Inside Out Music

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Devin Townsend is by far one of the most influential frontmen and geniuses amongst the progressive metal scene—and just music altogether. Whether you were a fan during his Strapping Young Lad days or listened to his main project, he has offered up some of the best music, narratively and musically, as well.

So, what would be the zenith of his music? A live album? An album during quarantine? Devolution, if you will. I want to take a look at his release of Devolution Series #2: Galactic Quarantine, a combination of his works across his career with different musicians.

This record includes four artists: Devin (vocals and lead guitar), Wes Hauch (rhythm guitar, formerly of The Faceless), Liam Wilson (bassist from In Flames and formerly Dillinger Escape Plan), and the blast-beat god 66Samus. But to understand the genius and musicianship on display, we must go track by track, analyzing and reviewing them.

“Velvet Kevorkian”: 5

We start with a little prelude, just introducing and establishing what the night would look like. However, as they progress deeper into it, everything starts building, and it’s just super punchy and makes me get amped up. It reminds me a lot of the interlude of TMM, with that arena work. A thing that is established is the commanding nature of Devin, including the crisp mixing of his reverb. It’s one of my favorite starts to an album—especially a live one.

“All Hail the New Flesh”: 4

Continuing from the first track, Devin goes back to his early Strapping Young Lad days with New Flesh. He had established a really interesting sound even back then. It reminds me a lot of a fuller version of Falling Apart or other tracks on Jainism. It’s a really strong song, and I really liked the structure he proceeds with in other tracks throughout the show. Unfortunately, this is one of the only songs without a Devin tangent.

“By Your Command”: 4

I adored this song, especially toward the end with a little monologue by the character of Ziltoid—a character from his Ziltoid the Omniscient album. Between the synth work kind of adds a prominent feeling of space travel, and the colossalism portrayed with Ziltoid, I also like how they switch between synths and guitars, adding tonal depth throughout the song.

“Almost Again”: 5

Usually, I don’t listen to albums that necessarily change my brain chemistry or change my taste completely, but this track came super close. I think it’s the fullness of the mixing—almost giving it a doom/stoner metal sound while reimplementing those synths. A big standout is the kick mixing. I mean, Samus goes hamus on that kick, and it’s super crisp and further drives the whole thematics of light speed.

“Juular”: 3

Surprisingly, this is the only real drop in quality of the album. There aren’t any big hooks like the top half of the record and it somewhat dumbs down that well-established sound from SYL. At first, I thought it was the mixing or just live delivery, but then I listened to Deconstruction (the album Juular was on) and it was really boring even then, which confirmed my hypothesis. It just comes down to uninspired writing—or at least it is for my taste. Perhaps if you were to introduce this song to someone wanting to get into DTP, there may be a different outcome. Who knows.

“March of the Poozers”: 5

Devin turns it around with more DTP and goes back to a rarely touched element within his songwriting early in the tracklist (specifically in “All Hail”)—the commanding, militaristic tone. I really like the anthemic and somewhat simple rhythm throughout the track, which highlights the sporadic nature of his writing. It places itself in the set by contrasting its sharper tenor to the fuller and faster approach of “Almost Again.” Overall, a really good track.

“Supercrush!”: 5

Good Lord, what was this man thinking? For those who don’t know, he stepped away from SYL to pursue a solo career with two things in mind: to prove he could write creative songs (both lyrically and musically) without the “assistance” of not-so-controlled substances, and to bring freshness instrumentally (henceforth, every album being a new lineup). In my opinion, Addicted and Ki refute any predestined opinions about his inability to write. Between the vocal acrobatics from Devin, the impactful lyricism, and the metalcore-esque beauty of the instrumentation, this is by far one of the best tracks within the DTP discography.

“Hyperdrive!”: 4

Talk about putting a listener in a juxtaposition. I know that track placements for live shows aren’t deeply fleshed out—it’s pretty much down to how many “hits” a band can play and fan favorites. However, I can’t shake the feeling that there was intentionality in the ontology of this show. We kind of return to the mellowed sound of Supercrush!, while also having some hints of Juular. It’s really weird. On top of that, we get guitar work from Hauch and Townsend that’s very thrash-driven, but the drumwork and melody sound very pop-punk? It’s genius but also weird. I love the fact that they drive that fuller, emotional style home instead of stopping it with Supercrush!.

“Stormbending”: 4

It returns to the structure of the middle half of the album but really doubles down on that “ballad” sound. It’s super beautiful, and the guitar tone is very chunky—but somehow doesn’t overdo that tonality to the point of dissonance.

“Deadhead”: 4

This track feels very much like Steve Vai or even Satriani in their application of guitar work, with the fullness the record has established. One gripe: the vocal mixing feels like it bleeds too much into the guitars. However, the song and its lyrics deliver the atmosphere. It’s super full and very methodical in its heaviness.

“Aftermath”: 4

Aftermath starts off with a heavy rhythmic guitar, kind of setting itself apart from its preceding tracks. It’s sharper and much more thrash-oriented. One of the cool things is how they keep the same riff and do this neoclassical take for the choruses, creating a unique sound—especially for this album. I’ve always loved seeing a blueprint of a song or even just a mere element get fleshed out in real time. It’s like seeing a band adapt on the spot. It’s also a step up from the previous track’s mixing quality.

“Love?”: 3

We kind of return to a dud. I honestly can’t remember this song. It just isn’t as effective in delivering its hooks. But the overall song is fine—just not up to my standard. Because we all know, I’m the alpha and omega of music.

“Spirits Will Collide”: 4

(Editor’s note: I call it Spirits because I don’t have the time or patience to write its full title.)
So Spirits contends with one of the missing links in the album that I adored in some tracks on Jainism. A track on that record—Ubelia—is probably one of the most beautiful compositions I’ve heard. Spirits truly hits that spot of melodic beauty and the fullness that has spread throughout this set. I think after this, I was pretty satisfied, since I heard all the DTP elements I wanted—and I low-key wish the set had ended on this track.

“Kingdom”: 4

Going back to the early era of DTP, Kingdom pretty much rehashes a lot of the philosophies from Deadhead. For some reason, these two songs mess up the vocals by drowning them out in the guitar and synth mixing. A cool thing, though—Samus goes hamus on those kicks, baby. I don’t understand how someone can mess up mixing vocals but get a crispy kick tone that stands out like a Kardashian-esque thumb in the mix. But I love it.

“Detox”: 4

The set ends with one more SYL track—one that kind of encompasses the career of Devin Townsend. Like I commented in Supercrush!, we see him analyze his addictions—not in the normal “I was addicted and now I’m sad” way, but by truly looking at who he was: the ontology of his addiction. Detox is kind of a thesis on why DTP was such a key factor in his career. Because of that, and the grandiose instrumentation, it’s a perfect way to wrap up a great live set and album.

Overall, this album covered the bases of DTP, SYL, and his solo projects. Atmosphere, colossalism and beauty—combined, they make the perfect live album.