THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND: ACCELERATED EVOLUTION

It's really good. Don't get me wrong. But it doesn't feature as much of the crazy genius that can be found in Terria, Ocean Machine: Biomech, Infinity, or Synchestra. Instead, as is reflected in the band's name (The Devin Townsend Band), here, Devin Townsend sets out to try to make a band-oriented album. And it definitely works. People who often can't swallow the intense depth of a lot of his solo stuff can still really appreciate this one, as it does sound like a band. This sound is improved upon and built up for Synchestra, but more of that later on Synchestra's actual page.

For the most part, too, this album is pretty mellow. There's some screaming going on, most notably in Deadhead, but none of it is really Strapping Young Lad extreme metal kind of screaming. Rather, we see Devin playing with gentle vocal harmonies like on Sunday Afternoon. Slow Me Down is very nearly a pop-rock love song, something mostly unheard of with Hevy Devy. Pretty much, except for Deadhead and Away, the songs are all pretty singles-esque, all are basically stand alone tracks that can be taken at face value or at their place in the album. The atmospheric backings and leadings that are present on so much of Devin's stuff are not gone, but they are not nearly so prominent or powerful here. That is, except on Deadhead and Away. Deadhead is a gentle (mostly) song with a few bits of highly emotive screaming, and Away is a song in the vein of Deep Peace off Terria.

This is an overall less exciting and less amazing album than he's done elsewhere, but that doesn't make it bad. Fans of Dream Theater and other progressive metal bands would probably find this his most accessible. Heck, fans of metal or rock in general would probably find this his most accessible, too. So, in short, it's an easily digested album with a lot of good melodies and quality hooks, but it's not quite as creative and insane as Devin's stronger albums are.

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