I've always been the kind of person who likes to review an album as a whole, taking the time for individual tracks only if they prove to be standalone hits with me. I call these hits by the term of "major impacts", and it is my major impacts that helps motivate me to look for more music (alongside my favorite albums of all-time).
Addicted is the long-awaited second piece of a four-piece saga of albums set for release by maniacal metal mastermind Devin Townsend, and each album is set to have a different feel; while Ki was the chilled, easy-listening album of the four, Addicted was said to have one aim: to make for catchy, poppy, energetic dance music that anybody can stand up and act like a banshee to. And ever since I knew of this album's intentions, I knew that it was going to be the album for me.
Going back to my initial thought, I like to count albums as one cohesive effort. And while Addicted is an album, I feel like I have to review all ten songs individually if I'm going to feel okay and content. So, as soon as I'm done talking about Addicted, prepare yourself for ten individual reviews of ten meant-to-stand-alone songs.
My very first thought that I must express is this: this album isn't exclusively for dancing. And in connection with that thought, let me say this: this album isn't all catchy. It might have been a tad misleading to release the first three songs of the album before the album itself, due to the fact that those are three of the four most energetic and catchy songs that Addicted has to offer. That doesn't mean that the rest of it isn't catchy. Devin Townsend sure does deliver in the pop department on nearly every track that he brings.
Despite being a pop release, Addicted is noteworthy in the aspect that it can't be fully absorbed in one listen. After three listens, I myself find myself knowing that I haven't gained all that I have to gain just yet. At the same time, there is plenty to scrape right from the top of this, and that in itself is something that is going to attract people from all-over (fans and newbies alike).
Like all of the albums in the four, Devin records and performs each one with a different band. The band is selected based upon what he thinks each individual musician would do well in. For this second album, he has chosen the lovely Anneke (formerly of The Gathering) to take on half of the vocal duties. I'll admit that I was a bit iffy when this was announced, but now I can't imagine Addicted any other way. This is the album that has helped make Anneke one of my favorite female vocalists (Nighttime Birds helped with this too, though).
Of course, what is a pop release without the shining moments of the individual songs that help make it so? Pop has always been song-orientated music, and it brings me great pleasure to now segue into discussion of these ten songs. Let's begin.
From the moment "Addicted" at its release, I was sure that it was going to be one of my absolute favorites. As a matter of fact, it's my third favorite Devin Townsend song period. I have a hard time believing that a song could surpass this one (with the exceptions of "Earth Day" and "Life"). This is the song where Devin reinvents groove metal. Trying to describe this is difficult, but not trying would make me feel worse. Let's put it this way: listening to "Addicted" will let you explore your emotions at a velocity and capacity unlike any other that you've ever experienced. Imagine feeling angerragehatelovejoyexcitementdepressionsuspensedread all in one beautiful fuck of a cluster. You get the point.
Universe in a Ball was one of the songs that a snippet of was shown months before the news of Addicted was fully outed, so it's a melody and a lyric that most Devyheads were familiar with before listening to the album. Picking up right where the last track left off, "Universe in a Ball" is a crushing, SYL-paced song with all the tendencies of knocking the listener onto his ass. Don't let the immediate demeanor of this song fool you though, as it has a trick or two up its sleeve. Possibly the simplest of the heavy dance songs.
Bend It Like Bender!...if it wasn't for the title intriguing everybody from the get go, this song is definitely the biggest standout in terms of style. While all of the songs try to be catchy (or even dance-y), this one just holds back to no extent. I've been calling this ABBA metal, because that's exactly what it is. While Devin pokes his head in to introduce this piece, the real star of this song is Anneke, whose role in life was to record this song. The whole thing has a radio-like vibe that is reminiscent of '90s pop/rock bands (Smash Mouth comes to mind).
There's one song that everybody raved about when the samples were released, and it is that same song that didn't impress me much then and doesn't impress me much now. And I'd like to talk about that, despite the fact that many are going to think lowly of me. "Supercrush" is a song that sounds good, but it doesn't live up to the rest of this album for me. Part of it is because it doesn't really fit into the style that Addicted proposes (I think it would've been perfect for Accelerated Evolution), but the big thing that probably does it is the fact that it comes directly after three of the catchiest Devin songs ever composed. It is by no means bad, and I do like it. When it comes to Addicted, though, it can be a bit of a pothole in the poppy, upbeat atmosphere. While I wasn't blown away in the way that people have been telling me, I will say that the buildup at the end alongside the final chorus (with Anneke singing something like "OK! OK! OK! OK!" behind Devin) is a truly godlike moment.
Then we've got something that I never in a million (light) years expected to enjoy: a remake of a previous song. "Hyperdrive" originally debuted on the 2007 release Ziltoid the Omniscient as a spaced-out, desolate spaceship metal song. But here we have a redone version with Anneke entirely on vocal duties. I thought that "Hyperdrive" was good before, but holy shit...this is the version that Devin meant to make. The timbre of this version is unreal (likewise, the vibe of the other one is more atmospheric, so both versions are great in their own ways). The idea that this song would fit into Addicted is an idea that I can support in good confidence.
Possibly the catchiest song that this album has to offer that still resides in the realm of metal is "Resolve!", one of the other pieces that was advertised through Devin's Youtube account before the record was even finished. This was the song that I was excited for the most, and while I was not disappointed, I do think that this could have been worked on a little more. It's only a little bit over three minutes, and I always want more. Still, this is a catchy piece whose reminiscent-of-'70s-anthems-introduction pleases me from second one. This is one of the best chemistries between Devin and Anneke.
I never listen to teasers anymore, as they ruin the album for me. So imagine my surprise when I found out that "Ih-Ah!" was an acoustic song whose electrician doesn't show up until the final moments. Likewise, it's cool to note that while it's impossible to dance to this song, it's just as poppy as any other here. "Ih-Ah!" (pronounced 'E-Ah', like a donkey) isn't shouted, but rather crooned lightly over a somber guitar. It really does serve as a pretty cool break from the bombastic music that has come our way thus far.
"The Way Home" comes off as being one of the most mysterious of songs that Addicted offers. I feel like I'm listening to a continuation of the idea that "Thing Beyond Things" and "Nobody's Here" brought to light, which is pretty neat. Likewise, it's worthy to mention that this is the song with the most prominent atmosphere on all of the record, and that's pretty cool when you think about it. At a little more than halfway through the song, there is a part where the guitar breaks the beat and everything begins to settle, but not before it regains its composure as it swells back up into a dying burst. I can't say that there are many moments in the non-Devin Townsend world of music that attain this.
Then we chance upon a song that I've decided is, to me, the biggest letdown of the album (that isn't saying much, honestly). Opening up with a beautiful and sorrowful Anneke, "Numbered" enters as a stomping, swaying wall of sound. This isn't a bad song either, but it definitely stands out to me as being the one song I would choose to exclude if I was told to shave this record down by a single track. It simply has no pop-like qualities. Like "Supercrush", it could've went well onto an album such as Accelerated Evolution (or even Synchestra).
What this album started, "Awake!" finishes. Acting as a surrogate to all nine songs that precede it, "Awake!" manages to mix an element of each individual song into a nearly ten-minute closer: the opening melody of "Addicted!", the riff of "Hyperdrive", the lyric of "The Way Home", the bridge and transition of "Universe in a Ball", the percussive elements of "Resolve!", et cetera. And the part that makes it even cooler is that you can see the stage being set for the release that is on its way. Is there any part (excluding anything from the brilliant "Addicted!" title track) more chilling on this album than "NOW DECONSTRUCT!" I think not.
Addicted is an album to end the decade. Metal and pop have never existed so happily next to one another as they do on Addicted. Despite not being fully danceable and despite not spawning all immediate major impacts, this is an album that I know I'm going to have a good time with for much time to come. This is an album that is worth the money. Please purchase it and love it like I have.
It'll give me goosebumps forever. And VERY nice review, aniland.
