The Devin Townsend Project’s latest album Transcendence is one that provides an inside look to the current state of mind of the celebrated vocalist and guitarist. Transcendence is Townsend’s 17th and the band’s 7th studio album. The album was released Sept. 9, 2016 and has been met with high praise as the melodic and power metal tracks come together to deliver yet another top notch record from Townsend. After the first listen, the album gives the feeling of an epic roller coaster of cinematic, dreamlike tracks but when you take into account all of Townsend’s life experiences and work, the album is really a thing of beauty. Townsend took a different approach to this album by allowing the band more creative control over the music as opposed to the past where he has had tight control on the creative makeup of the albums.
The album starts off with a remix of the song “Truth” from Townsend’s 1999 Infinity album which starts with an airy feel that is present throughout the entire record while still battling with the heavy guitar and drums combinatoin that gives you a feeling of light vs dark and the backing choir adds a layer to the track that stimulates a feeling of grandeur. That feeling transitions into the heavier but still somewhat airy track of “Stormbending.” This establishes the theme you see throughout the record with darker more introspective tracks while still being met with luminous jovial songs laid out strategically to give you an almost cinematic feel and really an inside look into the mind of Townsend, who has said his albums are a direct reflection of what is going on around him at the time of writing. Townsend has also said his goal with this album was to create something beautiful while still being strong especially in the world’s current state. Townsend nailed that feeling with this album and it is especially present in the track “Higher.” The song starts slow with soft vocals and acoustic guitar only to pick up shortly after with heavy electric guitar and blasts from the drums while again being backed by the choir.
While the entire album is outstanding, the tracks that stand out from the pack would have to be “Stormbending,” “Failure,” “Secret Sciences,” and “Higher.” They are all layered with the emotional feeling that the album was made to deliver and gives the listener the best overall idea of what the album has to offer. This album is easily a five-star album that sets the bar yet even higher for future work from Townsend. You can purchase the album at www.hevydevy.com.
