DEVIN TOWNSEND: Empath (PROGRESSIVE METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

"Transcendence" was the swan song of the Devin Townsend Project. After a small decade of existence, the band was dissolved by its creator. Too many tours, too much financial pressure and above all the impression of repeating oneself, which for Devin Townsend is simply unthinkable. His creative genius not tolerating any compromise, only a solo album could quench his thirst for composition. This is not a first in the long career of the Canadian who has never sacrificed his artistic freedom to any commercial recognition. In 2007, the dissolution of Strapping Young Lad, which became an artistic straitjacket for Devin, allowed the musician to record solo "Ziloïd The Omniscient", a crazy album that became a cult. The years have passed but the artist's creative madness is still as amazing as ever and this new album, "Empath", is absolutely incredible.

If music could define chaos theory, "Empath" would be its theorem. The title 'Genesis' is a perfect illustration of this premise. It is impossible to predict the direction the music will take, yet under its apparent disorder lies a strict order that obeys a principle of thoughtful and assumed composition. Blending cheerfully film music inspired by John Williams, wild blast beats, aerial choirs, symphonic progressive metal and unbridled guitar solos, Devin Townsend has fun like a kid who colours empty spaces by deliberately going beyond the lines to indicate that his artistic freedom only makes sense if it breaks the codes of composition. In six minutes of madness and humour, 'Genesis' traces the fractal contours of the album and invites the listener into the multicoloured and unbridled musical world of Devin.

"Empath" is a musical kaleidoscope mixing all the influences and musical periods of Devin. The Canadian's genius lies in his extraordinary ability to bring together the heterogeneous elements of his abundant inspiration to solve the paradox of eclecticism and coherence. From the ultra-melodic 'Spirits Will Collide' inherited from "Transcendence" to the operatic "Why", via the symphonic "Requiem" and the experimental and atmospheric "Borderlands" and its incredible reggae intro, Devin Townsend composes the soundtrack to his sweet madness and leaves the listener free to see his own mental images. For Devin, metal is not a musical genre but a permanent experimentation by which everything becomes possible: the heavy riffs merge with the musical ('Evermore') and electro pop ('Sprite'), the black metal flirts with the film music (the huge 'Hear Me') while Anneke Van Giersbergen's angelic voice fades under the knocks of the double pedal.

"Empath" is a gigantic work composed of a succession of roller coasters and the title "Singularity" is its highlight. Real emotional elevator, this twenty-three minute piece alone sums up the album's ambition: to make different styles coexist without ever falling into demonstration or caricature. With surgical precision, Devin alternates pop ballad, metal prog, musical comedy, electro breaks, jazz rock passage and shred guitar solos provided by Steve Vai himself, and leads the listener into a multicoloured whirlwind, a rainbow whose chromatic fields seem to be able to refract to infinity through the prism of the artist's unbridled imagination.

As a wise conductor, Devin Townsend has carefully selected a host of high-flying artists to participate in the recording of the opus, including the fabulous Elektra Women's Choir, the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra Lords Of The Sound and no less than three drummers (Morgan Ågren, Anup Sastry and Samus Paulicelli) who perform according to the different styles covered. And above all, he entrusted the musical direction of the project to Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani) whose enormous production work is to be commended for aerating and making accessible to the ear the sound barrier imposed by the multiplication of recorded tracks.

It is impossible to describe in words all the richness of this album, the umpteenth masterpiece in Devin Townsend's plethoric discography. As it is impossible not to bow to such talent. "Empath" is a masterpiece to be listened to over and over again to discover all its subtleties, patiently waiting for the announced sequel to the gigantic work of this genius. - Official website

DEVIN TOWNSEND

EMPATH

INSIDEOUT MUSIC

PROGRESSIVE METAL