Ziltoid the Omniscient
| Ziltoid The Omniscient | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Devin Townsend | ||||
| Released | May 21, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | November 6, 2006 – March 1, 2007 in Townsend's home studio, the "Devlab" | |||
| Genre | Progressive metal, industrial metal, extreme metal, comedy rock | |||
| Length | 53:46 | |||
| Label | HevyDevy | |||
| Producer | Devin Townsend | |||
| Devin Townsend chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Blabbermouth | [2] |
| DPRP |  [3] |
| Metal Hammer | [citation needed] |
| Terrorizer | [citation needed] |
Ziltoid the Omniscient is the tenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records in May 2007, and distributed in America and Europe by InsideOut Music.
The album is a concept album about a fictional extraterrestrial being named Ziltoid from the planet Ziltoidia 9. Ziltoid travels to Earth in search of "your universe's ultimate cup of coffee".[4] A cup of coffee is delivered to him and he is promptly appalled by its taste, declaring it "fetid", and summons the Ziltoidian warlords to attack Earth, facing the full might of Earth's army. Townsend describes the album as a mix between Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend Band, with a storyline like that of Punky Brüster's Cooked on Phonics.[5]
The album is a solo album, with all music written, mixed, produced and performed by Townsend. All drum tracks were produced with EZdrummer,[6] a software drum machine, using the Drumkit from Hell expansion.[7]
Townsend had stated that he was planning to release a sequel album called Z², but plans for the album were later supposedly scrapped when he stated, "I'm very rapidly realizing that humor and metal... it doesn't really work."[8] However, he later posted on his Twitter account, stating that the "record is vying for pole-position currently."[9] He also plans to begin a series of online videos, a series titled ZTV, in which a Ziltoid hand puppet conducts interviews with various bands.[10] Townsend played a world exclusive ZtO concert in Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in Helsinki on July 2, 2010, where the whole Ziltoid album was played, with a regular Devin Townsend Project set the next day.[11]
Background
Townsend's wife, Tracy Turner, gave birth to their first son, Reyner Liam Johnstan Townsend, on October 4, 2006.[12] Around this time, Townsend withdrew from touring with his extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and his progressive metal group The Devin Townsend Band, explaining that he was burnt out on touring and interviewing. Townsend released an ambient album, The Hummer, around this time.
Townsend then began work on his next solo album, Ziltoid the Omniscient. "And I really mean solo, in the true sense of the word", explained Townsend. "Nobody was around. For four months I worked completely on my own. I recorded each instrumental track and I also programmed all the drums. ... I was sound engineer and producer and I mixed every note in my cellar with a minimum of gear. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it all on my own."[13] Townsend programmed the drums using Drumkit from Hell, a software drum machine provided to him by Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah.[13]
Release
Ziltoid the Omniscient was released May 21, 2007, on Townsend's independent label HevyDevy Records. It was distributed in Canada by HevyDevy, in Japan by Sony, and in Europe by InsideOut. A special two-disc edition was also released with three bonus tracks and various multimedia features.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Devin Townsend.| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "ZTO" | 1:17 | |
| 2. | "By Your Command" | 8:09 | |
| 3. | "Ziltoidia Attaxx!!!" | 3:42 | |
| 4. | "Solar Winds" | 9:46 | |
| 5. | "Hyperdrive" | 3:47 | |
| 6. | "N9" | 5:30 | |
| 7. | "Planet Smasher" | 5:45 | |
| 8. | "Omnidimensional Creator" | 0:48 | |
| 9. | "Color Your World" | 9:44 | |
| 10. | "The Greys" | 4:15 | |
| 11. | "Tall Latte" | 1:03 | |
Total length: |
53:46 | ||
| Special edition bonus disc | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "Don't Know Why" (aka Messages from Ziltoid) | 7:34 | ||||||||
| 2. | "Travelling Salesman" | 2:14 | ||||||||
| 3. | "Another Road" | 4:29 | ||||||||
Total length: |
14:17 | |||||||||
The bonus video material contains a "guitar instructional", in which Townsend plays extracts from the songs "Wrong Side" by Strapping Young Lad and "Truth", and talks about the equipment he uses for recording and live performances. Five webisode skits performed with the Ziltoid puppet, originally broadcast on MySpace, are also included.
Personnel
- Devin Townsend – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, production, mixing, engineering
- U.E. Nastasi – mastering
- Fredrik Thordendal – drum support
- Dave Young – additional engineering, additional voices
- Mike Young – additional engineering
- Brian Waddell – additional voices
- Marcus Rogers – photos, puppet production
- Rae Reedyk – puppet production
- Travis Smith – artwork
References
- ↑ Lee, Cosmo (2007). "Ziltoid the Omniscient: Review". Allmusic.
- ↑ Alisoglu, Scott (June 13, 2007). "CD Review - Ziltoid The Omniscient Devin Townsend Presents". Blabbermouth.net.
- ↑ Dokter, Dries; De Val, Tom (June 2007). "Devin Townsend: Ziltoid the Omniscient". DPRP.
- ↑ "Ziltoid the Omniscient". Myspace. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
- ↑ "Devin Townsend to release Ziltoid the Omniscient later in the year". Blabbermouth.net. May 2, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
- ↑ "Devin Townsend interview with Toontrack".
- ↑ "Devin Townsend: Ziltoid The Omniscient E-Card Available". Blabbermouth.net. May 31, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
- ↑ Townsend, Devin. "Metal Sucks". Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ↑ "Devin Townsend's Twitter account". Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ↑ Townsend, Devin. "Metal Sucks". Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ↑ "Tuska Open Air Metal Festival - Program". Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ↑ Turner, Tracy (November 2006). "HDR News". HevyDevy Records. Archived from the original on July 2, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Devin Townsend presents: Ziltoid the Omniscient". InsideOut Music.
External links
- Ziltoid the Omniscient (MySpace)
- Ziltoid the Omniscient (InsideOut)
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