Deconstruction

Deconstruction is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the third album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on June 20, 2011, simultaneously with the fourth Devin Townsend Project album Ghost, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records. The album features two drummers, Dirk Verbeuren and Ryan Van Poederooyen, as well as a number of guest vocalists. The album's choral and orchestral parts were written and arranged by Townsend using Pro Tools software. The parts were later transcribed into conventional musical notation for the orchestra. Concept and musical style According to an interview with Townsend, the album is a concept album focused around a man who is obsessed with finding the true nature of reality. In the process of this journey, he goes to Hell and meets the devil. The devil shows him the secrets of the universe, presenting a cheeseburger to him. However, being a vegetarian, the man cannot eat the cheeseburger, rendering his attempts at working out the true nature of reality pointless. The album is chaotic in nature and has elements which are prominently humorous, which is a radical departure from Townsend's more recent work. Townsend also stated in this interview that Deconstruction is a musical representation of facing your fears and overcoming them. Townsend explained that he wanted the album to have a positive message, despite its highly chaotic nature. According to Exclaim!'s Laura Wiebe, Deconstruction "draws on the sum of Townsend's musical career and influences, from the eccentricity of his Steve Vai-fronting moment to the theatricality of Infinity and the pulverizing power of Strapping Young Lad." She also noted the various guest contributions from bands such as Cynic and Emperor as clearly having a significant influence on the album's style. In Thompsion Gerhart's review of the album for Sputnik Music he wrote that "If you're new to Devin Townsend, or even if you've been a fan for years, in a way, you could say that Deconstruction is the perfect summary of his works. That is, his early works." Gerhart goes on to note that Deconstruction, Townsend draws from his past work in Strapping Young Lad, his earlier Devin Townsend Project albums, as well as his solo music.