Clang & Clatter

The official video for “Juular” is quite possibly one of the most outrageous, if not borderline disturbing, videos I have ever seen. Deconstruction, the album from which the track comes, is as equally outrageous, and while I love most of Devin Townsend’s work, I haven’t yet quite made up my mind about Deconstruction.

Deconstruction is an intentionally highly chaotic affair featuring guest vocal appearances by members of extreme metal acts such as Emperor, Opeth, Gwar, and Meshuggah and, according to Townsend, is ultimately an “orchestral record about cheeseburgers.” It is the third of of a four-album series from The Devin Townsend Project, each fitting into a distinct “style” and featuring an entirely different group of musicians: Ki, subtle and tranquil with a recurring theme of tension and release; Addicted!, heavy but accessible, at times bordering on sheer poppiness, that, as the title suggest, explores addictions; the insanely chaotic and complex Deconstruction; and finally Ghost, Townsend’s attempt at making a truly beautiful album.

On Deconstruction, Townsend uses the humor of the cheeseburger metaphor to explore the deeper meanings of facing and overcoming the fears of the addictions examined in the previous album. According to (the mostly reliable) Wikipedia (and this video interview):

The album is a concept album focused around a man who is obsessed with finding the true nature of reality. In the process of this journey, he goes to Hell and meets the devil. The devil shows him the secrets of the universe, presenting a cheeseburger to him. However, being a vegetarian, the man cannot eat the cheeseburger, rendering his attempts at working out the true nature of reality pointless.

As for “Juular,” Townsend explains it this way:

Started as ‘Jugular’ till I messed up the spelling, then decided it would be a good name for a fictional religious fanatic who spends his life in penance not due to appreciation of the infinite, but more based on the need to be right.

Enjoy!

Today, Devin Townsend, in conjunction with InsideOut Music and Century Media, has made available his previously delayed live Devin Townsend Project EP to promote the DTP 2011 European tour. The track listing is:

• Supercrush (from Addicted!)
• Kingdom (from Physicist)
• Truth (from Infinity)
• OM (from Infinity EP)
• By Your Command (from Devin Townsend Presents: Ziltoid The Omniscient)

You can get your free copy at the InsideOut Music website, although it will cost you in the currency of the social web—tweets and likes.

WARNING: Do not download this EP if you are bothered by cursing and vulgarity, if you don’t have a sense of humor, or if you are allergic to awesomeness.

Devin Townsend is a relatively recent discovery for me, and I have been meaning to post about him for some time now. After playing in several metal bands in high school, this quirky, multi-instrumentalist from Canada got his real start 1993 when he captured the attention of Relativity Records, the label where Joe Satriani got his start, who had offered him a record deal based on a demo tape he had circulated under the name Noisecreep. Relativity introduced Townsend to Steve Vai, who was impressed with his vocal work and offered him the lead vocal spot on his Sex & Religion album and subsequent tour. While touring with Vai, Townsend hooked up with opening act The Wildhearts, with whom he then collaborated and toured through mid-1994.

Townsend became frustrated with what he saw in the music industry at this point. Relativity had dropped him, and after receiving an offer from Roadrunner that was soon overturned by a corporate exec, he landed a deal with Century Media. Hesitant to release an album under his name due to his exposure with Vai, he adopted the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad, which became his flagship project, eventually forming into a full-fledged extreme metal band.

Devin’s creative output is probably rivaled only by Ginger from The Wildhearts. Since that first SYL album, Townsend has produced, written, and released 10 studio albums, 1 EP, 1 live album, and 2 compilations as a solo artist on his independent HevyDevy Records label, in addition to the 5 studio albums, 1 EP, and 2 live albums under the Strapping Young Lad moniker.

Since retiring Strapping Young Lad, Townsend’s current focus has been on a 4-album project under the name Devin Townsend Project, each featuring a different lineup and theme. Two albums, Ki and Addicted!, have been released, and the final two, Deconstruction and Ghost are being mastered and are due to be released in 2011.

Today’s video comes from the 2009 album Addicted! and features—although not quite as extensively as other tracks—the sweet vocals of Anneke van Giersbergen. The wall-of-sound production of this clip is typical of the rest of the album and is a hallmark of Townsend’s sound. The remainder of the album is a bit different from this particular song, but it remains very heavy—although a different kind of heavy—with Devin’s alternately screaming and operatic vocals layered with Anneke’s crystal clear voice soaring over most of the tracks. It’s definitely something to check out.

Enjoy!

InsideOut Music is offering its latest sampler compilation Music In Progress, Vol. II as a free full-album download at Amazon.com. Despite only a name-recognition familiarity with many of the artists, it’s worth grabbing if only for the excellent cuts from the Devin Townsend Project, OSI, Dream Theater’s James LaBrie, and the mighty King’s X. Many of the other tracks here are uneven or uninspiring at best, even though the dullest of them has its bright moments, which is always a possibility in a genre where songs normally run well past the five-minute mark. The surprise gem for me among the artists not already listed is the track offered by Pain of Salvation — a trudging, sludge-rock groovefest which alternately reminds me of Queens of the Stone Age, Soundgarden, and Lenny Kravitz (believe it or not) until you hit the spacey middle section that serves as a reminder that this is a prog band.

If you enjoy the brand of progressive metal served up by InsideOut’s roster, Music In Progress, Vol. II might be worth picking up.