UMUR "Addicted" is the eleventh full-length studio album by Canadian artist Devin Townsend. The album was released through HevyDevy Records (Townsend´s own label) in November 2009. It´s the successor to "Ki" from May 2009, making "Addicted" the second Devin Townsend album released in 2009 (both were released under The Devin Townsend Project monicker). During his near 2 year hiatus from touring and recording, Townsend wrote around 60 tracks, some of which ended up on "Addicted".

Stylistically the material on "Addicted" is very different from the non-distorted, non-metal oriented, organic and brooding progressive rock style of "Ki". "Addicted" is instead a heavy, uplifting, melodic (even occasionally mainstream oriented), and accessible progressive metal release. Townsend is complimented on vocals by former The Gathering vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen, which makes the vocal part of the album varied. The combination of the male and female vocals is a strong and defining element of the sound on "Addicted". Tracks like "Addicted!", "Supercrush!", and "Numbered!" feature pretty heavy riffs and rhythms, but still manage to be accessible and melodic, while other tracks may not be quite as heavy, but still feature memorable vocal lines and intriguing songwriting ideas.

The re-recording of "Hyperdrive!" featuring van Giersbergen on lead vocals (the original version from "Ziltoid The Omniscient" (2007), features Townsend on lead vocals) is an example of one of the not so heavy tracks on the album, but even more so "Ih-ah!", which is basically a melodic rock song. "Hyperdrive!" is one of the standout tracks on the album, but "Addicted" is generally an album loaded with quality material. The three heavy tracks mentioned above are definitely also among the highlights, but tracks like "Bend It Like Bender!" and "Awake!!" are standout tracks too. The latter is to my ears an absolutely brilliant composition, which makes sure that the album is closed in great style.

"Addicted" features a powerful, detailed, and quite massive sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. Some of the riffs on tracks like "Addicted!" and "Numbered!" are produced to sound crushingly heavy, which is a great and effectful contrast to the otherwise very melodic direction of the album. Upon conclusion "Addicted" is arguably among the most accessible releases in Townsend´s discography, but it´s still an intriguing listen, full of adventurous songwriting ideas and high level musical performances. Packed in a professional and very well sounding production, it´s through and through a high quality release and a 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.

AtomicCrimsonRush Devin Townsend's 'Addicted'was an album that I bypassed at the time of release but was drawn back to it after hearing the masterpiece 'Epicloud'. The power of that album was partly due to the incredible vocal performance of Anneke van Giersbergen. As her presence was also on this Devin album it became a point of necessity to hear it. The album opens with a very raucous slammed in your face scream fest on 'Addicted!'. My real attention was grabbed on the next track 'Universe In A Ball!' with its catchy main riff and phrase repeated over and over. It jams into the head in the same way of much of the material on 'Epicloud.'

Devin screams his lungs raw again and the riff is entrancing, though simple sitting on the one note. It is the rhythm that transfixes and the drum blastbeats. When the boisterous tunnel of sound settles and allows some softer vocals it becomes more tolerable. This is a very loud album and is perhaps more metal than albums to follow. That is why every song title ends with an exclamation mark; it simply powers out on these metal piledriver tracks.



'Bend It Like Bender!' is one of the best here especially as the riff is infectious and Anneke gets a chance to allow her golden sweet voice to reverberate. I love the blend of metal and her vocals; it is as endearing as 'Epicloud' that I cannot rate more highly. 'Supercrush!' has a skull crushing riff and some terrific harmonies, Anneke is audible over the intricate rhythms, and virtually takes the lead and that makes a break from all the yelling and screams. This is a masterful song and a definitive highlight.

'Hyperdrive!' is divine as it is the same song from the insanely brilliant 'Ziltoid', except this time Anneke takes the central role and she is wonderful here. I love her passion on the familiar lyrics, reinvigorating this classic track. So that's 3 excellent songs in a row after a rather aggressive start. Following next is 'Resolve!', with a killer riff, Anneke and Devin powering out a bombastic melody. They work well off each other and the lyrics have a potent theme as 'I won't resolve to receive what you'll be, the ocean returns to the sea'.

'Ih-Ah!' has an odd title so what will the music sound like one may wonder. What we have is an acoustic opening, soft Devy vox, a very subtle lightweight melody and lyrics about the dangers of love, 'we don't even understand so how can this be wrong' and he cant express any more so just sings 'Ih-Ah, Ih-Ah'; a bit kitsch but the song is a break from the metal mayhem previous.

'The Way Home!' has a hyped up fast driving rhythm and clean measured vocals from Devy. That rhythm is so fast over the slower vocals it has a feel and style all of its own unlike anything I have heard from the mad scientist of metal. 'Numbered!' returns to the huge metal riffs and a very melodic over produced sound that is the way Devin likes it. His vocals are easier on the ears here, some of his best in the high register. The album ends with

'Awake!!' with the extra exclamation mark so it is bound to kick serious butt. It is the longest track at over 9 minutes and features a blistering riff and clean tones from Devin singing very well on this song. Anneke joins him and lifts the atmosphere up a notch and the it gets brutal again with pace and powerhouse vocals.

I would say this is one of the heavier albums of DT especially the opening tracks and the last. It has some variation in the centre and Anneke'svoice is an embellishment that was worth returning to with 'Epicloud'. She is the ex Gathering singer and certainly knows how to power out a song. 'Addicted' is a great album, though not as consistent as some others I have heard. Devin rarely disappoints with his blend of styles and here is no exception. I am glad the album delivered the goods and it certainly features some of Devin's best material. This is an album to savour and leads nicely to the next stint with Anneke that came 3 years later on the superior "Epicloud".

Phonebook Eater 7/10

"Addicted" is the most straight-forward, memorable album of the Project.

Devin Townsend is one of the most active, if not the most active, metal musician around. After his various projects (Devin Townsend Band, Strapping Young Lad), and his completely solo album, “Ziltoid The Omniscient”, Devin Townsend writes down about sixty songs, all of them without the use of drugs, unlike how he did for all the other previous works, and decides to divide them up into four albums, all of them having a different theme, under the name of the Devin Townsend Project. “Addicted” is the second of the saga, following KI, a quiet and atmospheric album that was intended to set the stage for the other albums.

Townsend’s eleventh studio album is supposed to be the most commercial, memorable, melodic, but at the same time the heaviest album of the four. And Devin scores on this one. “Addicted” is a perfect follow up to KI: everything is so alarmed, loud, heavy, all the prog elements are pretty much gone, compensating them we have a little more electronic, sometimes even ambient, and very Industrial sounding guitars, which is anyway a typical quality of the Canadian musician. It’s not at all estranged from Townsend’s earlier albums, but a change is definitely felt, some people think in a bad way. The most noticeable change is the huge presence of female vocals in almost every song, and they definitely are in my opinion one of the best features of “Addicted”. I’m not even going to mention the lyrics, since Devin was never a great lyricist, in fact he is one of the worst out there, extremely corny and banal, that make me cringe every time.

But whatever, Townsend can surely write a song: the opening title track is energetic and explosive like dynamite, and the weird, industrial electronics really give the music a more lush sound, just like the female vocals. “Universal In a Ball!” is the crazy song that you can find in a lot of Devin Townsend albums, definitely the heaviest one off the album. “Bend It Like Bender”, however, is one of the catchiest and most accessible songs, thanks to the disco influenced chorus, sung by the female vocals. Another great highlight is the revising of the song “Hyperdrive”, originally from the album “Ziltoid The Omniscient”, this time sung exclusively by female vocals. Other great songs are the single “Numbered”, very epic and huge sounding, thanks to the amazing wall of sound, and the catchy rock n’roll influenced “Resolve!”. They were some songs however that I just didn’t care for, at all, like the long “Awake!” or “Ih-Ah!”, which seems to be hated by many.

But overall I really enjoyed this second chapter of the Project, even though some times it was a little irritating but I’m really looking forward to listening to the third release, which supposed to be more progressive sounding.

topofsm Some artists release an album that sounds radically different from the rest of their catalog. Nine out of ten times the fandom rejects the new sound. If the album is significantly pop-oriented, this tendency to bash the new sound drastically increases. However, Addicted is an album that should be praised as the ultimate exception to the rule.

That's right, Addicted is a pop album (as well as a metal album). Now Devin definitely had pop elements in his music before, just check out Biomech and Infinity. But this album blatantly abuses the pop elements. And quite frankly, it could hardly get better. The painfully simple beats are danceable, the stupidly straightforward background synths are catchy, and the whole damn thing is filled with blatant pop hooks. So to state, Addicted is just plain fun.

The album is not only filled with well-made pop elements, but it is graced by the vocals of Anneke van Giersbergen. If familiar with the doom-metal turned alternative rock band The Gathering, you will know that the songs will be filled with soaring female vocals that are sung passionately, and Anneke certainly co-stars this album well with Devy.

She even gets her own highlight song. "Hyperdrive!" is a reworked piece from Ziltoid the Omniscient, and it's probably the best song on the album. It's energetic and Anneke belts out the inspired lines like there's no tomorrow. In my personal opinion it is easily the perfect pop song, and the metal elements are certainly present too.

The rest of the album is filled with highlights. "Supercrush!" is pounding and the spacey choral backing voices and blasting chords in the chorus make for an emotional song backed by a simple chuggy riff. "Bend it Like Bender!" is a fun and catchy dance song with a chorus that is likely to stick in anyone's head. "Numbered!" is a powerful song that is probably the only one that can be called the least bit sad, and is again led by Anneke's vocals. Really, all the tracks are great and have their own little quirks and hooks that make them all worth listening to.

Okay, so metalheads aren't supposed to love poppy, catchy, synth heavy, fun music. Some will not get passed that. However, metalheads generally enjoy fantastic musicianship, well written riffs, and intelligent songwriting, all of which feature on Addicted. Make no mistake, this pop metal album is probably the pop album metalheads won't regret buying.

Conor Fynes 'Addicted' - Devin Townsend (6/10)

Earlier this year, one of my favourite artists and musicians Devin Townsend released an album that was generally thought to be pleasant, but alienated alot of the man's existing fanbase. While I personally have nothing against 'Ki' and openly welcomed his change of pace, alot of people will be happy to know that Townsend is back to a more familiar trademark sound on this one, but with a twist...

The second addition to Devin's new drug-free project is chock full of nuances and sounds that will conjure up thoughts of previous works like 'Ocean Machine' or even some of the more melodic material from his metal flagship band Strapping Young Lad...

The twist is that it actually manages to incorperate dance music elements into progressive metal. With that in mind, it's suprising the album actually works as a whole. 'Addicted' has a very big emphasis on catchiness and hooky melodies; this works as a double-edged sword both for and against the album. On one hand, 'Addicted' is undoubtedly one of the most 'fun' and instantly gratifying albums I own. In other words, it would be the perfect soundtrack for a party.

On the other hand, the fact that 'Addicted' gives everything it has in the first few listens really takes its toll on the lasting appeal. Sure, there is the vast multi-tracking 'wall of sound' that gives alot of sonic depth to the music, but emotionally, the impact compared to 'Terria' for example is almost negligible. There are some great beauty moments here however, from the stunning chorus of 'Numbered!' to the powerful 'Supercrush!'

The choice to have Annekke Van Giersbergen as a vocalist on this album was a great one. She has the perfect voice to compliment the melodies that Devin has crafted here, and while much of her role on this album is dedicated to soft beauty moments or peppy pop choruses, she pulls off a stunning performance in the new rendition of the song 'Hyperdrive!' which some will instantly recognize as a track originally from 'Ziltoid The Omniscient.'

With yet another album under his belt, Devin Townsend shows us that he isn't willing to become a one-track gimmick. From the intelligence and introspective mood on 'Ki' and now the overly peppy and dance metal tunes of 'Addicted,' one can only guess what the next album will bring to our ears.

Negoba Devy's Most Happy and Energetic

So here we are, album #2 of metal's maturing wunderkid's new sober project. The first album, Ki, was one of his most experimental albums. On this one, Addicted, Devy just wanted to make music that felt good. Townsend has sent out so many warnings (mainly to metal fans) that this was going to be just bubble gummy pop that you had to know he was secretly hiding something. That something happens to be the best album he's ever made in terms of pure musical pleasure. What I've always loved Devy for is his ability to make beautiful heavy music, something that is amazingly hard to find. On Addicted, he's tapped fully into that muse and the result is, at least for me, pure joy.

This is not Terria 2. It is not nearly as musically or emotionally complex. Instead, it points back to Ocean Machine, but with more insight into production, the world, and songwriting. Despite all that Devin has to offer, he enlists Anneke from the Gathering as a second lead singer, and her voice is an enormous part of why this album is so gorgeous. The songs she sings lead along (a new version of "Hyperdrive" and "Numbered") are highlight tracks, and Devin the engineer manages to merge the very different voices to great effect. Devin's voice (maybe related to the sobriety / no smoking thing) is perhaps the best it has ever been on record. He uses a wide breadth of timbres, but it his clear singing voice that is so amazing here.

The standout track is "Supercrush" which almost brings me to tears. Devy released a video of himself tracking the vocals, and even then you got a sense that the track was good. Here, with the two singers both at their emotionally dripping peaks, the song reveals itself as an immensely powerful piece that earns its name. Certainly, the whole album reverts back to Devy's signature "wall of sound" and as always there is so much going on that the listener can be overwhelmed or at worst distracted. Again, there is video of Devy walking through the ProTools tracks that is just breathtaking. But what is clear is that massive amounts of music are happening on this record that you can barely even hear.

This is not Devin's most ambitious or progressive record. But it has more love and joy than most artists' entire discographies. In an amazing 2009, this is among the best.

Post script...if you don't like Devy, this one is not going to change your mind. It's Devy taking his signature sound and honing it. But if you like his sound, get ready.