Almost everyone today has been affected by cancer in some form or another.  I personally have been affected, my father and my step-sister were both diagnosed with cancer and then became cancer survivors.  It’s something that we deal with every day, young and old alike are both victims to this disease.  There are tons of great organizations out there that are helping to raise money for cancer research and help put an end to cancer!  One of my favorite record labels around, and one that I’ve been a fan of and a consumer of since 1992, is doing their part to help out as well.  I present to you Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music to Cure Cancer coming to you via Metropolis Records on February 9th!

Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music To Cure Cancer

 Rather than try and restate what has already been said, I’ll let the press release do the talking for me on this:

“Cancer has ruined the lives of countless people around the world.  Rarely in the international goth/industrial scene does one hear about it.  On May 1^st, 2008, Jim Semonik, longtime promoter, DJ, and frontman for electro-industrial band Rein[Forced], was diagnosed with stage 2B colorectal cancer.  During a rigorous campaign of chemotherapy and radiation, Semonik’s passion for this music did not waver.  On June 28^th, 2008, 16Volt’s “Denial Highway” Tour came through Pittsburgh courtesy of Jim.  It was at this event that Semonik formulated the idea for a compilation that would not only be gargantuan in scale, but in quality as well.  Jim asked 16Volt frontman, Eric Powell, to be a part of it.  Eric didn’t hesitate and thus Electronic Saviors was born.”

Jim won this battle with cancer despite a few set backs and loosing a large portion of his digestive track.  So now Electronic Saviors is finally here and it’s a great opportunity to give back and get something for it.  There is some real winning tracks on here including a new Chemlab mix and exclusive tracks written for this compilation alone.  Again I’ll let the press release do the real talking here.

“A grand total of 83 artists came together for this project, and it is with this that Jim wants to donate proceeds to the Center For Cancer Research and Wellness in Harrisburg, PA.  Saviorsis a monumental 4 CD box-set, packaged nicely in DVD digi-pack format, featuring stunning artwork by Jeff Confer and a 12 page booklet including an essay from Jim and a drop card for a downloadable 5^th CD.  The content of the compilation covers the widest range of emotions that a cancer patient goes through.  It ranges from melancholy moving songs (ThouShaltNot, Bow Ever Down, Encoder) to songs about the medical industry (SMP, Boole) to angry songs of loss (Suicide Commando, Rein[Forced], Acumen Nation) to pure anger and raging dance tracks (Nachtmahr, The Dark Clan, Terrorfakt, Vicious Alliance), as well as, down tempo, ambient and tranquil pieces (Burikusu!!!, The Atomica Project), comedic (The Gothsicles, Caustic) and songs of hope (Interface, SD6 and Assemblage 23).”

And here is a full track listing for the entire 4 CD set.  The fifth disc is a mystery so you’ll just have to buy the compilation to find out more!

Disc 1-Diagnosis and Insurance

01.  SMP - Stay Sick
02.  Stromkern - Notes From A War

03.  Boole - Smoking Gun
04.  Interface - Never Say Farewell
05.  Chemlab - Solar Max (The Jimmy Sextex Coil)
06.  Bow Ever Down - Goodbye
07.  The Gothsicles - Jim, Let Me Know When You Can Drink Again (Extreme Party Stylezz)
08.  Terrorfakt - Painkiller
09.  16Volt - Things Unkind
10.  Rein[Forced] - Malignancy (Pancreatitis Mix)
11.  Ego Likeness - Save Your Serpent (Light As A Feather Mix)
12.  Burikusu!!! - 7 Dimensional
13.  Inure - Rapture
14.  Cesium_137 - Endure (Encoder Mix)
15.  Cyanotic - Axiome (Post Affliction Mix Feat 16Volt)
16.  Silent Auction - Deliverance
17.  Terror Firma Sky - Cancerous Catalyst Converter

Disc 2-Chemotherapy and Radiation

01.  The Dark Clan - Beat It, Kill It
02.  The Azoic - Search And Destroy (Savior Mix)
03.  genCAB - Version 2  (Aesthetic Perfection Mix)
04.  Christ Analogue - The Fight
05.  Prometheus Burning Feat Jimmy Semtex of Rein[Forced] - Malignant Disco
06.  Boxed Warning - Run First
07.  Assemblage 23 - Impermanence (Flight AC-112 Mix)
08.  I:Scintilla - From A Wasteland To A Dream
09.  Imperative Reaction - Giving In To The Change (Assemblage 23 Mix)
10.  ThouShaltNot - Sick
11.  Combichrist - Nosepad
12.  Sonik Foundry - Stigmata
13.  XuberX - Fear Is Fear
14.  Mindless Faith - Into The Wind
15.  Cyber Strukture - Some Sorta Rhythmic Machine
16.  vircon - Count Backwards From Ten
17.  Jordan Decay - The Great War

Disc 3-Surgery

01.  Deathline Int’l - Breaking
02.  Encoder featuring Jimmy Semtex of Rein[Forced] and Patricia Wake - Jim’s Song
03.  Vicious Alliance - Right Beside You (Save Me Now Mix)
04.  backandtotheleft - Maybe Today
05.  Nachtmahr - Katharsis (Purification Mix)
06.  Null Device - Under the Gun (Immune Response Mix)
07.  Suicide Commando - Until We Die (Winter Edit)
08.  Agnes Wired For Sound - Don’t Worry (We’ll Meet Up Again)
09.  System Syn - Blood (2009 Edit)
10.  Acumen Nation - The Juice Of Rotted Fruit
11.  Aesthetic Perfection - The Ones (genCAB Mix)
12.  Dismantled - Not Me
13.  FGFC820 - Children Of Decay (Northborne Mix)
14.  Everything Goes Cold - I’ve Sold Your Organs On The Black Market To Finance The Purchase Of A Used Minivan (I Don’t Want Those Organs If There’s Cancer In Them Mix)
15.  Leæther Strip - The Scalpel Song (Neoplasm Edit)
16.  Mordacious - Sleeping Beauty
17.  Flesh Field - Detritus Of Reason

Disc 4-Recovery

01.  Noisuf-X - White Noise (Gift Mix)
02.  Hardwire - I Am Forever
03.  The Atomica Project - Transmission
04.  Massiv In Mensch featuring Mind.In.A.Box - Supermassive Gravity (Endanger Mix)
05.  SD6 - Free (Interface Mix)
06.  Obscenity Trial - Here And Now (Banging Mix by XP8)
07.  Alter Der Ruine VS Premeditated Light - Dawn
08.  nolongerhuman - Survival
09.  Iris - Imposter (ThouShaltNot Remix)
10.  Debutante - Alive
11.  Andraculoid - You Tried To Kill Me, But I Killed You First
12.  Deviant UK - Access Denied (Rotersand Mix)
13.  Hypefactor - The Sweetest Soul (Rex Mix)
14.  Freezepop - Duct Tape My Heart (Chinese Theatre Remix)
15.  Spahn Ranch - In The Aftermath (Moroder Mix)
16.  Caustic - Jim Made Cancer His Bitch

Disc 5-Bonus Medication (Digital Download)

01.  Wreckcreation - Incomplete Me (Remix)
02.  Borderlines - Visualization
03.  AimOniA - Three
04.  Beloved Dead - Twist Of Fate
05.  Derek C. F. Pegritz - Please Let Me Go
06.  Molecule Party - Riser
07.  Patricia Wake - Peaceful Shores
08.  Neurobash - Left 4 Dead
09.  Jon Zaremba - The Best Way To Tear Anything Down Is To Blast!
10.  Less Like Flesh - Virus Free
11.  EVP - Schrödinger
12.  Surviving The Odyssey - Dissolving The Sanity
13.  Retar-D2 - EXTRA LIVES!
14.  The Hose Face - Dread
15.  Sachem Orenda - Evident Product Of Effort
16.  TowerOpensFire - With Heavy Hands

Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music to Cure Cancer will be available as a digital download as well, so get out there and buy some music to help cure cancer!

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 I just finished up Marvel Zombies: The Return the five part series in the Marvel Zombie Universe and I have to say, well I’m kind of burnt out on Marvel Zombies.  When these side stories first hit the stands I was blown away by the thought of all of the Marvel Universe being turned into Zombies and the only survivors would be the super humans.  The first two series were pretty good.  I enjoyed them and looked forward to them.  Then I picked up Dead Days an off shoot of the main title.  And I started to fall behind and get lost.  I got caught up thanks to Rob at Limited Edition Comics on the Hill in Cedar Falls and I also picked up the Marvel Zombies 3 Trade at one of the book stores closing at the mall for like $5 bucks.  So I’m all up to date on it and the final verdict.  I’m done with Marvel Zombies.

In Marvel Zombies: The Return Zombie Spider-Man has teamed up with Zombie Wolverine and eventually Zombie Hulk in an alternate universe battling Zombie Fantastic Four, Zombie Hank Pym and a cast of thousands of known and little know Marvel Superheros searching for food on alternate universes.  This is where the plot starts to lose me and where Marvel jumped the Shark on this.  So by the end of the this we are right back at square one with no resolution and no real conclusion.  Not to mention the Marvel Zombies one shot that I also picked up that had the zombies crossing over to two different Monkey Universes with superheros from those universes being apes.  By the end of this series and the one shot I was completely lost on and had no idea who was who and what universe they were suppose to be in and who was a good guy and who was an ape or gorilla.  AHHHHHHHHH!

So that’s it Marvel.  Stop with Marvel Zombies already.  It’s run it’s course and you know that too.  Of course if you decide to make a movie based on this franchise I will be first in line to watch Galactus and the Silver Surfer get eaten alive by Spider-Man and Giant Man (keep that in mind and also since you kicked me in the jimi by removing Sam Raimi from Spider-Man 4 and deciding to reboot the franchise in 2012 using the Ultimate comic books as your source material bring Sam in to direct this would you?).

So that’s it folks, the guy with a Zombie Spider-Man T-shirt and a Marvel Zombies Universe T-Shirt is saying no more to the Marvel Zombies.  I’ll leave my zombie reading to the best ongoing zombie series out there which happens to be The Walking Dead (read this immediately, in fact stop reading this blog right now walk, no run to your nearest comic book store and buy every thing you can find on The Walking Dead).  On top of that I just learned that AMC is a go on Frank Darabont’s adaptation for The Walking Dead to come to the small screen!

So there you have it folks, brave into Marvel Zombie’s territory if you must, but avoid most of it after the fourth trade paper back.

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One of my Netflix buddies saw this when it hit theatres and had good things to say about it so I was anxious to finally see this one for myself.  After I finished watching it I thought to myself “man I really wish that would have been better”, but unfortunately it wasn’t.  Moon (by the way try not to read too much about the film on IMDB there is a huge spoiler on there) places it’s self squarely in the realm of Kubrick’s 2001.  It really has that same kind of vibe of space and loneliness.  It also shares a similarity with HAL in the voice work by Kevin Spacey as GERTY the computer that knows more than it’s letting on.  To talk much about the plot would be a disservice to my readers and give too much away that might hinder your own enjoyment of this quiet little film.

There are a few things to note about this.  Sam Rockwell does a great job with the character, he’s alone on a space station after three years with out live human contact.  You can sense his paranoia and stir crazy mindlessness through out the performance.  Second the film was directed by David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones.  The film has a lot of promise with its quiet atmosphere and building tension (which I think should have been leveled up to make this film really memorable).  Jones shows some real promise in the future especially since this was his first major motion picture and the first film in a planned trilogy of Moon films.  Lastly the score was done by Clint Mansell, while that name may not be a Howard Shore or Danny Elfman music nerds like myself will recognize Manell’s name from his stint in the pioneering sampling/hip hop/industrial/punk band Pop Will Eat Itself.  Mansell has done well for himself after the demise (or at least on hiatus) Poppies with lots of great scores for films including Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream (if you haven’t seen that movie do so now).

All in all Moon is a time killer with some good atmosphere but by the end you’ve got it all figured out and there really isn’t any sense of resolution or conclusion to the story.  Which makes since now seeing as how Jones wants to make three of these movies.  I’d give it a go but don’t expect fireworks.  *** Stars.

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So a couple of weeks ago I watched this new documentary on Netflix called Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation on their Instant Watch service (in HD mind you).  It’s a great little documentary about B-Movies and the film industry in Australia.  Before George Miller ever did Happy Feet he directed Mad Max in Australia, it just goes to show you that every body starts somewhere.  In the documentary many notable Australian filmmakers were interviewed and one notable American Quentin Tarantino (when doesn’t he get interviewed about exploitation movies any more?).  So I watched the Doc with pen and paper in hand and wrote down the titles of stuff that I found interesting.  Then rushed to my Netflix queues and started adding everything that was available.  The first one in the pipes was Dead End Drive-In, I can sum it up like this, Mad Max in a Drive-In.  Yep that about does it.

It wasn’t terrible and it wasn’t great, it’s just kind of there.  First there isn’t a lot of exposition to what’s going on.  Basically it’s 1990 and the world has gone to hell in a hand basket.  Wall Street crashed again sending the world into chaos.  So in Australia they decided to lock up the undesirables in a concentration camp at a Drive-In and feed them movies, music videos and junk food 24/7.  Sounds like the perfect life doesn’t it?  Well Jimmy wants out.  And quite honestly I’m not sure why Jimmy got in there in the first place actually.  All he did was go to the Drive-In to catch a movie with his gal Carmen and then his tires get stolen and he’s there forever.

So that’s the basic premise.  Jimmy then spends the next hour trying to survive the local thugs who all look like extras from an 80’s Billy Idol video.  It has its charm, and a fair dose of nostalgia for anyone that remembers what MTV looked like in the late 80’s.  Did they really need to play that Pat Benatar video over and over and over and over again?

The movie would probably get a PG-13 rating today, it had a little bit of foul language and a couple of topless scenes but the violence and blood and gore was few and far between.  Also in the documentary Tarantino talked about how Austrialians love their cars almost as much as American’s do and from this movie you can totally see that.  Every body lives in their cars and the entire culture of the movie revolved around Jimmy and his brothers ‘56 Chevy.

There was also a sub-plot that was put in there towards the end that dealt with racism and mass hysteria surrounding people blindly following the lead of a bunch of people that have no idea what they are talking about and are simply misinformed bigots.  The sub-plot really doesn’t go anywhere and it’s not like Jimmy saves the day and frees everyone from the binds of ignorance and racism.  At the end of the day Dead End Drive-In is a nostalgic piece of film history that has been forgotten!  If you’re looking for a cheesy way to kill 1 hour and 27 minutes you could do a lot worse.

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Artist: Veil Veil Vanish

Album: Anthem For A Doomed Youth (Digital Download 1-5-10)

Genre: The Cure

Vocal Style: Male, Clean, Melodic

Label: Metropolis Records

Parental Advisory: No

Recommended if You Like: 80’s New Wave, The Cure, Southern Death Cult, 80’s New Romantic Bands, Remixes

Veil Veil Vanish - Anthem For A Doomed Youth

As most people who know me can attest too, I’m a huge fan of The Cure.  In fact I was just lamenting the other day with my Netflix buddies that my top four musical influences are The Cure, Depeche Mode, Ministry and Skinny Puppy.  So what does this have to do with Veil Veil Vanish?  Well folks if anyone is carrying a torch for late 80’s or early 90’s Cure it would be Veil Veil Vanish.  Keven Tecon is a dead on version of Robert Smith during his Pornography era.  While some may think this could hinder this band I say neigh.  Upon hearing the first track “Anthem For A Doomed Youth” on this digital download I was hooked.  This is what I wish The Cure was doing today.

It’s rare that I hear something on the first listen and am really moved to listen to it over and over on repeat, and that is exactly what happened today.  This download will be released on January 5th through Metropolis Records.  It features two album tracks and three remixes of the title track.  The remixes are nifty, but really it’s the two album tracks that have me hooked and coming back for more.  Their full length album is slated for a February release date and I can’t wait to hear it.

So if you’ve been hungering for some great 80’s vibes along the lines of the early Cure and even a bit of the old Southern Death Cult then pick up this EP next Tuesday.  You won’t be disappointed.

Veil Veil Vanish - Anthem For A Doomed Youth EP courtesy of Metropolis Records.

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Well as most of you are probably figuring out by now.  I’m a music and movie nut.  I love Netflix.  It’s the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel.  Seriously.  I can watch tons of great movies for one low price per month.  I’m on the three at a time unlimited plan, and while some things about the service aren’t great, most of it is including their large amount of foreign films and hard to find films. 

I love Netflix.  I have been a member of Netflix since 2004 and at the time, there wasn’t even a peep about streaming.  YouTube still was getting off the ground.  No one was really doing a lot of video work on the web.  The files where too big and the amount of server space it required was ridiculous.  Jump ahead about two years and Netflix starts to offer streaming from their website that you could watch on your computer.  Hum, things are getting interesting.  Jump about another year forward and Netflix offers the first device to stream directly to your television, the Roku.  Ladies and gentleman I present to you the future of media.

My birthday is December 5th, don’t worry you didn’t have to get me anything, but my wife got me the Roku box for my birthday.  Not only did she get me just any Roku box but she got me the HD one with wireless interweb and HDMI outputs to my HD TV.  Have I told you lately that my wife knows me pretty well.  She does.  What she got me are the keys to the kingdom.  A virtual world of unlimited entertainment 24/7/365.  It’s always open, it’s always on and there is always something I want to see!

So you maybe asking yourself, “I’m not techy is this thing hard to use?”  Well it’s not hard to use, but it was hard to get set up for me at first.  The Rokubox my wife got me can either be used directly with your modem, just pop out your ethernet cable and pop it into the Roku and your ready to go, given that your ethernet cable is close you your TV or you have a REALLY long RCA video set up like I do.  It all seemed to be working but for some reason the Rokuwouldn’t connect to my local network.  After a quick google search of their forums I discovered that the modem provided to us by CFU is the only modem that doesn’t work with the Roku device.  Crap.  Crap is right.  Well I decided just then and there to make my house wireless!  See new technology is forcing me to forward my progress whether I’m ready or not!

So I do some research on the interweb.  Frantically email one of my tech buddies on Facebook looking for suggestions and then search the Roku site for acceptable wireless routers.  It took my facebook buddy pointing me in the right direction to actually find the routers that Roku recommends but no biggie.  So armed with a list of routers, the Roku manual and basic knowledge of routers and what the do I head to Best Buy.  I chat with a sales guy about routers and he assures me this is the one I want.  I purchase it and run home and try and set it up.

Failure.  The first thing I notice is that the router is for dial up modems.  DIAL UP MODEMS!  Of course cause that’s so 2010 right?  I put it back in the box and wait until my wife gets home from work and rush back out to Best Buy.  This time they get a geek squad member to answer my questions.  And presto I walk out the door with the right router and I even got money back!  Nice!

I get home and in a matter of minute the router is set up, passwords in place and we are off to the races.  It was seriously that easy.  In 20 minutes my house was wireless.  I’m kicking myself for not starting this sooner.  So then I take my Roku upstairs to the good TV and type in a couple of passwords.  Activate my device at the Netflix home site and PRESTO there is my entire instant queue available to watch any time I want!

And that’s what I’ve been doing folks. Watching movies and TV shows right and left in my free time.  It’s unbelievable how easy it was and it’s also been very very dependable with great picture quality.  There are a few drawbacks.  There are little to no new releases.  The studios still want you to buy DVDs so streaming them to you from Netflix isn’t at the top of their priority list right now, and the studios control the content.  Secondly there isn’t a ton of HD stuff available yet either.  I know that will change soon.  That has a lot to do with servers and bandwith and as that stuff gets bigger and more affordable I’m sure Netflix will increase those too.

All in all Netflix and the Roku box have changed my entertainment experience.  Think of the future, a world of entertainment just a click away and you’ll never have to own a physical piece of media again.  That seems scary to some, but to me that sounds like a Brave New World.

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Artist: Assemblage 23

Album: Compass

Genre: Industrial, EBM, Synth-Pop, Euro-Techno

Vocal Style: Male, Clean, Melodic, Distorted (Mild)

Label: Metropolis Records

Parental Advisory: No

Recommended if You Like: 80’s New Wave, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Justin Timberlake (If you don’t believe me listen to the track “Collapse” and tell me it wouldn’t fit with JT’s “Sexy Back”)

Assemblage 23 - Compass

I’ve been familiar with Assemblage 23 and Tom Shear through the years.  First hearing some of his cover versions on various 21st Circuitry Records releases like Newer Wave and Newer Wave 2.0, but I’ve never actually listened to a full album of Assemblage 23 material.  Well now that that has been rectified and can honestly say this is one of the best EBM, dance albums I’ve heard in YEARS.  Seriously folks, this is a good record.

First off like I mentioned above the song “Collapse” is an instant classic.  “Smoke” may be the first track on the album, and a good one at that, but Collapse is just unstoppable and really could easily beat up Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” with it’s dirty rhythms and ultimate funkiness.  I adore this track and it quite easily could be my favorite song on the record but right now it’s tied with “How Can You Sleep?”.  “How Can You Sleep?” is a total nod to Depeche Mode circa I’d say Ultra or Songs of Faith and Devotion with perhaps just a dash of Violater for good measure.  But in no way is this track a rip off of Depeche Mode.  Nope, it stands alone as an Assemblage 23 song and is another great stand out on this record.

Compass has many things going for it, huge keyboard melodies with pop sensibilities.  GREAT big beats with HUGE kick drums that get your body beat moving (Combichrist pun not intended).  At times it has a real 80’s feel to it, I even wrote in my notes “Thompson Twins” at one point in time (take that with a grain of salt).  But Compass does have a couple of faults.  Tom’s vocals don’t have a ton of range and after awhile it starts getting a little same sounding.  The music is great but at times the beats start to run together which doesn’t help the same sounding vocals a lot.  The beginning also features the strongest songs and by the end the album starts to get a little melodramatic for my taste.

So do yourself a favor and run out and grab this record today.  I can’t stress enough how much fun this record is and how much I enjoyed listening to it.  Not to mention I am in LOVE with Shear’s production on the record.  So there ya have it folks, the perfect album for the kids in black to dance too.  :)  **** out of ****** stars.

Tom Shear - Assemblage 23 Photo: Bob Libby

Assemblage 23 - Compassprovided courtesy of Metropolis Records.

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Do you ever read this blog and think to yourself, “I wonder what he’s listening too and what his real top artist are”?  Well folks now you can.  Cool little widgets have been added to the side of the blog with stuff like My Weekly Top Tracks, Recently Listened Tracks, All Time Most Listened Artist.  The widgets are courtesy of LastFM and if you haven’t checked it out now you probably should!

So take a gander and let me know what you think and let me know what you are listening too as well.  What’s making your head bob up and down with the ear buds in?

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Many many years ago when I worked at Steb’s on the Hill in Cedar Falls I got the opportunity to meet Chris Harris and book his band Project .44 at Steb’s.  Chris and I have kept in touch since then and with a new album on the horizon and a tour stop in Iowa I figured it would be a good time to unleash some of his goodness on my viewing public.  Chris took some time out of his busy schedule yesterday to chat with me about his upcoming shows, his new album, working as an independent musician and his future (which may be a little bit surprising).  So take a listen to my interview with Mr. Harris.

Project .44 and Apocalypse Theater will be invading Bar Games in Northwood Iowa on Saturday November 21st at 8:00 PM.  If you’ve got some time go out and check them out.  I speak from experience when I say that you will not be disappointed in the live show!

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Artist: The Devin Townsend Project

Album: Addicted!

Genre: Industrial, Metal, Rock, Pop

Vocal Style: Distorted, Clean, Melodic, Male and Female.

Label: Inside Out Music, 11/17/09

Parental Advisory: Yes

Recommended if You Like: Strapping Young Lad, The Gathering, Nine Inch Nails, Hard Rock

The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted!

It’s probably fair to say I’m a Devin Townsend fan boy, from his work as the main man in Strapping Young Lad to his production work with bands like Stuck Mojo and his guitar playing on a couple of Front Line Assembly records.  I’ve pretty much dug everything he’s done.  Devin is working on a new project here, he is writing four albums under the moniker The Devin Townsend Project.  Each album has a different feel, a different theme and different musicians hand picked by Devin in the studio.  The first in the series was Ki.  I’ve heard it once and I like it, but it’s a lot different than what most people are used to with Devin who predominantly works in the hard rock and metal genres.  With Addicted! Devin returns to his roots, and even deeper than that.  In his press release Devin says “It is a very direct and ‘to the point’ album with an emphasis on groove and the chorus”, and folks that would be an understatement in my opinion.  This album is focused on great songwriting with an ear for the big hook and the catchy melody.  Devin enlisted vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen formerly of the band The Gathering to co-handle the vocal duties with Devin.  It’s an amazing change up for those of you used to Devin’s \M/etal vocals, in fact Anneke’s beautiful melodies push Devin to work on his own.

The Devin Townsend Project

Not only has Devin shed the dread skullet (look it up and you’ll see what I mean) but he’s also shed the need to pummel the listener into submission and hide his uncanny ability to create a huge melodic hook in the disguise of a metal song.  Addicted! is undeniably a pop album, with huge beats, melodic vocals and electronic blips and beeps that keep you engaged and listening to the entire record from beginning to end. 

Devin’s work as a producer pays off here again too.  His sounds are crisp and infinitely listenable.  Even his “wall of sound” production style is enjoyable to listen too.  The record has a deep warmth that bubbles just under the surface and according to Devin himself that is what he was going for; “I wanted to make a record that was heavy, without being dark or depressing.  When I got into metal it was for the energy behind it, but somewhere along the way that energy started getting really negative.  I wanted to make a record that sounds good, has a good beat, and a positive feeling”.  Believe me when I tell you this record is exactly what Devin was going for.  It’s really quite good and it’s a ton of fun to listen too.  With the release of Addicted! I’m now eagerly awaiting what Devin has next in store for me and the other listeners.  And do yourself a favor, run out and buy this record today, it’s worth it and quite honestly this album should make Devin a household name.

4.5 out of 5 Stars.

Devin Townsend

The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted! was provided to me courtesy of Inside Out Music.

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