DEVIN TOWNSEND — Ki (review)

DEVIN TOWNSEND — Ki album cover Album · 2009 · Metal Related Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Stooge
This was quite a refreshing listen when I first heard it. Having recently put Strapping Young Lad to rest and cutting his trademark skullet, Devin was looking to shake things up. Ki, the first release under the Devin Townsend Project moniker, showed he was serious.

This is pretty much as stripped down as you get for a Devin Townsend rock/metal creation, with most of the songs being based around clean-toned guitar playing, shifting his vocals (and occasionally those of Che Dorval) to the foreground.

There is some evidence of the aggression and heaviness we are accustomed to hear from Devin (parts of “Disruptr” and “Gato”), but for the most part this is a rather calm affair. In fact, many of what I’d consider to be the album highlights (“Coast”, “Terminal”, “Winter”, “Lady Helen”) are among the most laid back songs off the album.

Though the album is a shift in a slightly different direction, the songs really aren’t that far off of some of his earlier material, just a bit minimal. One track that covers more progressive territory would be “Ki”, which incorporates the layering of simplistic musical riffs, melodies, and vocals that build strongly as the song progresses.

Anyone familiar with Devin’s work knows he’s quite a quirky character, and he’ll often throw some humour and other surprises into any given album. The song “Trainfire” has him tackling a bit of a country/western song done his way, and “Quiet Riot” is an acoustic song with a somewhat lullaby feel that makes obvious reference to said hair metal band and their famous cover of “Cum On Feel The Noize”.

Ki makes for an excellent listen that should have crossover appeal with metal and non-metal fans.
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