DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT: DECONSTRUCTION

As weird as this may sound, Deconstruction was my introduction into the wacky and wonderful world of Devin Townsend. Though, I guess nothing is as weird as Deconstruction itself. Being new to this type of metal, I had no idea what to expect from the album itself, so I was definitely flustered the first time I listened to the album. But eventually it all came together, and I saw what a fantastic album this really was. Unlike most new music that you can either say you like or dislike right away, or after a few listens, Deconstruction took me a long time to actually appreciate it. After I finally started to enjoy the album, I found out what it was about; a man who receives a cheeseburger from the Devil, but can't eat it because he is a vegetarian. If you're like me and you immediately said, "What?", you're as equally as confused as I was. With all these weird topics, strange noises, and soaring guitars Devin Townsend almost reminds me of a metal version of Frank Zappa, with equal amounts of genius and craziness.

Deconstruction was released along with a much softer, un-crazy Ghost, which is no where near as creative as the former. I'm glad that Devin Townsend put all his craziness into this one album because it makes it all the better. Also he put all the heavy stuff on this album while leaving the lighter stuff for Ghost. This I think is a brilliant idea because it provides two totally different albums from one person. Deconstruction, besides being very out there, has an almost avant-garde feel to it in spots to go along with its main genre, prog metal. Of the two epics on the album, "Planet of the Apes" and "The Mighty Masturbator", "Planet of the Apes" is probably my favorite. "Planet of the Apes" has some great soaring guitar parts, especially some of the solos, and the vocals by both Townsend and Tommy Giles Rogers, of Between the Buried and Me, are absolutely amazing. "The Mighty Masturbator", which you can probably guess the topic of the song, is another great track with more awesome vocals and colorful vocals. The only thing about "The Mighty Masturbator" is that, to me, it seems a little drawn out, but in the end it is still a fantastic song. My favorite track, though, is probably the title track. This is the song where our main character finds himself confronted by the Devil and offered the cheeseburger. This song is perhaps the craziest of them all, filled with great lines, complex guitar riffs, and fart noises. Yes, fart noises. At first I was skeptical about them, but they fit into the song just fine, and add to the overall weirdness level. All the other songs are just as good, and there truly are no weak spots on this album at all.

What surprised me the most about this album where the guest vocalists. I just assumed Devin Townsend worked on his own with a few studio musicians, but I was wrong. And these aren't your run of the mill guests either. There's the above mentioned Tommy Giles Rogers, Ihsahn of Emperor, Floor Jansen, who also works with Arjen Lucassen, and most notably Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth. All these vocalists are superb, and when mixed with the great compositions on this album, a great record is made.

After putting aside my skepticisms about this album to start off I discovered the genius that is Devin Townsend. This album is full of craziness, but there is control on this album too that keeps it grounded and easy to listen to. It might take some time to get into this album, but once you do you'll enjoy it just as much as I have. This is yet another great release of 2011 and easily deserves 4.5 stars.