Devin Townsend - The Moth - review
Devin Townsend - The Moth - review
Tracklist
01. Semi-prologue02. War Beyond Words
03. The Moth
04. Ode To My Eye
05. Enter The City
06. Covered By Causes
07. Lexin
08. Runaways
09. A Proxy For God
10. The Mothers
11. Orion
12. Stay There
13. Home At Night
14. Intermission
15. Lexin Returns
16. The Clergy
17. Prepare For War
18. The Big Snit
19. Silver Princess
20. A Life In Review
21. Metamorphosis
22. Stained Hearts
23. Let Go
24. We Don't Deserve Dogs
A review by
omne metallum June 15, 2026
Anyone familiar with Devin Townsend knows that unpredictability and ambition are cornerstones of his musical efforts; alongside quality, these are the only three things you can expect from him. So when Devin Townsend announced that he had been working on this project for a decade and stated that it is his most ambitious work to date, then not only do expectations and curiosity levels go through the roof, but so does the scale of mystery as to what it could be.
To say The Moth is an unorthodox record is to suggest there is such a thing as a "normal" album from him, something you'd be hard-pressed to argue for someone who just in his own solo career has produced Snuggles, Deconstruction, and Ziltoid The Omniscient (where is the normal between those?). Rather, this album is one that explores and focuses on aspects of his sound that usually constitute merely parts of his sound, namely the grandeur, orchestral flourishes, and bombastic moments that here take centre stage.
Putting The Moth into perspective is important, because if you were to listen to many of these songs, you could mistake the record as a collection of B-sides or unused passages that were never incorporated into a bigger track. "A Proxy For God" could be mistaken for a holdover from Empath, something that on its own feels like a piece of a puzzle that makes little sense on its own; when listening to The Moth as a whole, it feels more complete and the bigger vision emerges.
This may seem like a lot of pre-exposition and dancing around the central question: is it any good? Well, of it course it is, it's Devin Townsend, that cornerstone of quality remains as firm as it ever has. If there is an album that you can't put on repeat and find new elements and parts each time you listen to it without losing interest in the whole, then you'll be hard-pressed to find it. From the orchestral wonders of "Ode To My Eye" and "Enter The City" to the bombast and esoteric flourishes of "Lexin", through the cinematic collages of "Life In Review" and "Orion", throw an adjective at it and The Moth has something that befits it.
Not only is Devin Townsend in fine form, but his choice in collaborators who aid him in bringing these ideas into fully formed pieces of music is once again on point. I must hold my hands up and admit I knew nothing about The North Netherlands’ Orchestra and Choir (I know, shocking revelation) and, quite frankly, beyond the fact they are clearly skilled musicians and compliment Devin Townsend perfectly I still don't (feel free to educate me). The return of longtime collaborator Anneke Van Giersbergen is cause for celebration, as she once again puts in tremendous performances on the likes of "Covered By Causes" (even if the opening has me anticipating a "Spartacus" before "Symphony Of Destruction"'s main riff kicks in).
Will it be something I listen to regularly? Probably not; not only is it something that you need to listen to in full to really get the most out of it, but it is something that you can't really put on in the background and truly appreciate it. However, it is something that when you do manage to find time to listen to every once in a while will engross you and absorb your attention until it plays out its final notes.
The fact that Devin Townsend still finds not only joy and purpose in pushing the envelope but the means and ways to do it in such an entertaining manner is something that makes him unique and revered as a musician. The Moth is something familiar yet new for fans of Devin Townsend, something that only listening to it will make sense of.
Written on 15.06.2026 by
Written on 15.06.2026 by
Just because I don't care doesn't mean I'm not listening. Comments
Comments:
4
Visited by
152 users
 Posts: 13290 |
Posts: 13290
As much as I love Devin, I think you're being a bit too generous here. Sure, it's an ambitious album, but it doesn't have much substance as far as... actual songs. It's more akin to a soundtrack of music for another piece of work, than the primary focus itself. I hate to be negative with Devin. I just hope he enjoyed the process himself because I selfishly hope he keeps making music for many more years. But this isn't something I see myself going back to much, if at all.
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 188 |
|
|
Posts: 159 |
|
|
Posts: 187 |
Hits total: 1478 | This month: 1478