Devin Townsend : "Powernerd"

 It opens with a little more punch to it but sounds pretty much like what you have come to expect from his typical solo stuff. His guitar tone is normally what does not sound that heavy to me, he does care about songwriting so it's kind of like AC/DC for prog kids. It is more overtly rock and roll than metal. The second song is darker so I like that. The delicate vocals adding the atmosphere remind me of what Josh Silver does in Type O Negative. I am never going to say that he is not a great singer, he does his own thing and knows how to produce vocals to make the most out of what he does.

"Knuckdragger' sounds like Bon Jovi. Granted it's more interesting than what Bon Jovi, but the big arena chorus feels like it to me. By the time I got to "Gratitude" it was beginning to feel like this was his version of "Shut Up and Play Your Guitar" where Zappa tried his hand a varied styles of music. It feels like he is doing that with radio rock, as this could be "Empire" era Queensryche. "Ubelia" is like a Porcupin Tree ballad. It does go for a more Dream Theater-like over-dramatic chorus. "Jainism" is a little more original, it's more atmospheric and darker, but in the same way, Roxy Music can be dark, until we get to the arena rock chorus, which begins to become the formula he is working off. It's interesting as I can hear how Danny Elfman is an influence on him.

"Younger Lover" is a ballad that sounds like Danny Elfman, but then it get's fucked up with the cheese-heavy 80s-sounding chorus. The middle section finds the guitars catering to nerds into power metal. "Glacier" sounds more like what you expect from him, with over-the-top production and multi-layered vocals. "GoodBye' feels like it is purposefully trying to be Def Leppard. Especially the guitar tone, Def Leppard, needs to hire as their producer. The last song is another ballad, it almost sounds like a joke. There is a slight country feel At the end of the day I repsect what he does , what he does is not something I am always into, so in appreciation for the talent it took to make this album I will give it an 8.5. 

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pst608