Devin Townsend’s ‘The Moth’ Is The Best Of The Best So Far This Year

By: Philip Sayblack

Devin Townsend has been hailed, for decades, as one of the most important and creative minds in the music industry.  That is because from one album to the next, he has never gone along with the status quo.  He has always walked his own road, creating albums that in all honesty, defy classification.  Albums that are to be frank, incomparable to anything else out there.  This weekend, he did that and more with his latest record, The Moth.  His largest record to date (both literally and figuratively speaking), it is without question the singles greatest overall record to be released so far this year.  That is due in no small part to the musical arrangements featured throughout this 72-minute presentation.  The overall lyrical body of this presentation makes for its own interest.  This will be addressed a little later.  The record’s overall production puts the finishing touch to the presentation.  It brings out the richness and depth of each composition in its fullness.  This will be discussed later, too.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of The Moth.  All things considered they make The Moth Devin Townsend’s single best record to date while also being this year’s best new album to date.
The Moth, Devin Townsend’s brand-new album, is Townsend’s greatest record to date.  It is a presentation that overall is incomparable to anything else out there from any other act, much like his other works, but on a whole new level.  That is evidenced in no small part, to its featured arrangements.  The simplest way to explain the album’s musical body is that it is the culmination of almost everything that this musical mad scientist has crafted up to this point.  From the highly symphonic elements of Ocean Machine (1997) and Empath (2019) to the more experimental nature of, say The Puzzle (2021) to the more contemplative moods of Ghost (2011) and more, this record’s musical body brings together so much of what Devin Townsend has done to date and assembled it all together in this contained “environment” for what is the single most unique body of compositions that he has formed to date.  The emotional journey on which Townsend takes audiences in this album’s 24 total songs are at times the kind of compositions that would make the likes of John Williams and Hans Zimmer jealous, and at others even Trent Reznor (E.g. ‘Lexin’).  There is even a power metal lean at one point in ‘Prepare for War’ and material that takes audiences all the way back Townsend’s days as part of Strapping Young Lad.  Simply put, again, this record is – musically speaking – a sort of revisiting of Townsend’s entire catalog that is also a whole new record in itself.  It is the best of both worlds in other words.
The musical arrangements featured throughout this outstanding record are just one part of what audiences will appreciate about the presentation.  Its lyrical body makes for just as much to appreciate.  In researching the record, it is found that The Moth is a concept album.  Now for many audiences out there to this day, there is still a stigma surrounding concept records.  That is because audiences do not like to have to commit themselves so much to a single record.  That is ironic considering all the audiences out there that in recent years demanded only serialized television shows instead of shows that were composed of standalone episodes each season.  The concept in this story should change the minds of many of those audiences.  It is, in essence, an existential rumination (which is in the rock and metal community nothing new), making for all the more interest.  In the case of this story, it centers on one single individual who is looking for meaning in his life.  In being able to find that meaning, he has to face not just the good in his life but the negatives of his past, too.  Now, this is not immediately evident in the lyrics presented with each song.  That is nothing new for Townsend, either.  However, in this case, his approach to writing is even more metaphorical and thoughtful than ever.  As is the case with the record’s musical arrangements, the lyrical side of things absolutely requires audiences to immerse themselves in the record, actively taking in the presentation, not just passively listening in order to even begin understanding and appreciating all of this.  To that end, the depth in those words in each song proves just as important as the album’s equally rich musical arrangements.
Putting the final touch to this outstanding album is the production thereof.  The album’s production is everything expected from one of Townsend’s works, too.  It ensures that even the most minute detail is attended to from beginning to end.  The result is that in the album’s heaviest and softest moments alike, the best of impacts is presented.  Audiences who actively take in the record (by the way, the songs are largely very short, the longest barely topping the 8-minute mark and the shortest running less than a minute) will catch even the smallest nuances of each song, thus gaining so much appreciation for the record even more so.  To that end, the aesthetic impact of The Moth works with its overall content to make it a record that shines from every single avenue in a way that few if any of its contemporaries impresses.  That is even as much as those other albums impress in their own rights.  Keeping that in mind, there is no doubt in one’s mind that The Moth proves to ultimately be the best of this year’s overall albums so far and likely will end up in that position come year’s end.
The Moth, the latest full-length studio recording from famed musician Devin Townsend, is absolutely his best work to date.  That is due in no small part to its musical body.  This record’s musical arrangements are the culmination of everything he has composed to date.  The heavy side of things is there.  The softer side is there too, as is even the more contemplative and experimental side.  It is a full-on exhibition of every direction that Townsend has ever taken in his catalog.  The album’s lyrical body is even more in depth what with its overly metaphorical language presented in each song.  The record’s production puts the final touch to its presentation, insuring a fully positive aesthetic as a result of the fully immersive impacting effect thanks to the attention to detail.  Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of The Moth.  All things considered they make The Moth an absolute must hear for casual audiences and a work that Townsend’s established audiences are sure to appreciate more with each listen.  Keeping all of this in mind, The Moth clearly offers so much to appreciate that it leaves no doubt it is the best of the best so far this year.
The Moth is available now.  More information on the album is available along with all of Devin Townsend’s latest news at:
Website: http://www.hevydevy.com
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/dvntownsend