Devin Townsend

Ziltoid The Omniscient

Written by: MY on 18/08/2007 10:57:01

Interesting... According to this here press release (which accompany every record we at Rockfreaks.net get, telling us how yet another turgid Power Metal record will exhilarate us both physically and mentally) Devin Townsend was once one of the main contenders to get the Judas Priest gig when Halford left all those years ago. Of course, history dictated differently and Tim Owens capably filled the mammoth biker boots that Rob left warm, at least for a while. Devin, however, went off on a different astral plane entirely. Making his debut as the mouthpiece for Steve Vai's "Sex And Religion" album (a work that was considered a flop at the time, but has actually aged rather well) he then jumped ship to form Strapping Young Lad, as well as record numerous solo records and produce a wealth of albums- Lamb Of God probably being the most notorious.

A talented chap, indeed, as most of us are probably aware. What always made Devin's stuff cool was the healthy dose of his borderline-schizophrenic humor and incredibly challenging and adventurous musicianship. The die-hards will no doubt be thrilled to know that this record serves both these facets up in spades.

What to say about the record? Well, it's exactly what it says on the tin- a Devin Townsend album. It is a concept record revolving around the story of Ziltoid, a guitar shredding Alien who invades Earth on a quest to find the World's greatest cup of coffee... Nope, I don't get it either. You see, this is where the record kinda confounds me- it's almost as if Devin has tried to 'out-Devin' himself. The concept completely goes over my head, even with the numerous conversational soundbites between songs. Musically it is highly competent, Devin elected to produce, perform and mix the album entirely by himself, but ultimately doesn't really go anywhere for me as it is almost like he has thrown absolutely every idea he has onto tape, without editing some of the over-indulgences out. There are a few cool moments, nonetheless- The opener brings a smile to the face and "Hyperdrive" brings the pace down nicely, but overall most of the songs just sound too similar to each other in content. Almost a little too clever for its own good.

Makes you wonder how the mighty Priest could have turned out.

6

Download: By Your Command, Ziltoidia Attaxx!
For the fans of: Devin Townsend
Listen: Myspace

Release date 21.05.2007
Inside Out Music
Provided by Target ApS

Written by Dan Turner

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