Addicted (Devin Townsend Project album)

Addicted
Studio album by
Devin Townsend Project
ReleasedNovember 17, 2009 (2009-11-17)
RecordedMay 6 – September 8, 2009
Genre
Length46:49
LabelHevyDevy, InsideOut Music
ProducerDevin Townsend
Devin Townsend chronology
Ki
(2009) 		Addicted
(2009) 		Deconstruction
(2011)
Alternative cover
Slipcase cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[3]
Allmusic[4]
Blistering8.5/10[5]
BraveWords9/10[6]
Chronicles of Chaos4/10[7]
Metal Storm9/10[8]
mX[9]
Rock Sound9/10[10]

Addicted is the twelfth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on November 17, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records. The album was written and produced by Townsend, and features Ryan Van Poederooyen, Brian Waddell, Mark Cimino, and Anneke van Giersbergen.[11]

Background

Addicted is the second of seven albums in the Devin Townsend Project series, each featuring a different lineup and theme.[12] Addicted was written and produced by Townsend. The album features vocals by Townsend along with Anneke van Giersbergen, former singer of Dutch band The Gathering. Brian Waddell and Ryan Van Poederooyen of the former Devin Townsend Band play bass and drums, respectively, while Mark Cimino plays guitar alongside Townsend.[11] Recording for the album began May 6, 2009.[citation needed] The next album in the series is Deconstruction, which was released on June 20, 2011.

Music

According to Townsend, Addicted is an album of "melodic" and "danceable" music.[citation needed] He compared the album's songwriting to his more accessible songs, such as "Life" from Ocean Machine: Biomech (1997), "Stagnant" from Terria (2001), and "Material" from Physicist (2000).[13] The album's production style was directly influenced by Nickelback's 2008 album Dark Horse.[13][14] Townsend has quipped that "Some parts of it sound like Meshuggah, some parts of it sound like Boney M."[13]

Addicted includes a new version of the song "Hyperdrive" from Townsend's album Ziltoid the Omniscient (2007), with lead vocals by van Giersbergen, who has performed a cover of the song with her former band Agua de Annique. "Resolve!" was "directly influenced by The Wildhearts" and it bears a resemblance to "Vanilla Radio" from The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed.[15]

Unlike Townsend's previous albums, which were usually in open C tuning, most of the songs on Addicted were played in open B tuning. "Universe in a Ball!" was played in open B♭, "Hyperdrive!" in open C♯ (to accommodate the vocal range of van Giersbergen, as opposed to the version of "Hyperdrive" that appeared on the album Ziltoid the Omniscient which was recorded in C), and "Ih-Ah!" and "The Way Home!" in open C.[citation needed]

Release and artwork

Addicted was released on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records on November 17, 2009, through their website. Pre-orders went on sale October 6, 2009, with special-edition packages through Century Media's CM Distro website.[16] The album was released on November 13, 2009, in Germany,[17] November 16, 2009, in the rest of Europe, and November 17, 2009, in North America by InsideOut Music.[18] It was released in Japan through Marquee/Avalon on December 16, 2009.[19]

The album features art by Travis Smith, who created the album art for Townsend's previous albums Terria and Accelerated Evolution.[20] The InsideOut releases are sold in a slipcase bearing Smith's Devin Townsend Project logo.[21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Devin Townsend, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Addicted!"5:37
2."Universe in a Ball!"4:09
3."Bend It Like Bender!"3:37
4."Supercrush!"5:13
5."Hyperdrive!"3:36
6."Resolve!"3:12
7."Ih-Ah!"3:45
8."The Way Home!" (Devin Townsend, Brian Waddell)3:14
9."Numbered!"4:55
10."Awake!!"9:44
Total length:46:49

Personnel

Musicians

Additional personnel

  • Anneke van Giersbergen – additional vocals, lead vocals on "Supercrush!", "Hyperdrive!", "Resolve!" and "Numbered!"
  • Dave Young – additional keyboards
  • Susanne Richter – additional vocals on "Ih-Ah!"
  • Rob Cunningham, Hugh Gilmartin, John Rafferty, Brian Johnson, Steve Lobmeier; Devin Townsend, Brian "Beav" Waddell, Ryan Van Poederooyen and Mark Cimino – gang vocals
  • Travis Smith – art

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Addicted
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 36
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[23] 2
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[24] 22
US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[25] 168

References

  1. ^ "Devin Townsend: A guide to his best albums". March 5, 2020.
  2. ^ "Universe in a Ball!: Ten Years of Devin Townsend Project's 'Addicted'". Invisible Oranges. November 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Pacheco, MetalGeorge (October 2009). "Devin Townsend Project - 'Addicted!'". About.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  4. ^ Freeman, Phil (October 2009). "Addicted – Review". Allmusic. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
  5. ^ Findlay, Tom (November 2009). "Addicted – Review". Blistering. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  6. ^ Begai, Carl (November 6, 2009). "DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - Addicted". BraveWords. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  7. ^ Smit, Jackie (January 1, 2010). "CoC: The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  8. ^ Anderson, Baz (November 2007). "Addicted - Review". Metal Storm. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  9. ^ Newstead, Al (November 26, 2009). "Addicted". mX. News Corporation.
  10. ^ Sadler, Darren (November 2009). "Addicted - Review". Rock Sound. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  11. ^ a b "Devin Townsend Project: Addicted North American release date announced". Blabbermouth.net. September 23, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  12. ^ "Devin Townsend to return this summer with 'Ki'". Blabbermouth.net. March 20, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  13. ^ a b c Genghis & Ragman (May 10, 2009). "Podcast #80 – Idol". The Right to Rock.
  14. ^ Rausch, Jan (April 7, 2009). "Video interview with Devin Townsend". Toazted. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012.
  15. ^ Addicted (booklet). The Devin Townsend Project. HevyDevy Records. 2009.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ "Addicted Exclusive Specially Priced Pre-Order Packages Now Available". HevyDevy Records. October 6, 2009. Archived from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  17. ^ "Devin Townsend Project – Addicted (German)". InsideOut Music (Germany). Archived from the original on November 17, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  18. ^ "Devin Townsend Project – Addicted". InsideOut Music. Archived from the original on November 17, 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  19. ^ "アディクテッド/デヴィン・タウンゼンド・プロジェクト". Oricon. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  20. ^ "Travis Smith artwork". AllMusic. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  21. ^ "Devin Townsend Project – Addicted". InsideOut Music (Shop). Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  22. ^ "Devin Townsend: Addicted" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  23. ^ "Devin Townsend Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "Devin Townsend Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Devin Townsend Chart History (Top Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2022.