Artist: Devin Townsend Album: Ziltoid The Omniscient Label: Hevy Devy Records/InsideOut Music Website: http://www.ziltoid.com Reviewer: Chris Piccirillo

Track List: ZTO – 1:17 By Your Command – 8:09 Ziltoidia Attaxx!!! – 3:42 Solar Winds – 9:46 Hyperdrive – 3:47 N9 – 5:30 Planet Smasher – 5:45 Omnidimensional Creator – 0:48 Color Your World – 9:44 The Greys – 4:15 Tall Latte – 1:03 Well, this is quite the interesting trip. The Skullet wearing singer, guitarist, producer mastermind Devin Townsend’s latest release “Ziltoid The Omniscient” is the latest release from the man who’s supposed to be on a break from recording. This slice of insanity is about a guitar slinging alien, Ziltoid who is seeking the earth’s best cup of coffee. When we feebly bring him a fetid cup of slop he attacks us with his shredding. Captain Spectacular of the human race tries to expose Ziltoid as a nerd to avoid our destruction. Ziltoid, stunned and angered retreats to a universal arcade to smash our planet to bits. However, the planet smasher rejects Ziltoid and he seeks the Omnidimensional Creator to tell him what his life is all about. Ziltoid discovers his meaningless existence in a realization that he’s a mere puppet in a giant show. Just as this realization occurs, the listener is met with an extreme twist; The preceding 55 minutes we’ve just heard was all a daydream by a coffee shop worker. Hey Slacker, Get to work! Confused? Shocked? Appaled? Don’t be. The tongue-in-cheek (and often childish, but innocent) humor serves as a backdrop to the intense, precise and engaging musical material presented over the album’s running length. Devin has performed and written every note on this CD and it becomes more impressive knowing this fact. The music is a mix between the mechanical and harsh style of Strapping Young Lad and the emotion and melody of the Devin Townsend Band. The first three songs really smash you in the face with Devy’s patented wall of sound production and organized cacophony. The songs are anchored by a locked in drum/bass/guitar rhythm section and simply pulverize your ear drums with their relentless attack and heavy-ness. “Solar Winds” gives your ears a break with a beautiful and haunting guitar and clean sung vocal, complete with multi-part harmonies and extremely catchy melody lines. This uplifting track is brilliantly placed after the sonic assault of previous and following tracks. “Solar Winds” is Captain Spectacular’s plea to humanity to save us from Ziltoid. It is my favorite track on the cd, managing to meld melody, power and aggression into a fantastically listenable song. Following “Solar Winds” is another clean-sung track “Hyperdrive”. It’s probably the most straightforward tune on the CD and shows Devin’s ability to write pleasant-sounding, accessable songs with incredible musicianship to go along with his harder, more complex efforts. These 2 tracks really shine and prepare you for the insanity that is “N9” and “Planet Smasher”. These eerie, heavy, thick tracks relentlessly pulse and squeal, complete with guitar solos, quick drum fills (thanks to Meshuggah’s drummer Thomas Haake’s software creation “Drumkit From Hell”) and growling vocals. Ziltoid’s meeting with the Omnidimensional Creator over the next 2 tracks is a mix of almost symphonic progmetal with fuming screams and jack-hammer double kick drums. Picture “The Priests of Syrinx (from Rush’s 2112) on downtuned speed. The album closes with Ziltoid’s find that he’s just a puppet is a large show and his feelings of insignificance by an hypnotic and very melodious and dark exhibit. Then as we feel the sadness (in “The Greys”) for Ziltoid reach its peak, we’re awoken from this daydream to the sounds of a shop and a slacker singing, snooty customers and an annoying manager shouting orders. Whew. This album is truly a work from a brilliant, yet absolutely demented man and I love it. The obvious allegorys to his feelings on his existence aside, it’s a musical wonderland, running the gamut from heavy, motorized, and evil to pastoral, beautiful and uplifting. The story of rejection and self discovery manages to shine thru; ok, it’s smashed onto us like the pounding of double bass drums but it works. It’s a great start-to-finish listen and has enough diversity to remain attention sustaining, yet has the classic Devin Townsend style to keep your neck sore and ears wondering “what the hell did I just hear?!?”. Now get me a tall latte! Band Members: Devin Townsend – Everything (Guitar, Vocals, Keys, Drum Programming, Bass)