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. Physicist is distinguished from the rest of Townsend's solo portfolio for the crossing of the style of his work in Strapping Young Lad with elements that had been explored in Ocean Machine: Biomech and Infinity. Physicist is a music studio album recording by DEVIN TOWNSEND (Experimental/Post Metal/Progressive Rock) released in 2000 on cd, lp / vinyl and/or cassette. This page includes Physicist's: cover picture, songs / tracks list, members/musicians and line-up, different releases details, free MP3 download (stream), buy online links: amazon, ratings and detailled reviews by our experts.
![]()
Devin Townsend is an odd topic in the halls of Decibel HQ. Heâs a goofball, but unlike some bandsâ wacky drummer or weirdass bassist, Townsend has been the skulleted face of every project since he worked with Steve Vai. As part of the package, heâs wrapper, box and gift all in one. He might not be the colorful tissue paper accents, but he sure as shit decides which colors and how theyâre arranged. An unavoidable goofball, is what Iâm getting at, and unforgivably so. As metalheads, weâre perfectly happy to allow GWAR and At the Gates their advanced degrees, willing to accept Gojira and Wolves in the Throne Room and their ecologically awareness, even eager to follow Behemoth and Watain down their super-serious Satanic paths⦠but do not fucking pass gas and giggle about it, or we will disown your art. Or so the thinking seems to go. Townsend made the unconscionable journey from egotistical control-freak goofball to self-annihilating maniacal goofball to straightedge, self-aware aging goofball in just a couple decades. For your information, none of those incarnations is allowed. He skipped straight from dick jokes to dad jokes, without ever pausing for artistic integrity in between, and in the process he gathered a hardcore following from the population of metal-lovers who think thatâs exactly what integrity looks like.
Townsend himself has sounded off dozens of times about his many musical personalities, how they originated and interacted with each other, and how they have converged on and repelled each other over the years. He has described (and listeners can discern) the way that the chaos of his persona in Strapping Young Lad was codependent with the vulnerability of his Devin Townsend Band recordings, intertwined in a cycle that played out between City and Ocean Machine, SYL and Accelerated Evolution, Alien and Synchestra. Itâs the very cycle that led to Townsendâs eventual repudiation of that lifestyle, dissolving both bands and retreating (however briefly) from metal to grapple with personal choices a bit more carefully than he had done in the past. The New Black is evidence of the changing tide (an album that might make it to this column at a later date, if Mr. Mudrian doesnât shut it down), Ziltoid is the product of go-it-alone freedom, and Ki seemed to signal a break from everything that had come before. The separation wasnât permanent, of courseâ¦
But weâre not here to discuss the present. Weâve gathered here today to revisit an album that, by Townsendâs own admission, does not rise to his standards. Physicist is one of two albums whose sound, he says, does not match his intention (the other is SYL). Devy fans have likewise scratched their heads at this hyperactive solo aberration. Most dedicated Devheads will tell you that Terria or Infinity or Ocean Machine scales the heights of musical greatness, while the Laddites will immediately point to City or Alien as the pinnacle of all things heavy. Physicist split the difference, somehow â actually, itâs pretty clear how, since its personnel is identical to Strapping Young Lad â and its flattened performances and compressed sonic quality rob the album of some essential character. Do these flaws damn the record to the bottom of Townsendâs discography, even the bottom of your own personal collection? Your choice. But I contend that the songs deserve better treatment than that.
Physicist is a house of many entrances, but one of the most accessible (if only in retrospect) is âKingdom.â When Townsend took another swing at this song for 2012âs Epicloud, he knocked it over the wall and gave us all a glimpse of the potential that lurked throughout Physicist. Sure, the update boasts improved vocals (both Townsendâs semi-operatic tenor and Anneke van Giersbergenâs airy accompaniment), meatier guitar lines and a deeper dynamic range, but all of that chunky, syncopated glory existed in the songâs original version, as did the mesmerizing juxtaposition of blistering heaviness and love-struck longing. Strapping Young Lad was great, and Gene Hoglan, Byron Stroud and Jed Simon deserve all honors laid at their feet⦠but maybe if Physicist had been realized by more sensitive players â and if Townsend had sought such a thing at the time â the whole record might have achieved a different tone altogether.
âDevoidâ appears to be a prime candidate for such reconsideration, as its hyper speeds seem entirely antithetical to the spacious melodies haunting its interior. Again, âKingdomâ provides evidence that the two should be allowed to coexist, each deriving energy from the other, but the clipped nature of the intense drumming might act as an unnecessary turn off. With a more deft hand, and maybe a couple more minutes to spread out, and who knows? Regardless, thereâs something to learn here.
Another obvious entrance into Physicist â the one most likely taken by most listeners â is opener âNamaste.â Itâs definitely a confounding first track in the context of the rest of the Townsendâs solo entries, but it offers a fair representation of the songs to come. Despite its aggressive presentation, melody is prevalent throughout, and it provides a rush that follow-up âVictimâ tries like hell to match. The attempt is as close as the album ever gets to outright SYL punishment, veering off into DTB weirdness just in time with âMaterial.â Hereâs another song that would have benefited from greater dynamic contrasts. âMaterialâ is downright gorgeous in its chewy pink center. âThe Complexâ is similarly⦠uh, complex⦠if given the chance. Townsendâs keyboard accents and vocal melodies narrowly rescue the song from becoming a rhythmic blur.
âIrish Maidenâ is a madcap romp with the same sense of fun as Infinityâs âBad Devil,â but none of the audience participation. The song begins Physicistâs rise from the morass of blasting machismo that sometimes appears to define it, and âJupiterâ blossoms wide in an emotive explosion that hearkens back to Ocean Machineâs finest moments while forecasting what would become the raddest moments from Terria and beyond. âPlanet Rainâ caps the album with a sweeping prog anthem, hiding some of Physicistâs most important, soulful moments so late that they might have gone wholly unnoticed by anyone who dismissed the more blustery side of the record. âPlanet Rainâ is the kind of song that would come to define Townsendâs musical ambitions, and here it lies, at the end of one of the manâs least appreciated collections.
Physicist is full of songs worth hearing. The songwriting is hardly the problem. Physicistâs greatest sin is sounding like an album that was recorded just to have an album recorded. It feels squeezed out, jammed into place, molded to fit somebody elseâs expectations without receiving the care it clearly deserved. Albums like Ghost and Deconstruction suggest that new millennium Devy could occasionally benefit from an editor, but Physicist comes from a time when he might have pared away too many good instincts⦠or perhaps hadnât yet developed them. Physicist is lean in a way that is rare in Townsendâs more recent creations, and that in itself is worth celebration. Expansion might have worked in its favor, but a critical ear is worth its weight in quadruple LPs.
Give Physicist another go. Or two. Rediscover its charms. Maybe Townsend can keep lifting songs from here (as he did again with âVictimâ for the Transcendence sessions) and give them new life. Maybe weâll find that they donât even really need as much extra attention as we first thought.
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.
Physicist is distinguished from the rest of Townsend's solo portfolio for the crossing of the style of his work in Strapping Young Lad with elements that had been explored in Ocean Machine: Biomech and Infinity. Notably, the line-up of musicians featured on this album is identical to that of Strapping Young Lad.
Background[edit]
Physicist took several years to come to fruition. Townsend had previously played with Metallica's then-bassist Jason Newsted, in a short-lived thrash metal project called IR8. After the creation of an IR8 demo tape, Townsend and Newsted began work on a new project called Fizzicist, which they claimed would be 'heavier than Strapping Young Lad'. When the IR8 tape was leaked, Newsted's Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich learned of the project. Hetfield was 'fucking pissed' that Newsted was playing outside the band, and Newsted was prevented by his bandmates from working on any more side projects.[3][4]
Unable to continue working with Newsted, Townsend instead wrote the album himself, calling it Physicist. Townsend assembled his bandmates from his extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad. This was the only time this lineup was featured on one of Townsend's solo albums.[3]
Musical style[edit]
The album combines Townsend's style with a thrash metal influence.[5] David Ballard of Revolver described the album's sound as 'a blend of summery melody and breathtaking brutality ... vaulting between Queen-like elegance and Dark Angelâlike devastation.'[6]
Release[edit]
Physicist was released in June 2000 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 was released on Enhanced CD format, with a commentary on the album by Townsend.
The song 'Kingdom' was re-recorded for The Devin Townsend Project's Epicloud, with vocals from Anneke van Giersbergen. Similarly, a re-recording of the song 'Victim' is present on the bonus disc of Transcendence.
Reception[edit]
Physicist received positive reviews, but is generally considered a low point in Townsend's career. Townsend himself considers it his worst album to date.[12] Trey Spencer of Sputnikmusic argued that while Physicist is 'a pretty good listen' on its own merit, it is 'one of the weakest' albums in Townsend's catalogue. He felt the album 'comes off as a restrained version of Strapping Young Lad with hints of [Townsend's] other projects thrown in', and that most of the tracks don't 'seem to go anywhere'.[10] In 2005 the album placed number 439 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[13]
Much of the criticism of Physicist stems from its poor production. Spencer found the production 'a little too reigned [sic.] in' and 'muddy'.[10] This was felt by the band as well; drummer Gene Hoglan and the rest were dissatisfied with the way the sound was mixed.[14]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Devin Townsend except where noted.
Personnel[edit]Strapping Young Lad[edit]
Background vocals[edit]
Production[edit]
Artwork[edit]
Chart performance[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Physicist_(album)&oldid=934237167'
![]() Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2022
Categories |