Anyone who listens to metal has, at some point, heard the work of Devin Townsend. It may not have been one of his musical projects (of which there are many) but definitely one of the vast numbers of production efforts he has put out. This is the man who did vocals on the Steve Vai album “Sex and Religion”. This is the man who produced the Lamb of God album “As The Palaces Burn”. The list goes on and on and always has me wondering how this man has any time to put out any of his own material. And yet, here it is: The second of a proposed four album series, “Addicted!” by The Devin Townsend Project.

“Addicted!” starts off with the title track and is a heavy hitter. Thick guitars, huge drums and insane ambient noises in the background are topped off by Devin Townsend’s signature frenzied, growl-singing with lush harmonies provided by ex-The Gathering singer Anneke van Giersbergen. The song finishes and immediately blends in with the next track. This pattern continues as almost every song, upon ending, blends into the next track. Now, another interesting note is that the title track, in a sense, feels somewhat off from the majority of the album. “Addicted!” (the track) is a true heavy hitter and feels like a great Devin Townsend metal song. Much of the rest of the album has a more “happy” feel to it. Many of these songs are played dominantly in the major scale and the feel of the song reflects that.

The production is unmistakably Devin Townsend. If you’ve heard any of his other albums, then you know what to expect: Everything is beautifully recorded and mixed. The guitars sound thick, large and articulate. The bass rolls easily and has a great presence, making sure that the bottom end of the sonic spectrum is taken care of. The drums have a solid thump while the cymbals sizzle nicely. The vocals are mixed wonderfully with all the harmonies coming together beautifully. The ambient soundscapes that hover almost continually add a haunting 3rd dimension to the music. But like Devin Townsend mixes, it seems that each track is saturated in reverb, making it sometimes difficult to pick out individual instruments.

“Addicted!” is a very solid album that shows the progression of The Devin Townsend Project. Fans of any of Devin Townsend’s previous works will find themselves enjoying “Addicted” and for those who haven’t had a chance to experience the music of Devin Townsend, this may very well be the best place to start.