Devin Townsend – Z²
Review by Alex McCullough
Rating: 7.5/10 – Sky Blue
Rating: 7/10 – Dark Matters
Devin Townsend is a prolific guitarist/singer/songwriter that has founded and performed with many different bands over the years, as well as releasing several solo albums. Z² is the most recent of his albums with his band Devin Townsend Project, and it is quite and experience. The two hour album is made up of two distinct sub-albums: Sky Blue and Dark Matters. The former is an epic progressive metal album that sounds like what would happen if DragonForce didn’t suck. I’m usually not a fan of this power metal style, but Townsend just seems to do it in a way that feels far less… well, stupid. Sky Blue is melodic, powerful, sonically rich, well produced, and all around just a solid metal album. The lyrics sometimes fall in the category of the majestically corny with songs like “Universal Flame” and “Silent Militia”, but for the most part, they’re pretty down to earth and personal. Sky Blue is a pretty great album as far as progressive metal goes, and I really enjoyed listening to it.
Then we have Dark Matters. The second half of Z² is a rock opera about Ziltoid the Omniscient, an alien that comes to Earth and is received by us Earthlings as some sort of celebrity/deity. Oh, and apparently he’s obsessed with coffee. This is Devin Townsend’s second album about the almighty Ziltoid; he first appeared back in 2007 on the concept album Ziltoid the Omniscient. Dark Matters chronicles the exploits of Ziltoid as he deals with the consequences of stealing a Poozer, a child of the War Princess of the planet Titan. The seemingly harmless Poozers come to Earth with a vengeance and wreak destruction on us all. The album is goofy, entertaining, and has all the same great musical qualities of Sky Blue, albeit slightly less grandiose. The whole narration thing can be a little annoying at times, but overall, the album is pretty fun to listen to.
Z² is an interesting mashup, and I’m not 100% sure why it was released as a double album. Sky Blue and Dark Matters have a similar huge, pro metal sound, but their themes are strikingly different. Despite this, the two parts do seem to complement each other in a strange way. You’d have some trouble finding a two hour album that is quite as much fun as Z²; you’ve gotta check it out if you like powerful progressive metal that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Favorite Tracks: Fallout, Universal Flame, Deathray, Before We Die, Sky Blue,
Ziltoidian EmpireFCC Violations: None
RIYL: Steve Vai, Frank Zappa (for Dark Matters), DragonForce
