in a heavy metal rule book somewhere... but Townsend chooses to ignore that rule with each STRAPPING YOUNG LAD release, and
Alien proves that he has no intention of altering his style.
Ever since I
Alien. Take "Shitstorm" for instance. It kicks off with this aggressive guitar and doulble-kick drum attack, followed by Townsend's signature scream, and about halfway through, there's a child-like chorus that chimes in. How'd it get there? I have NO idea, but it seems to fit.
Just when you think this CD can't punch you in the face anymore, along comes "Two Weeks", an etherial track that starts off with an over-processed (it should be said that all of Townsend's vocals are processed to hell and back on these discs) spoken word piece, which leads into a very serene guitar and synth line...the likes of which haven't been heard since STEVE VAI's
Sex & Religion. The song completely takes you by surprise and shows you just how versatile Devin is as a composer.
I question why he chose to end the disc with an eleven minute-long chunk of static called 'Info Dump"... I think it's just one of those ecclectic things an artist does because he feels like. He busted his nut with the previous ten tracks, so maybe that's just his way of screwing around with the listener. It's certainly not going to affect this review. Perfection.
