Picking up after the (mostly) quiet and pensive Ki, Addicted immediately sets itself apart as its own unit of the DTP. From the opening “oh YEAAAHHHH” we get a sense of the type of album this is going to be. It’s pounding, catchy without being even remotely cheesy, and utterly fucking awesome from beginning to end. I ranked Addicted number 2 on my top 50 albums back in 2011, and 3 years later it’s still easily within my top 10 albums of all time, and quite easily my second favorite Devin Townsend offering. Every song has something amazing to remember, be it the soaring beauty of Anneke van Giersbergen’s backing vocals, the most epic choruses to ever grace music, or even the overarching flow of expertly crafted “pop” songs.
Addicted was my first true foray into the world of Devin Townsend. My friend and ex-forumer Alex sent me Bend it Like Bender! and the rest is pretty much history. I picked up Addicted shortly after, liking it, but not really seeing why everyone was gushing over it. Yeah, it was poppy metal. Cool. It wasn’t until a few months down the road that I truly appreciated what Addicted accomplishes. Obviously, in terms of the DTP, Addicted serves the role of optimism. The happy, yet still somehow purely metal, songs drive home the point that Devin is ready to “fix” himself and is feeling great about everything that’s to come. Indeed, the atmosphere of Addicted is extremely contagious. For pretty much all of my last year of high school, Addicted got regular play on Fridays as a sort of kick-off for the upcoming weekend. I mentioned my “ritual,” and the concept of Addicted Friday! was born. I don’t listen to Addicted nearly as much as I used to, but it was there to put me out of a bad mood whenever I needed it. In nearly 200 desired mood changes, Addicted won every single time.
Honestly, Addicted is a little tough to classify. If I was forced to pick a single mixed genre, I would probably call it pop-metal. I’ve seen other people call it Cannibal Corpse + Britney Spears, which I don’t really agree with at all, but it sets up how strange the genre clash is. Despite the unique blend of styles, the album never once gets lost in itself or loses direction. It flows perfectly from beginning to end without wavering even slightly. It’s majestic, heavy, honest, comforting, exhilarating, and wacky all at the same time. Really, there’s a heap of descriptors and hyperbolic praise I could throw at this album, but you’d probably do better to just listen to it. Just imagine an album full of songs like Life, Stagnant, Material, Slow Me Down, and even Vampira. It’s amazing.
To go with the optimistic shift in the musical style, we’ve also got a much more lighthearted lyrical tone. The lyrics are mostly based around taking the next step on Devin’s road to recovery. Mentions of being ready (after a whole album about not being sure if one’s ready) are sprinkled around here and there, but we won’t truly explore the concept Devin is “ready” for until the next album. Thinking about it now and how it relates to Deconstruction, Addicted reminds me of the feeling I get when it’s the last day of summer or the last day before going back to work or whatever. It’s optimistic beyond comprehension, almost like it’s trying to make the most of its last day before the hardships begin.
Really, the amount of musical dualities fighting with each other and somehow gelling is absolutely insane. We’ve got insanely heavy guitars mixing with synths and pop sensibilities, massively harsh vocals from Devin Townsend and the angelic Anneke vocals, and generally aggressive music finally taking off its angry mask and moshing about happy shit. This is an album that really needs to be experienced by anyone who’s ever enjoyed heavy music. It’s that good.