Physicist

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Physicist
Studio album by Devin Townsend

Publication
(s)

June 26, 2000

Label (s) HevyDevy Records

Genre (s)

Progressive metal

Title (number)

10

running time

46min 43s

occupation
  • Bass : Byron Stroud
  • Guitar: Jed Simon

production

Devin Townsend

Studio (s)

Hipposonic Studios, Vancouver , BC

chronology
Infinity
(1998) 		Physicist Terria
(2001)

Physicist is the third solo album by the Canadian musician Devin Townsend . The album was released in June 2000 through Townsend's record label HevyDevy Records . It reached number 80 in the Japanese album charts .

background

It took several years before Physicist could be realized. Townsend had previously played with then Metallica bassist Jason Newsted in the short-lived Thrash Metal project IR8 . After recording a demo , Townsend and Jason Newsted began working on a new project called Fizzicist , which they said should be "harder than Strapping Young Lad ". Through the demo, Newsteds Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich found out about the project. Hetfield was not pleased that Newsted was playing outside of Metallica, and Newsted was banned from working on any project besides Metallica.

Townsend couldn't continue to work with Newsted, wrote the album himself and called it a Physicist . It was the only Townsend solo album that was recorded with the line-up of Strapping Young Lad .

music

Physicist differs from Townsend's other releases by combining the style elements of Strapping Young Lad with elements of Ocean Machine: Biomech and Infinity . The album also shows influences from Thrash Metal. Revolver's David Ballard described the album's sound as "a mixture of summery melodies and breathtaking brutality ... vacillating between the elegance of Queen and the destructive power of Dark Angel ."

publication

Physicist was released in June 2000 on Townsend's independent label HevyDevy Records . It was distributed by HevyDevy in Canada, Sony in Japan, and InsideOut in Europe and North America . The album was also released on an enhanced CD with comments on the Townsend album.

Reviews

Physicist received positive reviews, but is seen as the low point in Townsend's career. Townsend himself describes it as his worst album to date. Trey Spencer of Sputnikmusic wrote that although Physicist on its own is "a good listening experience" it is still one of Townsend's weakest albums. He thinks that the album is a moderate version of Strapping Young Lad with borrowings from Townsend's other projects and that most of the songs seem aimless. The poor production earned the most criticism from Physicist . Spencer found the production "a little too limited" and "mushy". Drummer Gene Hoglan expressed dissatisfaction with the mix .

Track list

All titles are written by Devin Townsend unless otherwise noted.

  1. Namaste - 3:34
  2. Victim - 3:15
  3. Material - 2:47
  4. Kingdom - 5:55
  5. Death - 2:27 (Townsend / Hoglan )
  6. Devoid - 1:28
  7. The Complex - 3:31 (Townsend / Hoglan)
  8. Irish Maiden - 2:45
  9. Jupiter - 3:36
  10. Planet Rain - 11:08 am
Bonus tracks

The Japanese release by Sony Music included three bonus tracks .

  1. Man - 5:12
  2. Ocean Machines - 8:24
  3. Promise - 5:26

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Tracy Turner: Devin Townsend Biography. HevyDevy Records, archived from the original on June 26, 2008 ; accessed on November 5, 2010 (English).
  2. ↑ David Fricke: Pretty Hate Machine. Rolling Stone , June 27, 1996, accessed November 26, 2008 .
  3. ^ Mike G .: The Devin Townsend Band: No Holds Barred . In: Metal Maniacs . September 2003.
  4. ↑ David Ballard: A lad insane . In: Revolver . March / April 2003.
  5. ↑ Roy Povarchik, Ofer Vayner: Interviews: Devin Townsend from Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend Band. Alternative-Zine.com, July 20, 2006, accessed November 5, 2010 .
  6. ^ A b Trey Spencer: Devin Townsend - Physicist Review. Sputnikmusic, July 27, 2007, accessed November 5, 2010 .
  7. ↑ Chris Hawkins: Interview with Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad. Metal-Rules.com, February 2003, accessed on November 5, 2010 (English).

Web links