Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction

Another masterpiece by the creative genius of Devin Townsend is Deconstruction. Released in 2011 under the 'Devin Townsend Project', Deconstruction is a chaotic catharsis of the heaviness absent from Devin's work since Strapping Young Lad (granted, Ziltoid The Omniscient had it's heavy moments). Anyway, this album absolutely kicks ass. Here's why:

Deconstruction begins with the eerie ambience of 'Praise The Lowered' accompanied by the subtle drumming of Ryan Van Poederooyen. Strange electronics buzz and hum as Devin's quiet vocals glide into the music. The guitar can be faintly heard in the background as the music builds mysteriously. Devin's vocals begin to soar ('Ah, soul of mine!') and the music continues building up to... something. The drums go from subtle to crushing as the intensity rises. Devin's vocals become demonic, the guitar becomes audible, chaos unfolds and it is all let loose with a tremendous roar of 'SMOKE THAT FUCKING WEED, BOY'. We are thrown into the chaos, with crushing metal, a choir, and an orchestra. Immense it is, but is only a taste of the music yet to come. However, the immensity fades back into ambience that leads into the next song.
'Stand' is nearly 10 minutes long, and begins in a similar way to 'Praise The Lowered'; ambience with a simple drum beat. However, the guitar is immediately present with a small, creepy riff. Again, Devin's vocals add to the mysterious atmosphere. The orchestra and choir kicks in, widening and enhancing this mood. Suddenly, we're hit in the face with a sudden majestic, heavy section, which leads the orchestra into its upper register and the choir into its full force accompanied by some dark undertones by none other than one of my favourite vocalists, Mikael Åkerfeldt. Then the chorus hits, and it is absolutely incredible. It is simply the word 'stand', sung by what seems to be a thousand voices ranging from angelical to the voice of death itself, accompanied by the orchestra and standard metal instruments. A guitar solo nicely complements the crushing music underneath, which grows more and more chaotic until we're unexpectedly left with just Devin's subtle vocals and palm-muted guitar. Short burst of heaviness lead us back into the majestic chaos that has been present throughout the rest of the song. The chorus comes back, more majestic than ever. A song you have to hear to believe.
'Juular' (originally intended to be 'Jugular', but Devin made a typo and decided to keep it) is the single of the album (also with its own music video). The song flies at tremendous speeds with demonic guitar chords slicing through the off-beats, complemented by the choir and orchestra to give a very evil feel. Despite the chaos of the rhythm, the song is not fully unleashed until the chorus hits, and we're thrown into heaviness. It feels like being hit by the devil's train (as depicted in the budget CGI music video). This is one of the few songs by Devin that for the most part sticks to the verse-chorus structure, which is most likely why it was chosen as the single. It's a solid track, but perhaps one of the weaker on an album that goes much bigger than just this song.
Time for another long, crazy track. 'Planet Of The Apes' clocks in at 11 minutes, beginning with mysterious, creepy harp sweeps, which leads into a very Meshuggah-inspired riff. What seperates it from Meshuggah, however, is the orchestra and choir, which really turns it into something else entirely. It paints a picture; majestic and in-your-face. It's heavy moments are punishing, and it's not-so-heavy moments are... still pretty crushing. Suddenly, the dark mood is broken, punctured by bright, lovely choral music ("Tungsten body, glowing mind"), but this is quickly brought back into the dark chaos. I'm using the word 'chaos' a lot, because it so perfectly describes the album. Although 'Planet Of The Apes' is meant to be inspired by Meshuggah (with the lyrics in the next verse even acknowledging so), there is no pattern. Meshuggah is all about patterns, but this song is chaos. As the song takes many turns through heavy layers, eventually we are unexpectedly thrown into the sunshine once more ('World away... sun, it glows...'). These quieter moments really stick out in the album (in a great way), and are explored in the next album in the quadrology; Ghost. Of course, this is Deconstruction, so we're thrown back into the heaviness, now with vocals from Tommy Rogers (of Between The Buried And Me fame).  The song continues, very fast paced and heavy, yet maintaining a melodic edge showing off the choir. A frantic guitar solo leads us towards the chaotic end of the song.
'Sumeria' continues in the same vein. Chaos, melodic bliss, blah blah blah. I don't intend to criticise (as I love it) but Deconstruction does sound 'all the same' in a way. But hey, it's a winning formula, right? Structurally, the songs are all quite different, but from a sonic perspective you can expect each song to feature fast, heavy, chaotic verses, along side majestic, operatic choruses. 'Sumeria' is no exception. Fast paced riffs lead into a dark section led by deep male choir vocals, which leads into a more spacious choral section, which leads into more heavy stuff, which leads into the majestic chorus (similar to that of 'Stand'). Then we hear a new voice; Joe Duplantier of Gojira. One of my favourite vocalists, he leads in a very groovy, heavy section. The song repeats its fast riffs and majestic chorus until suddenly... silence. Well okay, there's a glockenspiel, but it sounds very quiet compared to everything on this album since the introduction of 'Praise The Lowered'. An acoustic guitar glides in as we hear the soothing vocals of   to end the song, which flows neatly into the next.
The somewhat ridiculously named 'The Mighty Masturbator' might be the one true masterpiece of the album at 16 and a half minutes long. We firstly hear sweeping guitar, all very quiet and mysterious, until we're hit with possibly the heaviest moment of the record. The guitar sweeping continues, alternating between an octave, major seventh, and minor seventh (Devin uses this quite a lot; such as in 'Deathray', 'A New Reign', 'Universe In A Ball!', and 'Numbered!'). Beyond the guitar is the powerful bass, the slow (but crushing) drums, the keys (presumably somewhere in the mix), as well as the orchestra and choir in unison. Devin's operatic vocals also soar over the top. The song eventually shifts to a more progressive, driving tune. For such a silly title, 'The Mighty Masturbator' sounds very evil and very big. It sounds like swimming through piranha infested waters while a UFO shoots at you... or something like that... not too sure what I was thinking there. All of a sudden we hear an old man's voice over acoustic guitar, boasting about his readiness to save the world. Once again this leads into crazy, heavy arpeggios. After a few repeats, the arpeggio section is joined by a old-timey piano and "doo-wap" vocals from the choir - unexpected for sure. The arpeggios gradually become crazier and more atonal until a countdown begins... but it gets stuck at the second decimal place of π. Now the metal is left behind, and some weird electronica plays briefly. We now hear someone speaking to an alien crowd, which leads into the next section that repeats three times. The first time, the speaker claims to praise god, the second himself, the third the devil. Each 'verse' - if you'd call it that - is interspersed by growing heaviness taking form in the guitar riffs. Once this bit has finished, more melodic heaviness comes, becoming more and more intense. The music is absolutely relentless. Deconstruction does this better than any other album I've heard; just when you think it can't get any more crazy, intense, or heavy... it does. We're left in an anxious moment of dissonance as Devin says "And now hunger does what sorrow could never do... feed!". The foreboding drums kick in playing a... waltz? Yep, it's a waltz. In fact, it's a reprise of the 'Infinite Waltz' from the song 'Processional', a B-side from Infinity. It sounds majestic, bold, and gallant. 'The Mighty Masturbator' at this point has cycled through at least 10 different genres over the course of its 16 minute life span. It ends with a huge cadence from the orchestra and choir, a fitting end to the album... or so it seems.
Nope. The next song, 'Pandemic', kicks in full pelt, with perhaps the fastest drumming on the entire album. It's the shortest song on the album, but somehow I feel that it maybe has the most notes played in it of any song on the album. We hear what may be Devin's most insane scream, which leads into beautiful operatic vocals from everyone's favourite female metal singer, Floor Jansen. I must admit, other than the stupidly fast drumming and Floor's beautiful vocals, this song doesn't really have much unique about it. It's really good, but a really good song stands out on an album where every other song is extremely good. That's exactly what Deconstruction is: extreme.
But the most extreme moments of the album aren't let loose until the title track, 'Deconstruction'. It starts off with a sample of some people (hilariously voiced by Devin) discussing the philosophical idea of 'deconstruction'; how anything - even a cheeseburger - can be deconstructed to it's source. The word 'cheeseburger' repeats over and over as the guitar riff comes in. Devin himself has described this song as a 'soundtrack to a mental breakdown', and that description seems pretty apt. It feels like 'Planet Of The Apes' on steroids. It shifts through different crazy musical themes, heaviness accompanied by the orchestra and choir. It's heavier than anything else we've heard so far, and just when you think it can't get heavier - it does. A brief moment of stillness can be heard as we hear a choir of farts, burps, and pukes, before being released into an intricate guitar section, which ascends (or descends?) into pure chaos accompanied by the late Dave Brockie (GWAR). But it eventually slows down into a more electronica-based ambient bit, where the double cheeseburger containing the secrets of the universe itself makes it's presence known. The choir sings praise of the holy cheeseburger, before Devin reveals: 'but I don't eat the cheeseburgers guys I'm a vegamatarian'. The song goes apeshit. We hear a guitar solo from Frederik Thordendal (Meshuggah), as the song dies down. But it seems to be building up a bit again. The orchestra fades into a majestic chord as the guitars doing an incredible arpeggio, and a scream from Devin leads into one of the most beautiful moments in all of music. It sounds heavenly; divine. Devin's vocals are operatic, the drums from Dirk are top-notch, the orchestra and band are in perfect harmony. I've just about run out of words to describe this bit, but it lasts for about two and half minutes and ends the nine-minute song. Surely this is the end to the album?
"Let's finish this!" Devin says, introducing one last track: 'Poltergeist'. This song is really something else. 'Deconstruction' times ten. It's a heavy as Strapping Young Lad, but in a completely different way. Devin's vocals are intense, almost terrifying. From the apocalyptic verse into the murderous chorus, Devin's vocals sound like hell itself, and the end of the first chorus produces an inhuman scream. A voice echoes in the distance 'stand for what you truly believe in!' and the song slows to a grand finale pace. It sounds like the climax to the greatest thriller film of all time. It keeps on building and building until... beautiful arpeggios and clean vocals. The first time I head this... I actually fell to my knees, it took me by surprise. After the brief moment of complete serenity, we're thrown into the ending of the song; a building series of cadences and heaviness (the interval growing each time) until it peaks into Devin screaming at the top of his lungs: "STAND!!!"
That's gotta be my favourite ending to any album. Ever.

The album features a few bonus tracks. 'Ho Krll' is an iTunes bonus track, originally intended for Ziltoid The Omniscient. My first experience with it was listening to it while driving through a brightly lit city in the dark hours of the morning with no other cars around, and it really fit the vibe of the song. It's mostly driven by 'twinkling' guitars and what seems to be a glockenspiel, but their is the usual heaviness of the album as well. It does sound very 'spacey', and would've fit will on the original Ziltoid record. A very pleasant song, but I can see why it was relegated to a bonus track - it's quite different to the main disc of Deconstruction.
'Terrorizer' (known in demo form as 'Madd at my Dadd' - released on the Contain Us compilation)  was released with an edition of the Terrorizer magazine. It is somewhat similar to 'Pandemic' - it's fast, angry, melodic, and relatively straightforward. It's got a really good chorus though, so it's definitely worth a listen.
'Deconstructing Badgers' was released via Devin's youtube channel (formerly known as 'poopynuggeteer'). It's a cover of Weebl's song 'Badgers'. If you are familiar with the original (it was a viral video back in the day) then it is definitely worth a listen, it stays true to the original while also being heavy as hell. If you aren't familiar with the original, you'll probably be confused by this song. Nevertheless, this has got to be one of the weirdest cover songs around, and I quite like it.
'Traestorz' is a 19-minute electronica demo, released on Contain Us. It certainly is... curious. A decent portion of this song ended up in the middle section of 'The Mighty Masturbator', but the rest is a showcase of Devin's more experimental side, vaguely reminiscent of Devlab or Projekt EKO in parts. This marathon track is worth checking out if you're already fallen into the pit of Devin's music, but may be a bit confronting to a newcomer.
'Brown Man' - also released on Contain Us - is just a bit of fun. It's got Devin's 'ziltoid voice' over the top of some 'wankery' guitar. The ending is just a cool heavy bit with Devin almost rapping, but only the word "pussy" over and over. It made me laugh the first time for sure. Other than that, the song reminds me more of something from Punky Brüster: Cooked On Phonics than anything from Deconstruction.

It's worth noting that this album was performed in it's entirety and recorded for DVD as part of the By A Thread series. It's an incredible feat for sure; there's literally thousands of possible notes to stuff up, but the whole performance goes without a hitch (and yes, a giant cheeseburger descends onto the stage during the title track).

The artwork was made by Anthony Clarkson, and there are two different album covers. The 'main' album cover shows a staircase with some crazy machinery. I'm not really sure what it's trying to depict, but it looks badass and pretty brilliantly portrays the chaotic nature of the album. There is also a more simplistic slipcase version of the album cover, which shows the DTP logo made out of scrap metal. This, too, looks fantastic and ominous. These two album covers are amongst my favourite album covers of Devin's.

This review has ended up much longer than I had initially intended, but that's because this album is so damn good. It has an incredible, unique intro, and the most intensely perfect outro, without a dull moment of music between. It reaches the heaviness of Strapping Young Lad in parts (perhaps even exceeding it?) without being stylistically similar. It blends melody and metal like no other album has been able to do, and the orchestra and choir add a very splendiferous angle to the music. Deconstruction deserves to go down in history as a highlight of progressive metal, and indeed as a highlight of music that we're lucky enough to experience within this lifetime.

97%

Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

While we're on the topic of the greatest albums of all time... Metrolpolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory frequently battles with Images And Words as Dream Theater's greatest album amongst fans. For what its worth, I consider this album to be second only to Devin Townsend's Ocean Machine: Biomech. Scenes From A Memory was released in 1999, following up the unsuccessful Falling Into Infinity (released 1997 as an album to attract radio play), and is the first Dream Theater album to feature keyboardist Jordan Rudess. 'Take a deep breath, and let it out slowly' as we have a look at why so many consider this concept album to be a contender for the best prog rock album of all time.

The introduction, 'Regression', begins with a ticking sound, echoing from ear to ear (I like to think that this is somehow a continuation of the end of Ayreon's The Final Experiment, but that's just my imagination). The voice of a hypnotherapist appears, giving instructions to relax. The protagonist of the story, Nicholas, is put into a trance by the hypnotherapist as a form of 'past life regression therapy'. As a welcoming acoustic guitar guides us into the music, Nicholas begins to visualise a girl called Victoria; him in his past life. While this introduction is somewhat minimalistic, the chord progression of the acoustic guitar, combined by the soft tones of James LaBrie's vocals, is very soothing and quite beautiful, creating a very 'easy' introduction to the album.
We a now presented with an instrumental overture of the album, 'Overture 1928'. This instrumental piece covers many of the brilliant themes to come in the album. The band really works as one piece to create a joyful painting of the setting of the story - it's really amazing, yet only a taste of what is to come.
'Overture 1928' transitions seamlessly into the first real song of the album; 'Strange Deja Vu'. As Nicholas discovers that Victoria was his past life, and that she was murdered, the music in the verse moves to the background of the vocals and provides a mysterious mood. A pristine pre-chorus leaves into one of my favourite choruses of all time; stunning vocals and an incredible chord progression. If one thing stands out about Scenes From A Memory, it's the second-to-none songwriting of Dream Theater. After the first chorus of this song, we are now brought into a very groovy section where the band now takes the centre of the stage. It's quite different to the rest of the song, yet it still fits in so well; the composers clearly demonstrate their ability to construct a song seamlessly. The awesome chorus returns, and fades away to piano, leading (again, seamlessly) into the next track.
'Through My Words' is a very brief interlude that serves as an introduction to 'Fatal Tragedy', in which Nicholas realises that Victoria is haunting him to reveal the the circumstances surrounding her murder. The song is a duet between LaBrie's vocals, and a piano accompaniment.
The piano flows into 'Fatal Tragedy' as the music begins to sound darker. The band kicks in, in a loud and foreboding manner. We now see Nicholas explore 1928 in his trance. As he begins to learn about Victoria's murder, the music sounds quite evil and strange. After another great chorus ("without faith, without hope") the band takes centre stage, most notably the drums and keys. The song turns a bit heavier as LaBrie resumes singing. After the second chorus, things turn very dramatic. The tempo picks up, and the playing becomes very technical in a sequence time signatures that elude me. Complex polyrhythms appear between the snare drum and the keyboards. What is most admirable is that its not just showing off - its very well written and makes you want to tap your foot (even if your tapping has no hope of keeping in time). This sections lasts for a long time, but I'm certainly not complaining. It ends quite heavily, and then suddenly cuts to just the piano as the hypnotherapist guides us into the next song.
'Beyond This Life' begins heavily, with dissonance between the keys and guitars. The song eventually settles into a much quieter verse as Nicholas reads a newspaper article detailing Victoria's death: Victoria had allegedly broken up with her boyfriend, Julian, in favour of his brother, Edward, and Julian had murdered them both in revenge before killing himself. The song moves to a mysterious section ("Our deeds have travelled far...") where the vocals shine briefly, before being taken over by a very fast guitar solo. After another verse and mysterious section, a ray of sunshine blooms across the cloudy mood of the song in a brief moment of serenity ("All that we learn, this time..."). We are now brought into a crunching prog section, similar to that in 'Strange Deja Vu'. A keyboard solo begins this technical section, which goes through a variety of styles. As this section progresses, it becomes more and more dissonant in the keyboards, which is... interesting. Personally, I don't 'get' the effect, but it doesn't last for long until we're brought back into the realms of more comprehendible music with the vocals rejoining the music in one last moment of bliss.
'Through Her Eyes' is the main ballad ('The Spirit Carries On' is too diverse for me to label it as such) of the album. We hear some female vocals (which could really be used a lot more in this album) in the background while LaBrie's vocals (playing the role of Nicholas) lament over Victoria's death. This song is musically different from the rest of this album; slow paced and relatively simple.
We now reach one of the highest points of the album, with a 13-minute song called 'Home'. A middle-eastern instrument guides into the song with hypnotic percussion. Guitars and drums seamlessly join in, creating a massive build up to a huge riff that just explodes. Through the heaviness, the middle eastern sound can still be heard. The tempo is suddenly lowered as soaring vocals join in over a simple (yet powerful) beat. We see Julian's point of view, how he begins to become addicted to cocaine and gambling, which is what drives Victoria away from him. The chorus of the song is melodic and very strong (in a similar way to 'Strange Deja Vu'). This whole section of music repeats (with different instrumentation) as we see Edward's perspective as he falls in love with Victoria, but still feels guilty for cheating his brother. The song moves to a slower different section, as we hear Julian gambling in one ear, and Victoria making love to Edward in the other (don't make the mistake of listening to this bit with your parents in the car like I did). This leads into a groovy synth solo (which Jordan Rudess really excels at in this album in particular) and a guitar solo, both of which float above complex rhythmical patterns provided by drummer Mike Portnoy. We now have one final chorus, this time from the perspective of Nicholas, who realises that solving the mystery of Victoria's murder will free him from the visions of the past that plague his life. The song ends with one final instrumental section, that flies through the themes of the song before diving into some complex time signatures. A very cool song indeed, one of Dream Theater's greatest without a doubt.
If you felt bewildered by the complex ending of 'Home', you'll be in shock for the next track on the album. 'The Dance of Eternity' is the second instrumental of the album, and it is a mad display of technical mastery. The song has over one hundred time signature changes, and can only be attempted by the most proficient of drummers out there. Despite this high degree of technicality, the piece manages to maintain a constant flow and groove throughout; the whole band really works as one unit. From crazy synth solos, to heavy drum patterns, to soaring guitar sweeps - this track has it all. Suddenly, we're given a breath of 4/4 in a peculiar ragtime section, led by the pianos, showing the amazing ability of prog metal to transcend any expectations. It's not long before we're thrown back into the instrumental chaos that is 'The Dance of Eternity'.
'The Dance of Eternity' seamlessly gives way to 'One Last Time'. Contrasting the previous two songs, 'One Last Time' is relatively short and simple in comparison. Regardless, Dream Theater's songwriting ability continues to shine with a melodic chorus, guitar solo, and a reprise of the chorus of 'Strange Deja Vu'. The lyrics describe Nicholas visiting Edward's home (in his trance) to reach the conclusion that Julian had killed both Victoria and Edward as a result of their affair, before positioning himself as the witness for the newspaper article. A mystical piano gives us a transition into the next song.
Nicholas seems to be at peace at last, having solved the mystery. In 'The Spirit Carries On', we see him come to terms with the fact the he, too, will one day die and be reincarnated. This song creates a truly emotional atmosphere that will often have fans in tears at concerts (not me of course). Just when you think this album couldn't be any better, Dream Theater moves away from the heaviness and technicality into something as slow paced as this, yet still continues to create another song that is a highlight of their catalogue. A fantastic guitar solo leads into one of my favourite moments in all of music: a powerful reprise of 'Regression' complete with a choir. In contrast to the acoustic introduction, it is now majestic and vast. After such a breathtaking performance, it would seem that we have now reached the end of the story...
... or have we? One final (12-minute) song remains; 'Finally Free'. We hear the hypnotherapist awaken Nicholas as a pleasant melody plays in the background. Suddenly the music changes to stormy and dramatic as we cut to a new scene. We see Edward fabricating a fake suicide letter. Plot twist; it was he who murdered Victoria and Julian and acted as the witness for the newspaper article, because Victoria had ended their affair and rekindled her love for Julian. Flashback 2 hours before, and we hear Victoria finally happy at having found her true love in Julian. This song, like so many other on Scenes From A Memory, has a great chorus. This album is so good, it has forced me to run out of synonyms to describe great music. Anyway... as the song turns heavy, we now hear Edward murdering them both. As they fall to the ground, a reprise of 'One Last Time' is heard. It is pleasing that Dream Theater are able to use reprises like this in ways that are interesting rather than repetitive. The music shifts to more upbeat and joyful as we see their spirits leave their bodies, moving onto their next incarnation... Nicholas, now aware of this, at last feels at peace. After a brief semi-acoustic rendition of the chorus, we move onto a foreboding riff that develops for quite some time before fading out to end the album. This is my one and only gripe with Scenes From A Memory, but this ultimately puts it behind Ocean Machine: Biomech in my books. I despise fade outs. Can't stand them. There are so many more creative ways to end a song, yet alone end an album. Such a good album isn't worthy of such a mediocre ending. Fortunately, an alternate ending - which is absolutely fantastic - can be heard on Dream Theater's Live Scenes From New York live album; a recording of the album played live in full. Back to the the album; as a sort of 'post credits scene', we hear Nicholas return to his home, only to have the hypnotherapist follow him and murder him. The hypnotherapist was Edward's reincarnation, and has completed the cycle again.

The cover artwork for Scenes From A Memory is based on that of the comic The Sandman: Brief Lives. It depicts a face that is collaged out of photos from the past, which links into the plot of the album. It's a mix of gold/bronze/sepia on a black background, creating a very striking image that represents the music well.

Despite the arguably disappointing ending, Scenes From A Memory remains one of the greatest prog rock / metal albums of all time. It has the perfect blend of the extreme technicality that the Dream Theater musicians play at, and their brilliant songwriting ability. It becomes, easy when playing such technical music, to become show-offish without any enjoyable chord progressions or tunes, but Dream Theater are able to incorporate elements of both to create a true masterpiece, that is deserving of its place in the history books of prog.

93%

Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech

Ah, this album. Biomech was originally released under the band name "Ocean Machine", but this quickly changed to the mastermind behind the album: none other than Devin Townsend. So... Ocean Machine: Biomech. The album is generally regarded to be Devin's greatest, and I'm certainly not disagreeing - this happens to be my favourite album of all time. Although in terms of popularity and financial success, Ocean Machine was placed in the shadow of it's counterpart - Strapping Young Lad's City - the album has stood the test of time and remains one of the most well-respected albums in the prog metal genre. It was released in 1997 after several years of technical difficulties, but it was certainly worth the wait. So what makes this a masterpiece?

An echoing - almost robotic - voice begins the album with an excerpt from a poem. This leads into a mysterious, yet iconic guitar riff that starts the opening song 'Seventh Wave'. This riff makes it clear that this is the start of something massive. The drums kick in powerfully, as the song begins to take on a swelling, dynamic form centred around this riff. Eventually the drums change to a simpler, but more driving beat, to which Devin's vocals join to form a strong verse. The chorus arrives, and it is breathtaking while retaining that mysterious feeling; guaranteed to make any Devin fan sing along. The song continues in this vein for some time until we arrive at the bridge section. A choir of Devin's operatic vocals sing a soul-melting melody (which is capable of making tears form in the eyes - not to me though, I'm much too metal for that) and leads into the huge chorus again to end the song. 'Seventh Wave' can only be succinctly described as just that: huge. Yet, it is only a taste of what is to come.
The warm, fuzzy guitar riff of 'Life' (the 'single' of the album, released also as a very 90's music video) begins, and the album takes a happier turn. The song 'Life' seems to be about looking on the bright side, even when life 'bends you over'. It sounds quite poppy in a way, but the chorus is as fantastic as any prog rock chorus can be (maybe that's a bold claim, but I'm unashamedly in love with this album). A simple, carefree guitar solo provides an extra layer of depth to the joyful feeling of the song. And the song is once again closed with a huge rendition of the chorus. Two tracks into the album, and what stands out the most is the diversity of emotions that are being washed over the listener. It truly is very powerful.
'Night' is a similar song structurally, but the mood is once again different. The pace is very driving, led mainly by the drums. The driving verse is countered by a melodic chorus, again showing the ability of this album to have choruses that are just huge. The songs takes a possibly unexpected turn as the drums go to half time and the music becomes very forceful and somewhat heavy. We eventually return to the melodic chorus, and are led into the next song.
'Hide Nowhere' is very atmospheric. Devin uses layered vocals throughout the song to once again recreate that choir we heard first in 'Seventh Wave'. The bridge of the song uses this choir effect to sound quite chaotic. Devin's vocals are what really bring this song to the next level. The main riff returns towards the end of the song in a bombastic manner.
Following the loud ending to 'Hide Nowhere', we are now thrown into ambience. An acoustic guitar comes in to begin the interlude 'Sister'. Nothing much really happens here other than further exploring the more ambient side of the album, something which Devin also excels at.
Confusingly, we are at this point thrown into even quieter ambience for another interlude, '3AM'. This one is led by a quiet vocal solo from Devin.
Although the ambience is certainly pleasant and contributes to the atmosphere of the album, the style has certainly departed from the prog rock/metal we started with. Not to worry, as 'Voices In The Fan', kicks in with a heavy sound that also maintains that atmosphere. Devin continues to see how big he can make music sound, and this song combines the emotions of the previous songs to create a very dynamic mood. The song fades, and we are left with a... renaissance era choir? One of the best things about this album (in fact, about progressive music as a whole) is the ability to just throw you into something completely unexpected.
'Greetings' is a very short song, but it shows how much Devin can fit into a single 3-minute period. A small, yet again mysterious guitar riff develops into a huge wall of sound, with Devin's voice once again raining supreme, flying above the huge mass of the music. It transforms into something from the climax of a film score. It's massive; like a rocket ship taking off powered by sound waves instead of fuel.
'Greetings' flows quite well into 'Regulator' as a groovy drum beat kicks in. This is perhaps the most straightforward, but definitely the heaviest, song on the album. The main riff sounds explosive, and I find it quite challenging to listen to without headbanging. The rhythm is what really stands out the most in this song; there are so many interesting beats and patterns - not only in the drums, but just about every instrument.
So far, the album has been pretty fantastic. But not a masterpiece... yet. That all changes of course, with the song 'Funeral', which introduces my favourite 30 minutes of music ever written. The song is somewhat gloomy, and conveys the 'blue' sadness that anyone who has experienced the loss of someone close to them has felt. A subtle guitar pattern begins the song, but eventually we're thrown back into the atmosphere and the wall of music like never before. The guitars lead us through the emotions of the tune as the listener soars through the swelling, dynamic music. Devin's vocals are - as always - top-notch. 'Funeral' comfortably fluctuates between subtlety and catharsis (without heaviness, however). The further we glide through the music, the more this catharsis takes over until we're brought into a complete outpouring of emotion which you can hear in every single instrument, let alone Devin's voice (it's quite common that tears are shed at this point - not that I'd know of course) really giving it 100%. Once this is over, the music fades back into subtlety. Eventually the guitars kick back in and guide us into the next song.
'Bastard' is considered to be Devin Townsend's overall greatest individual song by a large portion of his fanbase. The guitars from 'Funeral' are present, but change to a pessimistic sort of mood. When the whole song really kicks in, it becomes clear that this song is entirely honest, and easily resonates with many listeners. 'Bastard' seems to be about futility, as one lyric reads: "To all the hopeful ones: nobody gives a fuck what you've got." This just about sums up the mood of the song, but it is not angry but rather depressed. Yet, underneath the apparent pessimism is a sense of determination. It is revealed that there is indeed more to this song as the music shifts from gloomy to very inspiring. At last, the true genius of the song is released around 7 minutes in. Devin lets out an unearthly scream as we move to the second section of the song, which is even huger-sounding than the first. 'Bastard' has everything that this album has to offer; the huge choruses, the driving verses, the raw emotion. It certainly is quite a journey to listen to. The song ends leaving the listener in a vast soundscape, accompanied by the lyrics "Gone now, in a field of green... gone where feelings go."
What could possibly follow such an immense 10-minute song? 'The Death Of Music' is another example of this album taking a surprising turn. We're thrown into a looping simple beat. Initially, it sounds very minimalistic, and the listener is probably waiting for the band to kick in. But it doesn't. Distant whispers are heard as the music decides to return to the ambience previously featured in the album. Devin's vocals begin, and gradually crescendo. They are joined by a powerful atmospheric synth effect, which forms the incredible 'chorus' of the song, if you'd call it that. Once again, the music soars high. But we're soon thrown back into the minimalism of the looping beat as the process repeats all over again, building up to an even bigger chorus in one of Devin's best vocal performances of his expansive catalogue. It, too, eventually fades back into the looping beat, which also fades after sometime.
The final song, 'Thing Beyond Things', is different again. It is similar to 'The Death Of Music' in a way - it is minimalistic in general, and rises up to a powerful chorus - but uses the typical rock band arrangement that we've heard for the rest of the album. It's a quiet, peaceful note to end the album on, leaving the listener thoroughly relaxed and calm as it slowly fades into silence with the final note plucked on the guitar... until an ear-piercing, full-pelt scream is unleashed by Devin. Now, I really love this album, but seriously... God. Dammit. Devin.

The album is nearing 20 years old, and so it is only fitting that Devin is booked to perform the masterpiece, in it's entirety, in the ruins of an ancient Roman theatre next year. Interestingly, 'Bastard' and 'The Death Of Music' only made their live debut in 2015. Acoustic versions of 'Funeral' have been played live on several occasions, which can be heard on Unplugged and Iceland.

The artwork, created by Daniel Collins, really fits the overall vibe of the album: blue. It depicts a mechanical head, branded with the Ocean Machine logo, rising from the ocean. This fits in with the meaning of the name; Devin uses the phrase 'Ocean Machine' to describe the human body, as it is a complex machine mostly made of water. Regardless of any symbolism, the covert artwork does succeed in looking cool and being an accurate representation of the music.

Ocean Machine: Biomech is held in high regard, which is most certainly justified. The album uses a variety of elements ranging from ambience to metal to create a true work of art. Sure, it may lack the inhuman drumming of Strapping Young Lad or crazy guitar solos of Dream Theater, but this album is one of the best out there in its ability to convey emotions to the listener. And is that not what the goal of all music should be?

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Ayreon - The Final Experiment

The Final Experiment is the debut album of dutch multi-talented musician/composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen's project Ayreon, released in 1995. The album itself is a concept album; a rock opera that begins the Ayreon story that spans several albums. While the album didn't achieve a breakthrough for Arjen, it did receive just enough popularity to warrant more Ayreon albums to be made, which is very lucky for us!

The album starts off with 'Prologue', which introduces us to the plot of the album; scientists from the year 2084 (in which mankind is in its final days due to a war) develop a program called 'Time Telepathy' - a desperate attempt to send a message to the past in order to change the future of humanity. These messages are received in the form of visions by a blind minstrel (perhaps as a result of a heightened 'sixth sense' due to his blindness) in the sixth century. His name is Ayreon (from which the project is named after). Musically, this song is an overture of the awesome musical themes to come.
The next song, 'The Awareness', shows Ayreon having his first horrid vision of the future. The song has a brilliant chorus with female vocals. The vocals combine really nicely throughout the song to create a magical effect; something that is present throughout the entire album (throughout pretty much every other Ayreon album, too).
'Eyes of Time' is a song in a similar vein, which explores Ayreon's confusion over the visions and the curiosity of the villagers. Once again, the chorus is fantastic due to the range of vocals. The second half of the song features a 'duel' of sorts between the guitars and keyboards, which is also very cool.
Ah, 'The Banishment'. 11 minutes of prog metal awesomeness. This is by far the standout track, and perhaps one of Arjen's best. It begins with an orchestral opening, creating that magical atmosphere that inspires wonder in the ears of the listener. A trumpet fanfare signals the beginning of the next section, which uses a powerful guitar melody to describe the gathering of the townspeople to judge Ayreon. Then it all fades to a single flute, then a piano comes in, and we're into the next section of the song. The townspeople accuse Ayreon of being 'the devil's spawn', while Ayreon tries to convince them of his innocence. Several vocalists participate to add several layers of depth. It. Is. Awesome. Eventually, they throw stones and drive him out of the village. The music sounds very medieval, but of course uses electric guitars and synthesisers to sound vaguely modern at the same time. After a groovy bass solo followed by an equally groovy guitar and synth solo, we're thrown into a bombastic section, which will have any metalhead banging their head. The song takes an unexpected turn as we see Ayreon stumbling blindly through a forest as the music turns to borderline death metal. This song goes through so many moods and styles, it is impossible not to love.
Ayreon, perhaps guided by fate, arrives at King Arthur's castle in Camelot, where he becomes a minstrel in the song 'Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy'. As the title would suggest, it sounds very medieval, complete with harpsichord.
The one single of the album is 'Sail Away to Avalon'. This is a song sung by Ayreon about the knights of the round table and their journey to Avalon. It goes back to that style that appeared at some points in 'The Banishment'; a medieval tune performed in a metal style. It is once again very affective at getting the foot tapping in this song.
Things get quiet again in the song 'Nature's Dance'. Ayreon sits in the garden of Camelot, appreciating the serenity despite his blindness, and reluctantly accepts his fate. It's all acoustic, and while the melody itself if quite happy, the lyrics are quite sad, giving the song a bittersweet effect. One of the most impressive feats of this album is the empathy that Arjen establishes between the listener and Ayreon; we are made to feel genuinely sorry for him.
We now move to something quite different; 'Computer-Reign (Game Over)', which describes Ayreon's vision in which technology reigns supreme over mankind. The music departs the medieval feel and instead has a very futuristic feel, which is somewhat jarring, not helped by the bizarre 'computer vocals' in the chorus.
Ayreon's next vision is depicted in the song 'Waracle', which shows how the end of humanity was spelt out by the decision of one man to press one button to start a (presumably nuclear) war. The verse of the song has yet another different feel, quite dark, but this eventually gives way to another huge, operatic chorus.
'Listen To The Waves' shows Ayreon's vision of the degraded environment in the future. The song is somewhat guitar driven, and is hard to describe, but it sounds like Arjen is channeling both his inner hippie and prog genius into one awesome tune.
Fed up with all of these nasty visions, Ayreon commands the 'eyes of time' (the scientists from the future) to give him one last moment of peace and quiet in the song 'Magic Ride'. His attempt at escaping the stress of his life is futile as nobody hears his plea to forget about the horrors of the future. The song has a similar bittersweet feel to 'Nature's Dance'; the music is quite pleasant and daydreamy, but the lyrics convey Ayreon's feeling of helplessness.
In the next song, 'Merlin's Will', we are introduced to a nasty character: Merlin, King Arthur's magician. Merlin assumes that Ayreon is a fraud and is making up the visions just for the sake of attention. As Merlin grows envious, he decides that Ayreon must be silenced. The chorus of this song is sung by the knights - which sounds like a bass choir. It's a strong tune that further heightens the empathy we feel for poor Ayreon.
In 'The Charm Of The Seer', Ayreon realises that he will never be able to complete his quest of alerting the world of the impending dangers, nor will he ever be able to rid himself of the horrifying visions. So he admits defeat and realises that the only way out is to surrender himself to Merlin. The song, although relatively upbeat, is quite melancholy. The music is somewhat repetitive of the phrase 'I bow in fear... to the charm of the seer", but more vocals accumulate to form an operating choir as the song fades out.
Merlin grants Ayreon his final wish - to have one last moment of peace and quiet - in the 'Swan Song'. It's entirely instrumental, based around depressing flute and piano melodies. Some string instruments join in towards the end to create a very emotional piece.
In 'Ayeron's Fate', we see Ayreon have one last attempt to convince Merlin that he is not a fraud. Merlin still refuses to believe Ayreon despite everything, and casts his spell to kill Ayreon. However, the time telepathy program now transfers its visions to Merlin now that the original receiver has died. Merlin is shocked to find out that Ayreon was genuine, as the music turns from pessimistic and dark to optimistic and powerful. A fantastic chord progression, led by the guitars, plays while Merlin vows to complete Ayreon's quest for him, and spread the word of the impending dangers of the future by the end of the 20th century. The music now fades as a dream-like recapitulation of some lyrics from the album echo. This too fades, and a voice announces that 'the outcome of the final experiment has now been place in your hands' as a clock begins to tick in the background, revealing that this album itself is the result of Ayreon and Merlin's quest to warn of the future. This ending certainly had a profound effect on me the first time I heard it; never before had I come across music that breaks the fourth wall like that. This is compounded by the guilt of Ayreon's suffering and death - the listener should feel like they must do something to make sure it wasn't all in vain. Overall, the ending is a very powerful effect pulled off successfully by the genius of Arjen Anthony Lucassen.

The special edition comes with a bonus disc of 'semi-acoustic' versions of some of the songs, which work quite well for some songs... and quite interestingly for others (most notably the hidden track: an acoustic version of the 'death metal' part of The Banishment). A range of singers also perform on this bonus disc, making it definitely worthwhile to listen to.

The artwork depicts a castle (Camelot) sitting in the ocean underneath a red night sky, being watching by a giant eye (representing the 'eyes of time'). The album title is in a digital-styled font, to clearly show the contrast within the album between the future and the dark ages. The whole artwork is very red and blue, which strengthens this contrast. It looks pretty cool overall, thanks to the artists Jacoby Peeters and Richele Nijst.

So, what's the verdict? The Final Experiment is a great concept album and rock opera, both musically and story-wise. In terms of its ability to evoke emotion through empathy, it succeeds quite well, and manages do to so through a multitude of different musical styles. It uses music inspired by the distant past and the future, yet still manages to sound like an early 90's prog record (not a bad thing)... It serves as a great example of what progressive music in general should be, especially 'The Banishment', which stands out amongst Ayreon's discography. Although it wasn't a commercial success and didn't lead to Ayreon's breakthrough, it - at the very least - served as a 'vision' of the greater things to come from Arjen Anthony Lucassen.

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