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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The title says it all, 26 April 2001
Once in a while, a musician comes along who redefines the term "Genius". If only more people would pay attention to the undeniable genius that is Devin Townsend, he would surely be regailed as the saviour of heavy music. Each and every track on this album showcases the unique musical talent of this truly remarkable man. It's also nice to see that an incredibly talented person can have a sense of humour; the in-sleeve photographs of Townsend and his muckers pulling faces and monkeying about prove this beyond doubt.Anyway, onto the record itself. The music itself is very intricate, although Devy has chosen to hide this under a veil of absolute distortion. His choice of in-song samples shows both his sense of humour and his genius; although they could easily be mistaken for psychosis. For example, the stomping groove-fest that is "Goat" features both amazing Pantera-esque riffwork and a sample of a goat's baa during the chorus. Fantastic stuff. The album is, in general, extremely angry but at the same time vaguely amusing. One only has to listen to "Happy Camper" to see this; a demented mish-mash of machine-gun riffery and frantic yelps intercut with deep inhalations, all of which come together to form an incredibly entertaining - albeit skull-crushingly heavy - piece of music. Tracks such as "S.Y.L", "Critic" and "In The Rainy Season" provide almost everything you could want: storming riffs, moments of comic genius, and somewhat unexpectedly, the occasional soaring chorus. What more could you ask for? Okay, so maybe the odd calm moment wouldn't go amiss. Indeed, in the form of "Sweet City Jesus" we have a slight letup from the exhibition of heaviness which Devy has supplied us with. Although it is openly titled as 'The Filler', it is, nonetheless, a work of art in its own right. And to cap it all off, we have "Satan's Ice Cream Truck". Oh, how I laughed. This track makes the album worth buying on its own, and shows both Townsend's musical talent, with its fiddly guitar parts, and his amazing sense of humour, as these guitar parts form the tune of the Teddy Bears' Picnic. The only let down is that, towards the end of the album, the songs seem to get a little samey. However this is a small price to pay for what is otherwise a sensational album that is, indeed, heavy as a really heavy thing. If only more people would pay attention...
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~ White Zombie
~ Rob Zombie
~ White Zombie
~ Black Sabbath
~ Napalm Death
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