DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT: DECONSTRUCTION

Heavy Devvy always creates such incredible metal merged with humour and creativity that I was really looking forward to this one. I don't mind his growls as he mixes them with very gentle vocals and inventive musicianship. I am a massive fan of "Ziltoid" and hoped for something similar. I didn't get it at all and this is Devins worst album I have to say unfortunately. It is so similar to the snarling Strapping Young Lad style and is way over the top with as many guest growlers as he could recruit.

"Deconstruction" begins with soulful Devin crooning a ballad and suddenly black metal growling infiltrates and layers of growls as a blast beat of metal is heard. It is a track called 'Praise the Lowered'. Here we go.

Next is 'Stand' and Devin using his Bowie vocals. The riff is chugging patiently along and lots of spacey effects. It builds gradually till we get to the loud chorus and it sounds like "Ziltoid" again. Mikael Åkerfeldt growls nasty Opethian vocals over the riffs. This is a noise feast and some odd time sigs with galloping blastbeat percussion. It settles into a quiet section at the end and very nice bass and sporadic hammering drums. When Devin shouts "Show yourself" it is reminiscent of "Ziltoid" again. Actually a bit more dialogue and fun would be nice as it sounds a bit grim at the moment.

'Juular' features Ihsahn on vocals from Emperor, and a very jaunty sledge hammer tempo with insane percussion. Devin sounds good on the verses. When Ihsahn begins growling it loses me completely. This is as heavy and dark as Devvy gets with the speed riffs and choir chanting to accent the riffs. My ears are ringing with this white noise.

'Planet of the Apes' is a 10 minute mini epic and more thrash blasts cranking out of the speakers. This one has some humorous lyrics that I always like in Devin's ouvere. He yells, "I know who I am today", and "I stay heavy for my god." This is unbelievably noisy, until finally there is a let up in the anger with a gentle vocal and I love it when Devin uses his ballad voice, in the same way as Akerfeldt does at times. Tommy Giles Rogers growls his nuts off on this too, perhaps practising for some more time with Between the Buried and Me.

'Sumeria' has a nice speedy blast riff and Devin screams out spiteful lyrics. He is joined by Gojira's Joe Duplantier and Cynic's Paul Masvidal. I can't tell when they are singing but it is very messy. The trademark Devin chanting is here and supersonic percussion ticking away, and it gets faster and suddenly slows as the growlers scream their throats raw; "Say no more!" The next section is rather strnage music and growls of "so much we need to learn, be free!" Its hilarious when all the noise halts and a musical box is heard. It almost made me laugh.

'The Mighty Masturbator' is the epic 16 minute opus. It begins quietly, Devin crooning gently about "25 years at the factory." It suddenly explodes into chanting choir and doomy metal riff. Those lyrics are bleak but humorous; Greg Puciato is a guest vocalist on this. I love the interlude spoken banter "I got my saving der world boots on", and then the time sig changes on "save the world you fool, you child, you can't ever ever, save the world." It is a fantastic wall of sound here with Math rock polyrhythmics. Then a countdown "maybe the electro magnetic impulses will be on our side." I love the narration which is more like what I was expecting. "we come to you, to extend ourselves for consideration into the intergalactic community, we bring to you the process of human development", is the speech from Devin. He is really in his element here and the music is a circus side show with growsl, screeches, chants, shouting and all out carnage. The host of the freak circus even mentions past characters on Devin's album including Ziltoid the Omniscient. The religious ending is funny and this is absolutely the best track on the album.

'Pandemic' is back to very fast metal speed and growls. Its awesome to hear the incomparable Floor Jansen operatic on the next section "Soon you will know where all the sinners go, I sew you up and throw you away." She is always brilliant and more of her and less growling would help. There is a real Zappaesque jazz metal thrash fusion thing happening and then a wild lead break.

'Deconstruction' starts with an hilarious scientist farting and then the repeated "cheeseburger" over a massive fast riff. Oderus Urungus of Gwar is on vocals with Fredrik Thordendal. The chanting and weird narrations are typical Devin at his most absurd. He even has a sound effect of diarrhoea, yes he does. It gets weirder and funnier; "all beef patties, pickles onions on a sesame seed bun, oh glorious cheeseburger we bow to thee, the secrets of the universe are between the buns." And then Devin yells drunkenly, "but I don't eat the cheeseburger guys, I'm a vegimatarian." This is followed by chaos and madness in music like Zappa and the chant of "Beer Beer Beer!" A cow is heard mooing, and a speed riff fades up, as Floor Jansen sings "sorry", and a high pitched vocal screaming "fire!" It ends, a fart, mumbling, blast beats, and a rather melodic riff to end, and a burp. This truly represent the mad scientist of metal. Pity the rest of the album at the start was so uninspiring.

'Poltergiest' is the final track so "Let's finish this!" Devin yells a lot and there's manic riffing. This really sounds evil and its weirdly serious compared to the nutter alert previously.

The album is not terrible but I was just really frustrated with all the noise, the dark anger, especially the black metal growls and way too much speed metal. I loved "Ziltoid" and "Terria" and others, as there was good balance of styles. but "Deconstruction" is only half good thus 3 stars for 'The Mighty Masturbator', Pandemic' and 'Deconstruction'. I have "Ghost" too and only hope this is marginally better.

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