Devin Townsend - Empath

This is the tenth studio album by prog-metal artist Devin Townsend. It was released in 2019, five years after Z²: Dark Matters.

I tried. I really did... perhaps too hard, actually. But as an album of about 60 complex and interlinked songs (don't be fooled by a track list that only says 15!), it's just too far outside my comfort zone. There's passages when I'm really getting into it, but the overall feeling for me is that of whiplash. My personal highlights (below) are just the dumbed-down parts, which is at odds with the overall purpose of the album.

The opener Castaway brilliantly vivid soundscape of a peaceful morning at the beach. I think the choir is wonderful, and it blends into the following song nicely.

Spirits Will Collide is such dumb headbanging stadium power-ballad, and I love it. (Please check out the video clip... elephants playing timpani drums!) Like Millencolin at their best, it's uplifting motivational-poster rock, for example the lyric "don't you forget that you are loved". I'm writing this on the day that Meat Loaf's death was announced, and Mr Loaf would surely approve of such uplifting and overblown ridiculousness 

Genesis, Evermore, Sprite, Borderlands, There be Monsters and Here Comes the Sun have moments that I enjoy, but often the roller-coaster is just too intense for me. Why has a much smoother flow and although I don't have a clue what's going on, it sure sounds grandiose. The powerful finale is a particular highlight.

Lastly, Adrift gets a gold star for being wonderfully simple... and gentle.

Audio quality rant

Like everything about this album, there's lots going on with how it sounds.  The character is quite synthesised and the high-pitched sounds can be harsh, but there's no doubting that the instruments have great clarity and separation, while also being layered brilliantly.

Favourite songs

Castaway, Spirits Will Collide, Why, Adrift