Devin Townsend

Best known as the skullet behind Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend, a prolific musician in his own right, has single-handedly delivered yet another admirably creative album to add to his long list of musical accomplishments. Ziltoid the Omniscient is a wired and wacky sci-fi fantasy following an egomaniacal fourth-dimensional alien hell-bent on acquiring enough coffee from us measly third-dimensional earthlings to make him a rock star on his home planet of Ziltoidia 9. It may sound a little over the top but at this point in his career, should we expect anything less? As with every record he's ever made, the only valid points of comparison are to other moments in his career. Beefy SYL hooks are coloured with his bizarre signature brand of new age electro-pop rock, à la Ocean Machine, and interjected with theatrical narration, resulting in elaborate sound schemas that play out like a children's audio book. Fans of his work and those willing to listen to something radically divergent will definitely welcome this quirky and amusing journey through the seemingly limitless mind of Devin Townsend.