Band:	Devin Townsend
Album:	Accelerated Evolution
Style:	Industrial progressive metal
Release date:	March 31, 2003
Guest review by:	Justin

Disc I
01. Depth Charge
02. Storm
03. Random Analysis
04. Deadhead
05. Suicide
06. Traveller
07. Away
08. Sunday Afternoon
09. Slow Me Down

Disc II [Project EKO] [Special Edition bonus]
01. Locate
02. Echo
03. Assignable

Regardless of whether you view Devin Townsend's work as that of a genius or confusing, there's no denying he is prolific and worshiped by many and built an underground cult-like following.
Following the recent release of Strapping Young Lad's third album SYL in February, the Canada's very own metal chameleon has delivered yet another masterpiece in little under two months! Accelerated Evolution indeed!

Describing Devin's projects outside of Strapping Young Lad is a precarious affair, with opinions on the merits of each project differing with every fans taste in music. Having said that, Accelerated Evolution is not, what most expect, a mere copy of Terria or a sequel to highly acclaimed Ocean Machine. It's certainly the work of Devin, but not unlike we?ve heard before.

The opening guitars the introduce ?Depth Charge? bring to mind some familiar memories of Ocean Machine, but the chorus and free flowing, up-tempo rhythm with less ambience in general is certainly something new sounding from Devin. Both ?Storm? and ?Deadhead? are melodic heavy rock numbers, whereas ?Random Analysis? is heavier still, spiced things up with some heavy drumming and some very revealing introspective and tortured lyrics.

There's a sense of dramatic grandeur with the intertwining subtle use of strings and Devin's impeccable guitar work in ?Suicide?, and in particular with the guitar solo towards the end. The creative guitar work is carried through to the mostly instrumental ?Away?, while Devin's extraordinary voice is the focus of the Ocean Machine like ?Sunday Afternoon?.

?Traveller? and the closing number ?Slow Me Down? are the obvious "hit single" potential tracks on the album. The pair's literally screaming radio play with their lush hooks and huge melodies.

Accelerated Evolution is the most cohesive solo work [outside of Strapping Young Lad] since Ocean Machine with a genuine sense real flow to the proceedings [even through to the amazing complimentary artwork from Travis Smith].

As an added bonus to the special edition, the bonus disc features three tracks [?Locate?, ?Echo? and ?Assignable?] from Devin's ambient keyboard orientated, dance music dominated, experimental project Eko. The three tracks are easy to listen to, and unless you're a diehard fan, it's hardly essential.

Devin is without question one of the most innovative musicians on the scene today. Trying to pin down his typical sound is often a lost cause and detrimental to his career, but it always keeps you guessing as to what will come next.