...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI


..::OPIS::..

Devin Townsend's tenth solo record remains an absolute fan favorite to this day, a conceptual take of a nerdy alien tasked with finding the best cup of the coffee in the Universe, and being offended by the meager offerings put forward by Earth, summons his Ziltoidian warriors to attack and subjugate the planet. Most impressively, it's the one record Devin performed entirely on his own.



Curse you Devin Townsend! I do my best to limit a band's five star ratings and to avoid fanboyism, but this is the fourth classic by this modern genius. Ziltoid serves as the perfect close to the first chapter of his career, as it combines elements of the biting humor of Punky Bruster, the heaviness of Strapping Young Lad, and the ambiance of his solo work. His recent break from touring only enforces that stage one is complete. Ziltoid the Omniscient is a relief from the self-serious mentality that pervades prog metal and prog in general. Over a span of four months Devin wrote, recorded, and mixed the album by himself. Every instrument is either played or programmed by the Dev. The drum programming is near perfect, using Thomas Haake's Drumkit From Hell. The result is insanely technical drumming that alternates nicely between inhuman (duh) blastbeats, and mid-tempo crashes.
Ziltoid is a loose concept album that follows the story of the fourth-dimensional Ziltoid as he threatens the Earth for the perfect cup of coffee. He does so by pummeling the planet with his mighty guitar. The concept shifts several times to include the plight of Earth's hero Captain Spectacular, as well as to poke fun at his own career. Highlights are hard to pick out, as they're all magnificent. By Your Command sets the stage of the album by alternating tempos, moods, and vocals and Devin switches from shrieks to clean, airy vocals on a dime.Ziltoidia Attaxx! is one of the heaviest songs ever written by Devin, which is saying something. Despite the zany humor, songs like Solar Winds offer some soul-searching lyrics amongst the barrage of metal and wit. Every character is sung by Devin using different voices. Colour Your World is the climax of the concept, and it features Devin unleashing his incredible and unique scream as Ziltoid breaks down. The Greys is the perfect closer. It has wonderful vocals, monumental yet beautiful guitars, thunderous drums, and the trademark Devin ambiance.

This stands as Devin's most complex work yet, but it's also one of his most accessible. The varying moods, vocals, and melodies are dizzying. It isn't flawless, but it's topped my list of favorite 07 releases. With this release, Devin Townsend has crafted prog metal's Thick as a Brick. It is an irreverent concept album that mocks all other concept albums and the self-serious attitude that pollutes nearly all of progressive rock. Just remember, don't take it seriously, because Devin doesn't.

1800iareyay


This quotation taken from the most critically acclaimed album by Devin Townsend to date - Terria - may very well put his entire career in a nutshell for his many fans. Having created so much music throughout the last decade, Devin Townsend, or as his followers like to call him, 'Crazy Devy', could never be blamed for making his music sloppily, yet he always knew the best way to combine a thorough approach and a bit of humour in the process. Those who are familiar with any of his work do not need to be told that Devin has no problems with not taking himself too seriously, as Townsend's music always contains surprising, serendipitous twists, his lyrics possess a quality that often borders on the ridiculous and his on stage presence includes bizarre antics, such as insulting his fans in ways considered unacceptable by many "prog" musicians. His aficionados know better, however, than to be offended by Devin's remarks, as they have learned well to accept the duality of his extremely charismatic work and on stage presence.

Ziltoid The Omniscient is simultaneously a unique and an ordinary album for Devin Townsend. The first thing to notice is that no session musicians or group mates have been used for the recording process. When you listen to the album, remember that every note, voice and sound has been played, recorded and produced by the man himself. That should drop you a hint that this album may be considered the essence of his work, especially because several themes and parts of different composition have a strong sense of déjà vu about them, and a person familiar with Devin's work will notice affinities with his previous albums (both solo and as a member of Strapping Young Lad) as flashbacks are provoked in his memory. The compositions on the album vary greatly and range from short and heavy numbers closer to his SYL material, seemingly radio friendly, emotional and down-to-earth songs and great epics with changing themes and quirky, spacey melodies. The album, as one would expect from Devin, is achingly memorable (if talking about riffs and melodies, vocal lines and lyrics) and contains some of his catchiest material to date. However, while the music may not particularly flabbergast anyone who has before experienced Infinity, Synchestra and any of his SYL work, the lyrics department deserve their own place for description.

'Eccentric' and 'comic' are the first adjectives that instantly come to one's mind whilst describing this concept album's story and lyrical content. The story is irony-filled and could be considered a great parody of many things at once: the sympathetic character common to DT's albums, silly concepts in the Prog-Metal genre(Devin must be the only one in the 'scene' - if such even exists - who is fully aware that his story is not meant to be taken seriously), cheesy science fiction and Townsend's career as a whole. The entire story of a hostile omniscient alien Ziltoid threatening to destroy our planet is a daydream of a layabout who works at a coffee shop and entertains himself by imagining such ridiculous stories. In his dream Ziltoid The Omniscient (or, as proved later by the protagonist Captain Spectacular, The Nerd) finds an unusual excuse to make an attack by requesting the Earth's ultimate cup of coffee. Disappointed by the gift (Fetid! How dare they present this to me! Foul, they hide their finest bean. Attack! ), Devin proceeds to mercilessly decimate the planet's population. The story henceforth keeps getting progressively more difficult to follow until failure leads Ziltoid to bitter enlightenment about his role and existence. One has to listen to the album on his own to experience the story instead of reading about it in a review, hence my very brief description. Depending on your type of sense of humour, the concept may seem either hilarious, unusual or nonsensical.

In conclusion, Ziltoid The Omniscient is a delightful new release from Devin Townsend that should please every person who has already become a fan of his work. Furthermore, if you still have not introduced his music to yourself this may be the perfect album to do so, as the common traits of the man's music are all here, without making the album ordinary and predictable even for his standards. If, on the other hand, his previous work was not of any interest to you, it is very doubtful that this record will change your mind. All in all, when it comes to Progressive Metal that does not take itself too seriously, Townsend's new album is a winner this year, especially knowing that the latest Sigh album is unfortunately a dud.

It can be predicted that the artist's followers will receive his latest output very warmly, and silly lines such as I am so omniscient, if there were to be two omniscientses, I would be both! will turn classic extremely quickly. While I do not feel this album is exactly a masterpiece, it is completely worth your time all things considered.

Trickster F.



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. ZTO 01:17
2. By Your Command 08:09
3. Ziltoidia Attaxx!!! 03:42
4. Solar Winds 09:46
5. Hyperdrive 03:47
6. N9 05:30
7. Planet Smasher 05:44
8. Omnidimensional Creator 00:48
9. Color Your World 09:44
10. The Greys 04:15
11. Tall Latte 01:03



..::OBSADA::..

Devin Townsend - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, production, mixing, engineering



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwOzuSwrDjk



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