I remember being completely blown away by Terria, DEVIN's groundbreaking album that introduced me to this extraordinary musician back in 2001. And even though some years have passed, Terria remains a masterpiece I still love to listen to once in a while. Accelerated Evolution then was quite average though I liked it in the beginning but overall it could not meet the standards of its predecessor by far. So now DEVIN TOWNSEND is back with his band and throws in Synchestra, his new effort after the mayhem he unleashed with Strapping Yound Lad's Alien. And well, it actually IS the "sunshine metal", he has been promising.
Synchestra is starting off slowly. Let It Roll is an atmospheric acoustic intro being followed by Hypergeek, which turns out to continue as a sort of a second introduction of the upcoming 60 minutes. Both songs develop moderately, Let It Roll boasts of great choirs, Hypergeek on the other hand is interrupted by a brutal, yet melodic double-bass part that finally merging into Triumph, a – if not THE - perfect TOWNSEND-song. Triumph has all, DEVIN is known for... fantastic songwriting, extraordinary singing and a timeless chorus finally being topped by an atmospheric solo of guest-musician Steve Vai. Babysong could come off the Terria album with its 3/4 beat, typical guitar-riffing and slowly built up song-structure. Vampira being introduced by Vampolka (the name says it all) rocks the house - short, compact and good, giving cross-reference to SYL due to the shouts and (kind of) blastbeats. Second highlight of Synchestra is definitely is Gaia. Space Rock might be the right definition for this outstanding track, though the downtuned guitars force it to be "metal" in some way again. On the other hand this track could be seen as the heaviest pop-song I have ever heard. The more I like Gaia the more I dislike Pixillate afterwards. Within the 8 minutes running time nothing special happens and the experimental jam-parts can't really convince me, although there are some cool riffs in the song and DEVIN is experimenting with sinister shouts. Judgement unfortunately is another of these songs that gives nothing special to me. Although I've been listening to it over and over again I don’t really get access to this song. Luckily the situation changes again with A Simple Lullaby, the short but perfect intermezzo Sunset and the final Notes From Africa. All of these songs have their own atmosphere and show the class of DEVIN TOWNSEND and his band once more. Synchestra closes with the hidden bonus track Sunshine And Happiness, an ironic rock n' roll song that sticks to your ear.
With Synchestra DEVIN TOWNSEND has created a great but not flawless record. Many superb parts are interrupted by average filler-stuff from time to time. Nevertheless, his sixth album queues on third place after Terria and Ocean Machine. And more like Terria, this record has to be seen as a conceptual record that needs to be heard from the beginning to the end to grow in its whole atmosphere. But one thing’s for sure: Synchestra shows the positive and warm side of metal, letting you dream away for an hour and making you forget everything around you! Once more the Canadian maniac proves that only one person can create a record like this: DEVIN TOWNSEND.
DT-fans, watch out for the limited edition, featuring a rehearsal room performance-DVD by the DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND and luxurious packaging, InsideOut is known for.

In spite of some frailty Synchestra will definitely remain one of this year’s highlights.