Devin Townsend - Ziltoid the Omniscient

Devin Townsend is a name I knew about, but hadn't quite become acquainted with. My dear friends Robin and Emil asked if I wanted to come and see the show in stockholm. When I declined I had really no idea what I was passing up. There's a certain risk to upset Strapping Young Lad fans when declaring your favourite Devin album is this space opera dedicated to the passionate admiration of all things nerdy. The story is clear enough for you to be able to follow the story on your first listen. The humour is definately a hit or miss, but for me it works excellently. Still, the main attraction is very thoughtfull dramatic sequences of lyrics and dialouge between the characters. As the font on the album cover suggests it's definately a wink at old space adventure movies and series like Flash Gordon.

It's a solo-album and it definately sounds like it. There really isn't an actual band behind the songs and it's quite obvious. Although the songwriting, guitars and vocals definately make up for the mechanical production and general sterile sound.
I listened to this album over and over again while playing MineCraft. Colorful and diverse albums such as these work for sand-box types of games. It helps stimulate your  imagination. The main anti-hero, self-proclaimed all-knowing Ziltoid's journey to wreak mayhem on the universe by demanding perfect cups of coffee from unsuspecting planets always brings a big smile to my face, heck even a chuckle. Even though he's on the cover of the album, there are plenty of other colorful cliche characters there for you to tickle your senses. Questions about the meaning of existance and ballads about cold solar winds sets the stage for an epic journey through the imagination.

My anticipation for the follow-up (named Z2) to this perhaps underappreciated gem is high. It's  is slated for a 2013 release. I can't wait for the second serving of this wonderful cup of black coffee.

Grooveshark link:
Devin Townsend - Ziltoid the Omniscient