And so the 8th disc has arrived from one of the most unconventional musicians and songwriters in the world of heavy music. Canadian DEVIN TOWNSEND has finally realized his longtime dream of recording a disc entirely by himself from start to finish. Of his 7 solo albums existing to date, two were in the ambient tradition, while the remaining five featured guest musicians. "Ziltoid The Omniscient" was recorded entirely by Devin himself -- guitars, bass, keyboards, samples, all vocal parts -- then he mixed it all, and the album was also produced by him. This is a record that simply must be listened to with the booklet open, because it is in the booklet, and only there, that you can read the full commentary on what's happening on the album. In essence, "Ziltoid The Omniscient" is a biting parody and caricature of "metal operas." Ziltoid is a fourth-dimensional being who has flown to Earth with a single purpose: to obtain a cup of the perfect black coffee. When he's given coffee he doesn't like, he decides to conquer Earth -- through a rather ingenious method: he becomes a rock star, and people fall under the hypnosis of his fantastic playing and spectacular show. There's also a savior of humanity -- Captain Spectacular -- who finds a fifth-dimensional being. Ziltoid realizes he's not as perfect as he thought and decides to destroy Earth using a sixth-dimensional being. But even this fails, since the "Planet Smasher" has already been freed and doesn't actually want to destroy Earth... And so on... Devin certainly had his fun with this one... Musically, what we have is an insane cocktail of progressive and avant-garde metal, harsh industrial, and occasional bursts of thrash. The vocals range from growling to high clean singing. Structurally, the compositions are completely distinct from one another. Overall, the foundation is progressive -- if only because it brings together absolutely opposing styles. Naturally, a huge number of samples is employed to enhance the "alien music" effect, which the author pulls off rather well. For fans of avant-garde heavy rock, this disc absolutely must be in your collection.
