DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT: KI

Occasionally an album and artist deserves rare praise. Anyone who has heard Devin Townsend knows he is a talented person. If I left it there he would be grouped in with a myriad of other talented musicians but there are musicians who are very good musicians and there are musicians who are excellent 'artists'. Devin Townsend is the later. He has soul and on K1 all the planets align for Devin Townsend. He hasn't just written a good progressive concept album or dazzled us with his guitar; at a certain point he takes us to another place we have never been before. Sometimes less is better. Devin Townsend's minimalist approach on K1 offers a smorgasbord of his prodigious talents and does he deliver. While there are probably elements on this album that will not appeal to everyone, everyone should hear K1 because there is something on here that anyone with a musical ear can appreciate. For the Hevydevy fans, Disruptr and Heaven send should suffice but for those with an ear for Devin's more subtle talents, there is the mellow atmosphere of Terminal and Lady Helen. This work requires understanding but it doesn't work against you, trying to be too clever. The quality of this album is indisputable, however, what has lifted it above the realms of merely a very good work IMO, is the soul of the music overall and the sublime Magnum Opus, K1. There is a chill factor with songs that have that certain 'je ne sais quoi' and K1 has this in spades. When all has been done and dusted, K1 will stand as a classic of this and future generations.