Townsend, Devin: Deconstruction

Deconstruction is a fantastic album to listen to. On many levels, it sounds like Ki unleashed. Everything was restrained on Ki, though songs like "Distruptr" and the title track were actually a foreshadowing of the material on this album. However, whereas the heaviness was more on the mental side on Ki, Deconstruction takes this factor to another level -- both musically and compositionally.

That said, whether Deconstruction is Devin Townsend's heaviest album ever is questionable. Ardent fans of Strapping Young Lad may still favour City and Alien for obvious reasons. Where Strapping Young Lad's music was all-hell-loose metal in most cases (and great at that), this disc has lots of breakdowns, calmer sections, and well crafted melodies. Still, parts of this album bear subtle similarities to SYL material. The ending part of "Planet of the Apes" where it gets extremely heavy in both vocals and the guitars could be an excerpt from the intro of SYL's "Last Minute" actually.

However, this being the third album of a total of four, it draws more heavily from its own predecessors, mostly the aforementioned Ki. The totally chaotic, off-the-wall arrangements of "Planet of the Apes" actually share a similar melody to that of "A Monday" from the first album. The progression is almost identical too. Another reference to Ki can be heard on "The Mighty Masturbator" -- the intro recalls the track "Numbered" in more than one way. Other than that, from its skull-crushing guitars to the onslaught of drum and bass parts to Devin's hilarious lyrics ("While we all have lots of bands who influence still...we all rip off Meshuggah!"), "The Planet of the Apes" is one of the most immediate standout tracks on the album.

That being said, Devin Townsend's wildly humourous side is entirely prominent throughout the whole disc, and it recalls Ziltoid in this aspect more so than any other Townsend creation. Often times, the songs take on a circus music quality where polar opposites are brought together without trying to fully meld them. Some pieces are simply not meant to blend as organically as on his prior work, which creates the chaotic dimension of this disc. Listening to "The Mighty Masturbator" is like listening to a crazy Mike Patton. At nearly 17 minutes, it is a culmination of soft acoustic interludes, huge (and I mean HUGE) soundscapes that are so layered they may gush out like a mesh through bad PC speakers. With headphones, however, you will discover how every single frequency is densely layered and textured.

The lineup on the album is stellar, though I doubt any Devin Townsend fan will pick this up for the lineup only. The guests are not there to steal the show. Some of them have been given very little space actually, from single spoken parts to a few riffs or vocalizations. From Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt providing a brief yet instantly recognizable death growl on the album's highpoint "Stand" (the ending of this song is too good to be true); to Gojira's Joe Duplantier adding his tortured voice to "Sumeria," a track with a weirdly European sound in the vocal arrangements; and to former Emperor vocalist Ihsahn gracing "Juular" and turning it into a lost Arcturus track with its creepy symphonic overtones.

There are others of course: Tommy Rogers from Between the Buried and Me, Paul Kuhr from Novembers Doom, Floor Jansen from Star One/After Forever, Paul Masvidal from Cynic, and Fredrik Thordendahl from Meshuggah, amongst others. Thordendahl and Devin Townsend go way back, since he also helped him with drum programming on Ziltoid. He is the only one with substantial playing time. He plays a long, mind-twisting solo on the title track which is both head-spinningly agile and an obvious satire at the unnecessary guitar parts on many an album these days. Remember, this album is Devin's humourous side, so do not be surprised when you hear the very beginning and the final second of this one (you'll know what I mean when you listen to it).

The two drummers, longtime friend Ryan Van Poederooyen and Soilwork's Dirk Verbeuren share the duties. The duo constantly explore the parameters of groove on the songs implanting an original dynamic in the sound. Even though I'm no Soilwork fan, I have been an avid follower of Verbeuren ever since he played on Warrel Dane's solo album, Praises to the War Machine. The man is a god of complex yet grooving rhythms.

All throughout, there is a real (I said REAL) orchestra in the mix. Recorded with a huge lineup in the Czech Republic, you will be overwhelmed with amazement how subtly each element is interwoven into the threads of sound without taking away from the intensity of the guitars or the elaborate interplay between the central instruments. The mixing job by Jens Bogren is glorious for such dense music, and the production is marvellous. Then again, we all know Devin Townsend is the master of sound.

And guess what? The final album of the set, Ghost, is even better. It is indescribably beautiful, so I urge you to seek it out. If you've only heard Deconstruction and would like to have an idea of what Ghost is like, try to envision the intro of the first track without the electronic effects, a bigger acoustic tone, lusher arrangements, and some of the most affective melodies you will ever hear.

Tracklisting

1. Praise the Lowered
2. Stand
3. Juular
4. Planet of the Apes
5. Sumeria
6. The Mighty Masturbator
7. Pandemic
8. Deconstruction
9. Poltergeist

Added: August 29th 2011
Reviewer: Murat Batmaz
Score:
Related Link: Official Devin Townsend website
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Language: english

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