Infinity

Infinity is a record on which Devin Townsend binds thickly stacked guitar, unpredictable development and melody delicate enough to break. Within the heavy wall of sound, humor, unease and a quiet beauty coexist, and a sure emotional core runs beneath the chaotic sonic picture. From the grandeur of the opener “Truth” and the approachable melody of “Christeen” to the strange lift of “Bad Devil” and the drive of “War” and “Wild Colonial Boy,” the songs change expression dizzyingly. It is intriguing how a grandiosity that even drifts toward a Broadway-like scale coexists with rock’s immediacy in a distinctive balance. The arrangements are so dense that a different detail appears with each listen. Even so, the emotional axis stays consistently clear, keeping the chaos from ending as mere confusion. Packing excess and delicacy onto the same screen, it is a record with Devin Townsend’s imagination in full bloom — a dense, distinctive work counted among his early landmarks.