Now only having two days until Christmas eve it seemed only fitting that we have a double album! After beginning the inimitable saga of an alien overlord who is partial to coffee Devin Townsend announced Ziltoid‘s return. Not content with solely advancing the saga, we were told that The Devin Townsend Project would also issue Sky Blue. The results make for one heck of a double album.
Devin Townsend – Z2
With many double albums, there is a lot of material to assimilate. Z2 works on two levels, the first Sky Blue is a much more contemporary album style. The space pop that The Devin Townsend Project adopted later in their career is synonymous with all his work and Sky Blue is no different. Joined once again by Annekke van Giersbergen of Epicloud, they return with a comprehensive album, bathed in Townsend‘s contagious positivity the album soars. The anthemic “Universal Flame” with an uplifting chorus, whilst first track “Rejoice” gives us a perfect window into the albums soul. Encapsulating all the album is about. A collection of fantastically written intergalactic stadium rock sounding completely out there. On the other end of the spectrum, we begin the next chapter in the Ziltoid saga. For those who don’t know our mascot, Ziltoid is an alien who is partial to a little coffee and a lot of enslaving humans. Battling against him in the first instalment, in the second episode the humans and Ziltoid unite against their common enemy, the Poozers after Queen Blattaria declares intergalactic war in an epic climactic battle culminating in a two thousand strong choir recorded for the first time ever in metal. Dark Matters is an absolutely inspired album, full of sound bytes, weird effects and an actual narrative the second disc of the double whammy Z2 is just sheer entertainment. Giving it a slight B-movie style with a Blockbuster plot. Playing almost like a film, with one of the best soundtracks. Various singers personifying different characters, the record is just bottom line fun. From the alien disco rock of “Deathray” to the solemn “March Of The Poozers” the songs are fantastically crafted. Listening to just the one song, simply doesn’t do the album justice, absolutely immersed in its concept the record teems with textbook sci-fi moments. The opening horns of “Earth” hark back to fifties cheesy sci-fi, not to mention wouldn’t go amiss in any of Spielbergs classics. Full of stand out moments and subtle nuances that only Devin Townsend could rouse, the album is quite unlike anything you will have heard before. Baring all of this in mind, knowing that this isn’t just an album you can dip into while you’re travelling but have to sit down and immerse yourself in. Foreign although the idea may be, is a welcome change from the very much disposable age that we now live in, that this record merits the attention of solely sitting and listening. Not only releasing the brilliant Sky Blue, with fantastic melodies and grandiose song structure, Devin returned with Dark Matters and created something unique, inspired and ambitious. Injecting a sense of both looking to the future with Sky Blue and a child like nostalgia with Dark Matters. No other band on this list can claim to have two albums of the year, but being the king of the unconventional Devin Townsend‘s musical genius secured his place firmly in the Album(s) of The Year with the absolutely phenomenal Z2. If you listen to one thing this Christmas, make it this intergalactic space mission. Rock around the intergalactic Christmas tree this year with one of the finest double albums, by our very own Devin Townsend.
