DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT: ADDICTED

Wait... what? First acoustic and now spangly electro pop? Surely not. Well, electro pop isn't exactly the truth, as former Strapping Young Lad frontman Devin Townsend mixes his trademark industrial ambient metallic attack with some more unusual genres of music.

Luckily, for the mad scientist of metal, this risky move works extremely well. The album is introduced with the title track, a pounding riff with pristine production within. After that, we are greeted with "Universe in a Ball!", starting with a furious flurry of drums and eventually worming its way in as one of the strongest songs on the album. A person favourite for me on this album is the re-work of "Hyperdrive!", originally on his epic space-metal opera Ziltoid the Omniscient. However, this time it is reworked with frontwoman of The Gathering, Anneke van Giersbergen, who does a great job of it.

There are few negatives, but sometimes the album does drag on slightly. Sometimes the songs unwittingly blend together, and what could've been done in a few minutes is extended into five. "Ih-Ah!", although not bad, isn't the type of song I'd like from Devin Townsend. That's probably me being one-dimensional with my musical tastes, but it just seems too generic by Devys normal standards.

In conclusion, Addicted! offers a strong blend of typical Devy Metal, immense creativity and electronica all mixed into one happy and joyous bag of greatness. It may not be his strongest album, not by a long shot, but it is a worthy addition to Townsends catalogue.