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Album Review: Devin Townsend Project ‘Deconstruction’

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on June 20, 2011 @ 1:00am | 0 Comments
Category: Music / News

Devin Townsend is without a doubt one of the most inventive and creative forces in metal these days. His own catalogue aside, one can look at his production credits and guest appearances and realize that this is a man who has little regard for musical barriers. So, how does Deconstruction, the third album in the four-album Devin Townsend Project arc, match up to this idea? Find out after the jump my dear reader.

Trying to dissect this album song by song is impossible and, in the end, pointless. Each track is unique unto itself and yet fits perfectly within the grand picture. But what I can tell you to expect from the opening track, ‘Praise The Lowered’, is that this album will constantly take you by surprise. What is going on during one section of the song is NOT indicative of what is coming up. In fact, you should throw all expectations out the window and just steel yourself for an onslaught of brilliant metal, astonishing textural layers and last, but most certainly not least, a hefty amount of toilet humor.

Stand-out tracks include ‘Sumeria’ and ‘Stand’, which are average length songs for this album (6:30-ish and 9:30-ish respectively). But the crème de la crème would have to be ‘The Mighty Masturbator’, a track that I guarantee would be a smash success as a musical theater production. Just have some patience as the song clocks in at almost 17 minutes. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Listen to Deconstruction nonstop for a week and you’ve probably only begun to scratch the surface of everything going on musically. It’s astounding and an absolute joy to try and dissect. This is, without a doubt, Devin Townsend‘s grandest musical epic. However, this means that you’ve got to find a place to blast it at near ungodly volumes, because that is how it should be heard.

The Final Word: Deconstruction is quite possibly the closest I’ve ever heard an album come to aural insanity while still being a complete joy to listen to. My hats off to you Devin Townsend, you’ve managed to astound me yet again.