Accelerated Evolution | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 31, 2003 | |||
Recorded | September–November 2002 | |||
Studio | The Armoury, Merchland and Hipposonic studios, Vancouver, Canada | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 54:30 | |||
Label | HevyDevy | |||
Producer | Devin Townsend | |||
The Devin Townsend Band chronology | ||||
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Devin Townsend chronology | ||||
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Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative rock to hard rock to progressive metal. [1] Townsend, the lead vocalist and guitarist, assembled a group of Vancouver musicians to perform with him on the album: guitarist Brian Waddell, drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, bassist Mike Young, and keyboardist Dave Young. This lineup, the Devin Townsend Band, was Townsend's first dedicated lineup for his solo material, and was created as a counterpart to Townsend's extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad.
Accelerated Evolution was written and recorded at the same time as Strapping Young Lad's self-titled album, with Townsend dividing his energy between the two. Accelerated Evolution was recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia from September to November 2002, and was released on Townsend's independent label, HevyDevy Records, in March 2003. The album was well received by critics [2] for its blend of genres and influences, its musical accessibility, and its large-scale rock production style.
During the creation of his early solo albums Infinity (1998) and Physicist (2000), Devin Townsend went through personal struggles that affected his writing ability. These struggles were resolved on Terria (2001), which Townsend described as "a really healing record". After Terria, Townsend felt a newfound enthusiasm for his music, saying, "Bring it on. I'm going to be so fucking sensitive but so intense, and be unafraid to be either." [3] In 2002, Townsend began work on his next two albums. He reunited his extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad, which had been on hiatus for four years, [4] and began writing the band's new release, Strapping Young Lad (SYL).
At the same time, Townsend formed a new, permanent band "on par with Strapping" to record and tour for his solo releases. [3] The Devin Townsend Band consisted of Brian Waddell on guitar, Ryan Van Poederooyen on drums, and brothers Mike Young and Dave Young on bass and keyboards, respectively. Townsend performed guitar, vocals, and production, as he did in Strapping Young Lad. Townsend chose members of local bands who "hadn't had the same experiences" and could give a fresh perspective on "all those emotions" that were present in his solo material. He found it "refreshing" to play with people who appreciated his solo material more than Strapping Young Lad's. [3] Notable was the absence of drummer Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad, [5] who had played on Townsend's previous three solo albums.
Townsend wrote and produced the band's first album at the same time he was working on SYL, [3] spending half the week on one and half on the other. [6] The album was engineered and mixed by Townsend and Shaun Thingvold, who has worked on many of Townsend's and Strapping Young Lad's albums. It had the working title Relationships, [2] but was renamed Accelerated Evolution, a nod to the frantic pace of putting a new band together in under a year. [3]
Accelerated Evolution was written as "the polar opposite" of SYL. [7] The album blended aspects of different genres, including alternative rock, [8] hard rock, and progressive metal, [1] with elements of "heaviness, ambience, humor, and experimentalism". [7] The album has been described as more melodic and more rock-based than SYL or Physicist, yet "more song-oriented" than Terria, [5] with influences by John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Rush. [9] Songs such as "Storm", "Suicide", and "Sunday Afternoon" were compared to Townsend's Infinity , but were noted as "less frantic and more mature"; [5] Despite this, "Deadhead" derived its name from an extreme industrial metal track with the same title from Godflesh's 1989 album Streetcleaner . [10] Townsend wrote the album to be "commercially viable", making his existing style more concise and accessible but without going so far as to write "pop songs". [3] Townsend utilized clean vocals much more than in his previous albums, [7] and produced and mixed the album in his trademark "wall of sound" style, blending "layers upon layers of guitars, keyboards, and vocals". [7]
Accelerated Evolution was released in March 2003 on Townsend's independent label, HevyDevy Records. It is distributed in Canada by HevyDevy, in Japan by Sony, and in Europe and North America by InsideOut. The album art was created by Travis Smith, who also did the art for Terria and SYL. InsideOut also released a special edition of the album which contained a 3-track EP called Project EKO, Townsend's first foray into electronica. [11] The album reached number 135 on the French albums chart [12] and number 249 on the Japanese albums chart. [13]
Prior to the formation of the Devin Townsend Band, Townsend had represented his solo releases live with the Strapping Young Lad lineup; the band would play one set of Strapping Young Lad songs and one set of Devin Townsend songs. [14] After the release of Accelerated Evolution, Townsend began touring with The Devin Townsend Band, at times separately from Strapping Young Lad [15] and at times sharing the bill. [16] After playing two release shows in Vancouver in July 2003, [17] The Devin Townsend Band toured Canada with Strapping Young Lad and Zimmers Hole in October 2003. [18] This was followed by a North American tour with progressive metal band Symphony X through November and December 2003. [18] [19]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Blabbermouth.net | 8/10 [20] |
Chronicles of Chaos | 8.5/10 [5] |
KNAC.com | [7] |
Accelerated Evolution was well received by critics. [2] Mike G. of Metal Maniacs called Accelerated Evolution "the album of the year", praising it for "the hard-to-accomplish trick of being extreme yet accessible, simultaneously heavy 'n' rockin' yet majestic and beautiful." [9] William Hughes of Sputnikmusic called it "amazing", saying the album "has elements that will appeal to fans of all different genres, from progressive to metal." [21] Alex Henderson of Allmusic called the album "excellent", and praised Townsend's ability to blend genres and influences: "The Canadian rocker provides enough downtuned guitars to put this CD in the alt rock category. And yet Accelerated Evolution has a big sound that suggests the pop-metal, arena rock and hard rock of the '70s and '80s – big melodies, big harmonies, big guitars, big vocals, big production." [1] Chris Hawkins of KNAC.com said, "Like always, what Devin manages to do is take the most infectious rhythm, place his stamp upon it, and thus create something completely original." [7] Xander Hoose of Chronicles of Chaos compared the album favorably to SYL, noting that "there is more variation, and the songs are more memorable and layered than their one-dimensional SYL counterparts." Hoose added, "For those who thought Terria was going too much in the wrong direction, Accelerated Evolution will probably come as a relief." [5]
All tracks are written by Devin Townsend
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Depth Charge" | 6:04 |
2. | "Storm" | 4:39 |
3. | "Random Analysis" | 5:59 |
4. | "Deadhead" | 8:05 |
5. | "Suicide" | 6:45 |
6. | "Traveller" | 4:13 |
7. | "Away" | 7:49 |
8. | "Sunday Afternoon" | 6:20 |
9. | "Slow Me Down" | 4:35 |
Total length: | 54:30 |
Inside Out Music's special edition of Accelerated Evolution included Project EKO, an electronica EP by Townsend.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Locate" | 6:59 |
2. | "Echo" | 5:29 |
3. | "Assignable" | 5:20 |
Total length: | 17:08 |
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
---|---|
French Albums (SNEP) [22] | 135 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [13] | 249 |
Devin Garrett Townsend is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also had an extensive solo career and has released a total of 28 albums across all of his projects as of 2022.
Strapping Young Lad (SYL) was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.
Terria is the fifth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album was released in 2001 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Alien is the fourth studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on March 22, 2005. The album was written by Devin Townsend and Gene Hoglan over a six-month time period. The album reached No. 32 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and No. 35 on the Top Independent Albums chart.
Strapping Young Lad is the eponymous third album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on February 11, 2003.
Infinity is the third solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first released under his real name. The album was released in October 1998 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Physicist is the fourth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album was released on June 26, 2000, on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Synchestra is the eighth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second and final album he recorded with The Devin Townsend Band. The album was released in January 2006 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
The New Black is the fifth and final studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on July 11, 2006, debuting at No. 200 on the Billboard charts. A music video was shot for the album's sole single, "Wrong Side", and another video, done in CGI, was made for the non-single song "Almost Again".
Ocean Machine: Biomech is the second studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, originally released as Biomech under the name Ocean Machine. The album was released in July 1997 via Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Jedson Louis Simon is a Canadian guitarist. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, Tenet, and Vimic.
Ziltoid the Omniscient is the tenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records in May 2007, and distributed in America and Europe by InsideOut Music.
Devin Townsend is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and record producer.
Music for Them Asses is the second
album released by the heavy metal band The Almighty Punchdrunk featuring Glenn Thomson Patrick Beaduane Ron McNeil Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad and Cam Kroetsch The album was produced by Devin Townsend in 2001 and was never released commercially; it it's available at Virusworx.com eBay.com.
Ki is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on May 25, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records.
Addicted is the twelfth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on November 17, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records. The album was written and produced by Townsend, and features Ryan Van Poederooyen, Brian Waddell, Mark Cimino, and Anneke van Giersbergen.
Ryan Joost Van Poederooyen, often referred to by his initials RVP, is a Canadian drummer. He gained international recognition as a member of progressive metal groups The Devin Townsend Band (2002–2007) and The Devin Townsend Project (2009-2018). He is currently a member of progressive rock band Ten Ways from Sunday. as well as the founder of metal bands God Awakens Petrified, Terror Syndrome, and Imonolith.
Dave Young is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist. He has been a member of several notable groups, including The Devin Townsend Band, Ten Ways from Sunday, Terror Syndrome, and The Matinée. He has also played on the album Alien by Strapping Young Lad. He plays guitar, keyboards, and several wind instruments. He played guitar in the live lineup of the Devin Townsend Project, alongside former bandmates Brian "Beav" Waddell and Ryan Van Poederooyen.
The Retinal Circus is a live album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. It was released on September 30, 2013, in Europe, and on October 29, 2013, in North America. The audio and video material were recorded at Roundhouse, London, on October 27, 2012, when Townsend performed a special one-night-only concert celebrating and covering his 20-year musical career.