Physicist

Physicist is a fierce solo record on which Devin Townsend collides huge sound pressure and introspective melody head-on. While layered guitar and noise surge, a strange melancholy and humor remain in the singing, and the songs move unpredictably yet keep an emotional core firmly set. From the aggression of the opener “Namaste” and the speed of “Victim” and “Material” to the grandeur of “Kingdom” and the chaos of “The Complex,” every song carries high density and intensity. It can be called the solo record on which the extreme-metal sense of the band he led in parallel appears most vividly. Precisely because it is not an orderly work, the speed and range of Devin’s imagination come through more rawly. Its appeal lies in the way excessive heaviness and the delicate melody beneath it collide roughly. It is a work that stays strongly with ears seeking a heavy, chaotic character — a record on which aggression stands out especially, even among his catalogue.