The Devin Townsend Band
Synchestra

THE REVIEW

I believe it is impossible not to define Devin Townsend, former colleague of Uncle Steve Vai, as a genius. Yet every time Heavy Devy manages to amaze, to astonish, with every album he makes, with or without Strapping Young Lad, apparently his priority (by the way: their new album, according to Gene Hoglan, should be out this summer!).

And Devin has hit the mark again with the recent "Synchestra": in this new album, he once again manages to skillfully blend a bit of progressive metal with hard and heavy sounds, as evidenced by "The Baby Song". In "Let It Roll", there is an excellent voice-guitar interplay, while the subsequent "Hypergeek" may remind you of the speed and opacity of "Physicist". You must listen to "Triumph", especially for the presence of Heavy Devy's former colleague, Steve Vai, who gifts us with one of his usual fabulous solos. The song duo "Vampolka"/"Vampira" is interesting, where experimentation takes a more pronounced hold, throwing the listener into that cosmic delirium made by Devin Townsend. The same goes for "Gaia", "Notes from Africa", and "Pixillate". The instrumental "Mental Tan" is good, while "Judgement" evokes the style of another masterpiece, "Terria". "A Simple Lullaby" is the track that encapsulates all the variety present in the other tracks; a chaos of about seven minutes, of prayers and fireworks, which concludes with "Sunset", two splendid minutes alternating with a murmur of choirs and keyboard and guitar recalls. There is also a ghost track, "Sunshine and Happiness", strategically placed at the end that will either make you smile or shake your head, a postscript that in Townsend's albums has not been missing for some years now.

Dense, massive, emotional, poetic, yet still accessible. An album to own. A CD that is the sum of ten years of masterpieces from an artist who, in my view, will still give us fans a lot. Little, but surely.