Guys, I'm extremely sorry for the lack of updates this week, but it was practically impossible for me to write stuff and I didn't want to get behind, so I had to wait. I hope everything will get back to normal, especially since we're at half the list, and it was having such a good pace.
#21: Devin Townsend - Z2 2014 - Progressive Metal, with a touch of pop, thrash and other stuff - CanadaDo I cheat if I put both the records in here? Well, whatever, it’s one release after all, and it’s my AOTY 2014. Also, artist of the year 2014, since I’ve got to known him and his work last year. Devin Friggin’ Townsend. This Canadian fellow right here knows how to write music that is perfectly balanced in all its aspects: beauty, chaos, quirkiness, serious stuff, death metal, gospel, pop, country, ambient and one bald dude to rule them all. In 23 years Devin wrote from the most serious stuff (Ocean Machine) to the most over-the-top and fun (Ziltoid). And last year he decides to put nearly everything he did on one..well, two, records.
Z2 is infact, another double album added to my list, but this time (unlike SDOIT), the two records really really really differ from each other. We have disc one: Sky Blue. It consists of Devin’s pop side, with some slight melancholia and seriousness from back in the days, and a gospel attitude, directly taken from Epicloud. Disc two is Dark Matters, the sequel of Ziltoid The Omniscient, and as opposed to Sky Blue, this is Dev’s over the top, heavier, hilarious side. It’s a musical, with narrators, voice actors and guest vocals. Everything on top of overwhelming heavy music, with lots of layers. Even though these two albums are really different, to me they feel great on one release, and I like them pretty equally (although admittedly there are periods in which I prefer one to the other).
Sky Blue starts with
Rejoice, which is definitely a trip back to Addicted. It features infact pounding drums and a cool hooky chorus, with great riffs all over the place.
Fallout continues the Addicted vibe, this time featuring Anneke Van Giesbergen as a prominent voice. There was another version of this song that leaked, featuring Devin on vocals. And, not to bash Anneke, she’s awesome, but that version is the version. Enough said.
Midnight Sun is a slower piece, somewhat of a ballad. This one reminds me of Terria and Synchestra. It features acoustic guitar and a huge chorus, very sing along-ish.
A New Reign brings us further back in time, in the Ocean Machine days. Infact this track is very dramatic, like most of that record, and it sends shivers during all of it, but especially in the “WHERE DID YOU GO” part. Stunning.
Universal Flame is my favorite from Sky Blue, it has a strong Epicloud vibe, with the choir and positive lyrics. This is another one that make me shiver all throughout the piece, I really love it.
Warrior is a great track, featuring one of my favorite choruses in Dev’s carreer, sung by Anneke. It’s just powerful and features a great message. That, along with RVP’s groovy hi-hat thing and the choir makes it great as it is, for a song that would otherwise be kinda subpar. In
Sky Blue Devin turns the pop knob to eleven, he explicitly stated in the booklet that this song was inspired by Usher. And you know, even pop when done good is great, and this is an example of that. There are a lot of neat vocal thingies going on in this track that makes it memorable.
Silent Militia is the heaviest track in the album, and it really sounds like an army marching right nearby you. Its chorus has a strong “You spin me right round baby right round” vibe, and it’s equally funny and great. A strong song, that I spin often. With
Rain City the album has a mood shift, everything becomes more dramatic and serious in tone. This track especially features an almost ominous chorus, drenched in ambient tonalities, which get fully explored in the next track,
Forever, 3 minutes of new age/ambient ethereal/scary soundscapes. A nice break in the record, before the climax. Climax that eventually happens in
Before We Die, another Epicloud-like song, featuring the 2000 voices of the Universal Choir, a thing that Devin did where he used the fans as choristers. A really great song to close the record, before the ambient outro in
The Ones Who Love.
Sky Blue flows like a river, and also sounds like a river. I always have a great time listening to it, even though it gets a little too serious in the end. Let’s not forget this record was actually “forced” in a way by the record label, so maybe that’s why. But still, it’s incredible.
On to strange Devy-land with Dark Matters! This album compared to its prequel is far far better, IMO. The songs flow better together, there’s better songwriting and music all around. The only thing is the story, that it’s actually a bit underwhelming, but still, I don’t really care about that, since the album is amazing.
So, we begin to follow the adventures of Ziltoid, with the title-track of it all,
Z2. This became one of my favorite Devy openers, probably second after Truth. This is an incredible instrumental, that begins with a huge build up and a great 0000 0000 0000 0000 riff, that’s really headbanging worthy. It ends with this huge choral part that makes me shiver.
From Sleep Awake is probably the only really dramatic track in the album, one that takes itself seriously, as opposed from all the other tracks. It is infact, one of my least favorites, but still, it’s very short, and feels like an interlude, and not an actual song. Here comes
Ziltoidian Empire, a stream-of-consciousness styled song, that I fucking love. Each and every section is really well composed and well played, especially Ryan here gets a chance to shine, and it’s always nice to hear that, since he is a bit underused in Devin’s realm. Or at least, when he’s not playing Planet Of The Apes
The song goes full nuts towards the end, with a fast riff and farts. Yes, farts. Stereo farts. Moving on! In
War Princess we encounter for the first time (well, or at least she sings for the first time) Dominique Lenore-Persi, which plays the War Princess role. Her voice is really sensual, and she can really scream too. I listened to her band, Stolen Babies, and they’re great. I recommend them. So, the song itself, sounds like a war march, and that’s really what it is, as it represents when the War Princess gathers the Poozers (her army of ass-shaped aliens) to go and get earth. That’s what happens in
Deathray, a song that Devin really needed in my opinion. Pure rock and roll, I always have a blast listening to this piece, and it’s as cool as the other complex stuff that Dev puts out.
March Of The Poozers is another straight forward tune, featuring quite the riffs and quite the hook. This is another one that I see really well live, and if I’m not mistaken, Devin uses that huge flying V guitar that has smoke and leds. Massive.
Wandering Eye is another short piece interlude, has kind of an electronic vibe to it, but soon that vibe gets crushed by epic choirs in typical Devy fashion. Now begins
Earth, which is a track that I still didn’t get. It sounds really orchestral, but for me it’s too much all over the place, and I can’t quite get into it – although the narration is hilarious. And now here it is: the epic, stunning, fast and heavy
Ziltoid Goes Home. This track unites furious metal soundscapes of Strapping Young Lad to the gospel and epic choirs of DTP, and it’s just a perfect thing. My favorite. After
Through The Wormhole, a skit, not a song, the finale of the story and the album is found in
Dimension Z, where all the people of the earth gather together and sing this gospel tune. Like Before We Die, this is a great conclusion, also with a great epilogue that ties together this album with another, creating somewhat of a Devy universe.
Z2 is the culmination of a summer in which I’ve explored this crazy man’s work, and it’s just too good. Also, when you have a packaging like that, what can you say?
Topic: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums v.2: v.2 - v. The top ten (Read 46794 times)
