Devin Townsend, in the many forms he has taken over the years with Strapping Young Lad, as well as his eponymous current project, is someone known quite well throughout the metal and progressive worlds. With output ranging from the loud, brash, and angry, such as ‘Aftermath’ in his Strapping Young Lad days through to the likes of ‘Kingdom’ or ‘Hyperdrive!’ in his current form, there has always been a strong lean toward melody, regardless of the musical style he is singing to. The question with Hevy Devy is simple – quite what way is he leaning with his newest release?
In the case of ‘Lightwork’, it is a definite shift fully towards his melodious side. While he does go on occasion towards his yell, he has a definite focus more on the gentler side, while the musical backing stays consistently on the softer side with an occasional heavier moment. The shift may be in part to help with live performances and reducing the wear and tear on the vocal chords but man, does Townsend nail this side so well!
Advance singles ‘Moonpeople’ and ‘Lightwork’ are both good demonstrations of what to expect from the bulk of this release. ‘Lightworker’ especially almost has a feeling of previous fan favourite ‘Why?’, albeit with a huge, soaring chorus that you instantly want to loudly sing along with. There’s a definite symphonic element with it, too, in comparison to the almost low-fi at times ‘Moonpeople’, which still contains more layers than you’ll likely pick out with a mere few listens through.
The layers and production are everything you would expect from a Devin Townsend release – absolute perfection. It feels almost churlish to say that it is standard fare for Townsend, but when you consider the quality of what he has done for so long, you quickly realize that this is only due to the ridiculously high bar that he sets for himself. The overall theme, as the title may suggest, is one of light, gentle melodies and it’s another body of work from Townsend that just echoes quite how high his skill level with songwriting is.
It’s a fantastic release that should appeal to his existing fan base, as well as any prog heads that are somehow not already fans of his when you look at the title track and its nod to the gentler side of prog, akin to The Flower Kings and their ilk. A fantastic body of work that adds even further depth and quality to the catalogue of someone who has made a long career now by demonstrating his talent in such different ways.
- ‘Lightwork’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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