Lightwork

Last updated
Lightwork
Devin Townsend Lightwork.jpeg
Lightwork cover
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 4, 2022 (2022-11-04)
Studio
  • The Warehouse (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
  • The Farm (Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada)
  • The Armoury (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
  • Lighthouse (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
Genre Progressive rock
Length55:59
Label HevyDevy, InsideOut Music
Producer Gggarth, Devin Townsend
Devin Townsend chronology
The Puzzle / Snuggles
(2021)
Lightwork
(2022)
PowerNerd
(2024)
Singles from Lightwork
  1. "Moonpeople"
    Released: August 26, 2022
  2. "Call of the Void"
    Released: September 27, 2022
  3. "Lightworker"
    Released: October 25, 2022
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth.net 8.5/10 [1]
Kerrang! 3/5 [2]
Metal Hammer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Metal Injection9/10 [4]

Lightwork is the twenty-first studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released on November 4, 2022. The album has been described by Devin as a return to a "song oriented album", with "more traditional arrangements", after his latest releases ( Empath and The Puzzle ). Lyrically, the album addresses the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reflecting about the post-pandemic future. [5]

Contents

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Devin Townsend; all music is composed by Townsend, except where noted

Lightwork track listing
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Moonpeople" 4:44
2."Lightworker" 5:29
3."Equinox" 4:39
4."Call of the Void"Townsend, Mattias Eklund, Martin Kennedy 5:53
5."Heartbreaker" 7:00
6."Dimensions" 5:23
7."Celestial Signals"Townsend, Diego Tejeida (ending)5:12
8."Heavy Burden" 4:23
9."Vacation" 3:10
10."Children of God" 10:06
Total length:55:59

Personnel

Technical and artwork personnel

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Lightwork
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [6] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [7] 122
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [8] 40
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [9] 9
French Albums (SNEP) [10] 131
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] 24
Scottish Albums (OCC) [12] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [13] 21
UK Albums (OCC) [14] 50
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [15] 11
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [16] 2
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [17] 92
US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard) [18] 56

Nightwork

Nightwork
Devin Townsend Nightwork.jpeg
Nightwork cover
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 4, 2022 (2022-11-04)
RecordedLighthouse (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
Length47:51
Label HevyDevy, InsideOut Music
Producer Devin Townsend

Nightwork is a bonus album released with the deluxe edition of Lightwork. [5] [19] According to Devin Townsend, the songs that ended up on Nightwork do not form a "throwaway album", they are songs that thematically didn't fit the main record. [20] Some critics have pointed out the more experimental nature of Nightwork, compared to Lightwork. [21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Devin Townsend

Nightwork track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Starchasm, Pt. 2"4:34
2."Stampys Blaster"0:38
3."Factions"5:13
4."Yogi"3:57
5."Precious Sardine"10:14
6."Hope Is in the World"4:16
7."Children of Dog"6:45
8."Sober"4:37
9."Boogus"3:33
10."Carry Me Home"4:04
Total length:47:51

Personnel

Technical personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devin Townsend</span> Canadian musician (born 1972)

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.

<i>Sex & Religion</i> 1993 studio album by Vai

Sex & Religion is the third studio album by American guitarist Steve Vai, released under the band name "Vai" on July 23, 1993, through Relativity Records. It is known as the first major appearance of Devin Townsend, who performed vocals for the album and went on to fame with Devin Townsend Project and Strapping Young Lad. Townsend also co-wrote the tracks "Pig" and "Just Cartilage", the latter of which was only released as a bonus track in Japan. Vai also co-wrote "In My Dreams with You" with Desmond Child and Roger Greenawalt.

<i>Synchestra</i> 2006 studio album by The Devin Townsend Band

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.

<i>The Id</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Macy Gray

The Id is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Macy Gray. It was released on September 17, 2001, by Epic Records. The album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor, On How Life Is, in the United States, where it debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 copies sold in its first week. As of January 2004, it had sold 593,000 copies in the US. Elsewhere, The Id topped the charts in the United Kingdom and Denmark, while reaching the top five in Australia, Italy, and Switzerland.

<i>Addicted</i> (Devin Townsend Project album) 2009 studio album by Devin Townsend Project

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.

<i>Epicloud</i> 2012 studio album by Devin Townsend Project

Epicloud is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the fifth album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on September 18, 2012, in North America, and September 24, 2012, in Europe, through his independent record label HevyDevy Records and Inside Out Music.

<i>Casualties of Cool</i> 2014 studio album by Casualties of Cool

Casualties of Cool is the debut album of Canadian country rock duo Casualties of Cool, consisting of Canadian musicians Devin Townsend and Ché Aimee Dorval, released on May 14, 2014. It is a musical departure from any of Townsend's previous works, primarily because it is a concept album that features country-influenced songs with blues rock and ambient influences.

<i>Z²</i> 2014 studio album by Devin Townsend Project

is a double album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend and his musical project Devin Townsend Project, released on October 27, 2014. It consists of two albums released together: the sixth album in the Devin Townsend Project series, the rock-oriented Sky Blue, and Dark Matters, a solo metal concept album acting as a sequel to Townsend's 2007 album Ziltoid the Omniscient. The main theme of Dark Matters is, according to Townsend, "Ziltoid against the world".

<i>Delirium</i> (Ellie Goulding album) 2015 studio album by Ellie Goulding

Delirium is the third studio album by English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding, released on 6 November 2015 by Polydor Records. Music critics were generally impressed by the overall production of the record, although they were ambivalent in regards to its originality. It debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, earning Goulding her highest-charting record in the latter country and her highest first-week sales figures in both territories. The album spawned three singles: "On My Mind", "Army" and "Something in the Way You Move".

<i>Periphery III: Select Difficulty</i> 2016 studio album by Periphery

Periphery III: Select Difficulty is the fifth studio album by American progressive metal band Periphery. The album was released July 22, 2016 through Sumerian Records, and was produced by Misha Mansoor and Adam Getgood. The opening track, "The Price Is Wrong", was nominated for Best Metal Performance in the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. It is the last album the band released on this label. It is also the last album to feature bassist Adam "Nolly" Getgood as an official member of Periphery before he left the band in 2017, though he still returned on Periphery IV: Hail Stan to produce, engineer, and mix the album, in addition to contributing final bass parts.

<i>Transcendence</i> (Devin Townsend Project album) 2016 studio album by Devin Townsend Project

Transcendence is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. It is the seventh and final album in the Devin Townsend Project series. It was released on September 9, 2016, via HevyDevy Records.

<i>Wonderland</i> (Take That album) 2017 studio album by Take That

Wonderland is the eighth studio album by English band Take That. It was released on 24 March 2017 through Polydor Records.

<i>Theater of Dimensions</i> 2017 studio album by Xandria

Theater of Dimensions is the seventh studio album by German symphonic metal band Xandria. The album was released on 27 January 2017.

<i>Empath</i> (album) 2019 album by Devin Townsend

Empath is the eighteenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records on March 29, 2019. It is his first solo album since Dark Matters, which was a part of the 2014 double album , and his first release to act solely as a solo album since 2007's Ziltoid the Omniscient.

<i>The Puzzle / Snuggles</i> 2021 albums by Devin Townsend

The Puzzle and Snuggles are the nineteenth and the twentieth studio albums by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records on December 3, 2021.

<i>Cmon You Know</i> 2022 studio album by Liam Gallagher

C'mon You Know is the third solo studio album by English musician Liam Gallagher, released on 27 May 2022 through Warner Records. Andrew Wyatt served as the album's primary producer and co-writer. It was preceded by lead single "Everything's Electric", co-written by Dave Grohl, which charted at #18 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Gallagher's first solo single to reach the UK Top 20. "C'mon You Know", "Better Days","Diamond in the Dark", "Too Good for Giving Up" and "More Power" were also subsequently released as singles. The album was released the same day as Gallagher's second live album Down by the River Thames. Gallagher toured Europe, Oceania and Latin America in support of the album.

<i>Sunburn</i> (Dominic Fike album) 2023 studio album by Dominic Fike

Sunburn is the second studio album by American musician Dominic Fike, released through Sandy Boys and Columbia Records on July 7, 2023. The album was primarily produced by Jim-E Stack, Devin Workman, and Henry Kwapis.

<i>Wake Up the Wicked</i> 2024 studio album by Powerwolf

Wake Up the Wicked is the tenth studio album by German heavy metal band Powerwolf. It was released on 26 July 2024 via Napalm Records.

<i>Beautifully Broken</i> (album) 2024 studio album by Jelly Roll

Beautifully Broken is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jelly Roll, released on October 11, 2024, through Bailee & Buddy, This Is Hit, and Republic Records. It includes collaborations with Ilsey Juber, Wiz Khalifa and Machine Gun Kelly on its standard edition, and additional collaborations with Halsey, Keith Urban, Ernest, Russ and Skylar Grey on its deluxe edition. Beautifully Broken was preceded by the singles "I Am Not Okay" and "Liar", with the song "Get By" also released prior to the album. It became Jelly Roll's first US number-one album.

References

  1. Lawson, Dom (2022). "Reviews: Devin Townsend - Lightwork". Blabbermouth.net .
  2. Ruskell, Nick (November 3, 2022). "Album review: Devin Townsend - Lightwork". Kerrang! .
  3. Chillingworth, Alec (October 24, 2022). "Album review: Devin Townsend's Lightwork album: arena rock eccentricity with a prog metal heart". Metal Hammer .
  4. Blum, Jordan (November 2, 2022). "Album Review: Devin Townsend Lightwork". Metal Injection.
  5. 1 2 "Lightwork". Devin Townsend's Official Website. HeavyDevy. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  6. "Austriancharts.at – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  9. "Devin Townsend: Lightwork" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  10. "Lescharts.com – Devin Townsend – Lightwork". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  12. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  13. "Swisscharts.com – Devin Townsend – Lightwork". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  14. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  15. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  16. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  17. "Devin Townsend Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  18. "Devin Townsend Chart History (Top Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  19. "Devin Townsend Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic . Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  20. "DEVIN TOWNSEND - Lightwork Track-By-Track Part 11: Nightwork Bonus Album". BraveWords . February 22, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  21. Adams, Gregory (November 3, 2022). "Devin Townsend: "I don't love playing guitar solos, but I think I'm good at them"". Guitar World . Retrieved August 13, 2023.