The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted

Though I have regarded him quite highly for some time now, in recent times Devin Townsend has become one of my favorite songwriters of all time. His compositions are simultaneously beautiful, chaotic and darkly disturbing in a way that can only be described as vehement ingenuity. He is without a doubt one of the most prolific musicians working today and his newest endeavor, The Devin Townsend Project, seems to exist solely to showcase that fact.


Months ago Devin announced that he would be releasing four albums within a year under this moniker and that each one would be different from the next. It began with his brilliantly melodious and atmospheric album Ki and continues in the second installment of the series with Addicted.

Addicted is unlike anything I have heard before. Not just from Devin's point-of-view, but in music as a whole. It's as if he took SYL, ABBA and Ziltoid and threw them in a blender, then took that mix and threw it on a frying pan and made some upbeat, pop-metal scrambled eggs. The idea of the record, for anyone who has not heard it, may sound horrifying, (especially if you're a die hard metal fan) but the end result is actually very cool, catchy and at times, severely heavy. There is a lot of influence in everything from his early days with Steve Vai, to SYL, to Ziltoid and beyond.

The best way to describe this album, and I'm slightly paraphrasing Devin himself, is ABBA metal. It's poppy, it's catchy, it's danceable and it's downright badass. Who would've thought that by putting a 90's pop spin on a metal album Devin would end up creating a refreshingly original beast of a metal record? The most obvious and pop-trodden song on the record is "Bend It Like Bender", which is in fact a tribute to the beloved alcoholic robot from Futurama, making the song that much cooler. The song is so damn catchy that, regardless of your musical taste or your cultural background, I would defy anyone not to bob their head once the song kicks in. It's utterly absurd.

Mr. Townsend is not alone on this record, however. Most of the vocal duties are not performed by the man himself, but by Anneke van Giersbergen, formerly of the Dutch band The Gathering, who I have not heard but will definitely check out after hearing her performance on this record. Her airy voice fills the entire space with artistic melodies and is a great juxtaposition to the often heavier tones of the record. Drums for the album were performed by The Devin Townsend Band's Ryan Van Poederooyen, who I am not too familiar with (outside of TDTB records) but I have no complaints here.

Addicted has slowly and steadily become one of my favorite records of the year, easily moseying its way into my top 5. It's just too much fun and inventive to pass up. If you are in any way familiar with Devin Townsend's work, metal music, or just like music that you can dance to, you would be a fool not to check this out. It's like an amusement park in CD format.

9/10

Track Listing:
1. Addicted!
2. Universe in a Ball!
3. Bend it Like Bender!
4. Supercrush!
5. Hyperdrive!
6. Resolve!
7. Ih-Ah!
8. The Way Home!
9. Numbered!
10. Awake!

Favorite song: Universe in a Ball!