Devin Townsend Project – Epicloud

Raise your hands up to the sky and watch. It’s not a bird, it’s not a plane, it’s not Superman. It’s Devin Townsend! The genius is back again with the fifth album of his new project. After the quadrilogy with “Ki” and “Addicted” at first place in 2009, followed by “Deconstruction” and “Ghost” in 2011, the Devman is back with his best album since 2007 when he released “Ziltoid The Omniscient“. Many came to know him from his work with Steve Vai in the past, then much more discovered his frenzied state of mind with the colossal Strapping Young Lad. In any case, Devin had always something unique and diverse to offer.

This time, he made a very good album which combines stuff from all his periods as an artist, including Ocean Machine, Strapping Young Lad and many elements from his works as Devin Townsend and Devin Townsend Band. “Epicloud” is a very positive and energetic release which puts you right into great mood, once you listen to Anneke Van Giersbergen welcoming you, singing “I love you, I need you, I’ll always be around you“. That’s it, message delivered. For 50 minutes you face up with Devin’s mature side, in an album that is not made to sound commercial but may bring him more fans than he ever had in his life.

Songs that remind you of great releases of the past such like “Terria” or “Infinity” on one hand and “Accelerated Evolution” or “Synchestra” on the other, plus the fact that we have a re-recording of “Kingdom“, a track from the “Physicist” album (which still remains my favourite release of him, guess why) which has alternate lyrics and sounds more interesting than twelve years ago in 2000 (well, unbelievable but it really does). It is obvious that the genius gave all his aspects as an artist on “Epicloud“. After completing the aforementioned quadrilogy, he sounds loose and without the weight of completing such a task.

“Epicloud” is great because it consumes the elements of all his past and his possible future in these twelve compositions. Opening with “Effervescent!” and closing with the same way in the last seconds of last track “Angel“, this album is what I wanted to listen for many years by him. Don’t forget that splitting up Strapping Young Lad was a hit under the belt for many fans, so all of us SYL freaks had and will always have great expectations from him, as the SYL gap is unlikely to ever close. Maybe that’s why the four last albums he did found me more sceptical than ever, so I didn’t enjoy them as much as I wanted.

Devin returs to the mood and inspiration he had in his golden years as a solo artist, meaning “Infinity”, “Physicist” and “Terria” season. The case with “Epicloud” is special because you will find an album that will be the ideal companion for all hours of the day. It’s pleasant, enjoyable and above all: INTERESTING. His voice remains in tremendous shape, his crazy and mature ideas get combined superbly and in the end the result reaches…epic clouds. I expected nothing less, but I yearn for much more in the future. He’s shown that he can do it and I’ll wait ’til the day he’ll make me give him another 10/10, like many others he’s offered.