Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence (2016)

Devin Townsend is probably one of the most prolific writers in the metal world these days.  Few can boast a discography of his magnitude and what's astounding is the quality of it.  He's release 11 releases as Strapping Young Lad,  who many consider a ground breaking group in the extreme metal genre.  Then he has 23 releases as 3 different iterations of his own bands and countless other appearances including most notably singer on Steve Vai's Sex & Religion.   Devin Townsend has a style that is unique in that he layers many different sounds to give the music a very full and at times ethereal sound. The sound has progressed through each release and at times he's even completely deviated from it by way of an ambient instrumental and country/blues release. By the time Devin did Epicloud he seemed to have found a niche sound and further explored that with the brilliant Z2 release.  Devin continues that transformation with Transcendence.  While not everybody seems to appreciate Devin's direction I feel  he has masterfully blended the lush sounds and choirs backing him into 10 finely crafted songs that take the listener on a musical journey.

Transcendence opens with a remake of Truth which originally appeared on the 3rd Devin Townsend CD. Devin has given it the 2016 treatment with it's lavish sound and is a perfect segue into Stormbending.  Stormbending is an emotionally powerful piece that only has 2 verses but is a rollercoaster of sound that is embellished with beautiful orchestration and choirs.   Failure is a hypnotic follow up to Stormbending and among my favorites.  However top honors in my opinion go to Stars. It is one of Devin's best songs he's written. Brilliant harmonies, catchy and I love the lyrics

 The disc closes with the appropriate cover of Ween's Transdermal Celebration.

Devin Townsend's music is like art and once again he's created an aural masterpiece that stands out among the crowd as one of the best metal releases of 2016.  Transcendence is the type of CD that allows you to close your eyes and get lost in sound and music.  I think people either "get it" or it goes over there head.  If you allow yourself to embrace what is Devin Townsend it will take you on a musical journey few artists dare to go.  Transcendence is one of Devin's most ambitious efforts to date and ranks right up there as one of his best efforts as well.  Rating 9.5/10

The Alpha Complex - Generate (2014)

The Alpha Complex - Generate (2014)

Michael Woodruff is no stranger to the metal scene having fronted Motograter, Relevent and Riven before taking his talents and forming The Alpha Complex in 2012.  After several versions of the lineup the band released Generate in 2014 and has spent the last two years crisscrossing the country destroying venues in it's wake.  The bands strength is clearly the powerful vocals of Woodruff.  Since his EP (Pre-Release) with Motograter,  Michael has been honing his skills and the improvement in his vocal power and melody is very apparent in the 5 years between releases.  Generator is an intriguing release in the fact that there's some really good stuff that shows the potential of this band.   Black And Blue is a very catchy song that really shows the band is on the verge of something special. As Bridges Burn, Never Again and Til The End are other songs that stand out.  One of my favorites is Cut The Strings. I love the harmonies of the band mixed with Michaels heavier vocals. It's a well written song, fast paced and catchy,  then at about the 4 1/2 minute mark the song transitions into a mellow ending.  I really like how it worked.   This is The Alpha Complex at it's finest.  However, at times the band struggles to find it's own identity and gets lost in trying to sound too much like someone else.  Case in point, Cold has a tendency to sound a bit too much like Breaking Benjamin. Then there is Goodnight...which quite honestly I'm not sure what the band was doing outside of trying to write an Alternative type hit song. Not going to say much more other than: Guys...you are clearly capable of something much bigger and better than this.  One other song I really didn't care for was the cover of Garbage's song #1 Crush. You know what, I'm ok with that. I applaud the band for going out on a limb and taking a chance at something different. It might have been better suited for a B side of a single or an EP but I love that the band was willing to try something different (ask Disturbed how that worked for them).  There's more diversity with the closing song Waves, which is a really interesting song and would have been a great follow up to Cut The Strings considering how it ended and how Waves sounded.  I liked the harmonies and the song has an progressive/melodic feel to it.  It showed a side of the band that I think they were trying to explore with Goodnight and #1 Crush.  

There is a LOT to love about The Alpha Complex.  I love the electronic influences. In fact, I'd love to see them explore it a little more on their next release.   Michael is clearly the star of this show, but it's obvious he's surrounded by a talented band. Generate for the most part is a very solid CD and I think if the band focuses, grows and expands on it's strengths, 2017 could be a very special year for them. [Independent Release. https://www.facebook.com/TheAlphaComplex/  https://thealphacomplex.bandcamp.com/ ]

1. Til The End

2.Black And Blue

3. Special

4.Cold

5. Never Again

6. As Bridges Burn

7. #1 Crush (Garbage Cover)

8. Leech

9. Cut The Strings

10. Goodnight

11. Waves

Rating: 8/10

Epica - The Holographic Principle (2016)

Grandiose, Lavish, Bombastic, Symphonic cinematic Metal...all adjectives could be used to effectively describe The Holographic Principle.  This is the Dutch bands 7th release and admittedly the most ambitious to date.  Everything from the tones/sound, the lavish production, the choirs, the deathly vocals are bigger, better and more ambitious than anything Epica has endeavored to date.   Admittedly many fans absolutely loved The Quantum Enigma and even questioned aloud how would the band top that release?  Well Epica dug deep, pulled out all the stops and has made an album that is not only their best release to date, but in my humble opinion, one of the best metal albums of 2016. (Disclaimer: I'm a symphonic metal fanboy who loves this kind of music).  What I love about this CD is...well everything.  I love how they've incorporated the choirs and symphonic elements with the growling vocals and through it all have not lost their vision of crafting a great song with a memorable chorus.  Simone Simons vocals are powerful yet don't dominate the music.  Same with Mark Jansen's growling vocals, you don't ever get the impression they are taking anything away from the songs.  Edge of the Blade is the first song that follows the intro Eidola and the showcases Simone's operatic vocals and the choirs that are used so effectively throughout this release.  A Phantasmic Parade starts with a staccato string intro that leads into a blazing chorus and headbanging riffs.   Universal Death Squad start quietly with a string/piano intro before the riffing begins.  Again I love the symphonic elements the band has brought to the table yet the double barrel drumming and riffing gives this a heavy as hell sound.  Divide and Conquer is my absolute favorite song on this CD.  The chorus is so catchy yet the song is powerful and masterfully mixes the operatic vocals of Simone with the choirs and Marks vocals.  Everytime I listen to this I find myself bobbing my head with the beat (Otherwise known as headbanging).  Beyond The Matrix is another one that will please the headbanging crowd.  Once Upon A Nightmare is probably the slowest song and allows Simone to showcase her vocal range flawlessly. The Cosmic Algorithm follows with a more uptempo tune. Next is Ascension - Dream State Armageddon, which is probably the heaviest song on the CD yet is as accessible as any.  It's a dark song with Marks vocals being more prominent on this track than others.  Dancing In a Hurricane has a middle eastern flair to it and stands out as one of the mellower tunes on this release (it's all subjective cause it still rocks).  Tear Down Your Walls and the 11:36 minute opus otherwise known as The Holographic Principle - A Profound Understanding of Reality finish out this fine CD beautifully.  


I cant overstate this enough.  This CD is brilliant.  It's well written and I absolutely love the production.  That in itself is so huge.  I look back at another well known symphonic metal band who wrote a fantastic CD but didnt do it any justice because the mix on the vocals and guitar were weak.  This release suffers from none of that.  The guitar tone of Mark Jansen and Isaac Delahaye is thick and heavy.  The choirs are lavishly done yet don't dominate the disc.  The shear quality of the songs is staggering, you take a poll of 10 Epica fans and you might get 5 different answers (or more) for their favorite songs.  It's that good.  Simply put, Epica has raised the bar for themselves and other symphonic metal and quite honestly folks, it's going to be a hard bar to top.  The Holographic Principle fires on all cylinders and doesn't let up from beginning to end.  An absolute gem of a disc. Rating 10/10

Website: http://www.epica.nl/

Ascendia - The Lion And The Jester (2015)

Every now and then a band comes out of nowhere and sets the music industry on its collective edge and you're left wondering where the hell did that come from.  In this case it came from Toronto, Canada in the form of Ascendia.  They are a 5 pc Symphonic Progressive Power Metal band and are the real deal.  The vocalist Nick Sakal has a powerful set of pipes that are on full display on their debut disc.  The band is rounded out by brothers John Lov (Guitar), Billy Lov (Drums) , John Abanador (Bass) & Maestro (keyboards).   The CD kicks off with The End of It All, a riveting opening track that showcases all the band abilities in one fell swoop and sets the tone for the rest of this amazing disc.  Remember Me and my personal favorite Moonchild follow, showing that Ascendia was far from a one hit wonder.  In fact it's safe to say that this band, while unsigned when this was released, wont stay that way for long.  Demon's Eyes is a powerful song that is as impressive as any of the aforementioned tunes. The band even throws in a slower tune in Last Forever then follows that up with a mesmerizing tune No More Tales To Tell.  There is so much to love about this disc from the musicianship, the stellar vocals and the fantastic song writing.  These guys played the prestigious ProgPower USA Festival in 2016 and prior to that did some warm up shows with Circus Maximus and local boys Imminent Sonic Destruction (More on that gig later).  The accolades have been rolling in since those shows and deservedly so. The Lion And The Jester was one of the best disc in 2015 and I'm looking forward to hearing what these guys can follow it up with.  (Rating: 10/10)

Website: https://ascendiamusic.bandcamp.com