THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND: ACCELERATED EVOLUTION

After the quite successful Terria, Devin decided to form a more permanent band that he could tour with, thus came The Devin Townsend Band. This is their first effort, and while Accelerated Evolution is a worthwhile release for fans of Devy's work, it's not all it's cracked up to be. The usual mix of heaviness with Walls of Sound production is here, but two things make this album different. The first is that Devin employs what I think is some of the most versatile vocal work he's ever put to tape at this point in his career. You can just hear the power, emotion, and versatility ooze out of songs like Depth Charge and (especially) Deadhead. In fact, Deadhead may be his best track to date vocal-wise. He really employs his clean vocals and stretches them to places he normally doesn't go, and it's neat to hear such a versatile vocalist try something new.

The second noticeable difference about this album is that the songs are quite accessible for Devy's terms. This should not be read as that the songs are mainstream or radio-worthy, however. I don't really think any of Devin's work qualifies as material that could be played on an FM radio station anyway, but it's certainly much catchier with many more hooks and a bit less on the growling vocals. Again, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Devin has included some more accessible songs on previous albums. This album however is filled with all accessible songs, and would be something newbies to Devin Townsend should consider getting.

My main complaint is that the accessibility doesn't work that well and that the second half of the album is weaker than the first. Don't get me wrong; the first 5 songs are fantastic Devin Townsend material. The last 4 songs however are all the most accessible and unfortunately they sound quite samey to my ears. There just isn't enough variety to my ears to make it that enjoyable. Because of such an unpleasant aspect though, I can't find a reason to give this more than 3 stars. It might be a good start for those new to Devy's work, but only anyone who's a hardcore fan of him like me will probably find more enjoyment than I do.

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