Preamble

Devin Townsend, a man once known for his brutal metal, has broken free of his ways and started a band called the Devin Townsend Project. He released Ki: an ambient rock album mixed with some metal, Addicted: a poppy metal album, and now he’s back with two more, Ghost: a completely ambient album, and Deconstruction: a straight out metal album returning to his roots. Even though the two albums were released together, I am reviewing them separately because they are just too different to combine into a single review.

Review

Now if you’re looking for a metal experience, look far away. This is probably the least metal album that Devin Townsend ever made. Unlike Ki which was ambient rock with some metal sprinkles, Ghost is free from anything heavy. And dare I say that the end result is beautiful. This is definitely not something you would play at a party, but rather something you would play after a long day at work when you come home and just want to relax.

The album is mostly composed of slow songs with lots of layers of vocals and instrumentals. The songs also fade into each other very well so it’s hard to tell where one song ends and the other one begins. The album feels very post-rock, and it works best as a concept album, listening to it from start to finish in one sitting.

Just in case you’re worried that this album is just filled with a bunch of random acoustic guitars, fear not for there are some actual structured songs with lyrics. Blackberry is probably the most normal song you’ll find on the album, and it’s one of my favourites along with Feather. There are also some very slight metal touches in Texada where you can very faintly hear some screaming in the background.

There are some parts which sound like bits of Ki and Addicted. It isn’t a bad thing, and it’s nice to have a nod to older songs.

Other Content

When I ordered the 2CD + Vinyl version I also got a download code for something called “Ghost II.” The 4 track download is similar to Ghost, but the songs feel slightly darker. Watch You actually breaks out into some metal and boy, did it feel strange.

The Bottom Line

Overall, the album is very solid and it’s meant to be enjoyed as an album in its entirety. Unfortunately this means that if you only have time to listen to a few tracks then it won’t really work well. But assuming you have the time to sit for 72 minutes then you can be treated to a very calm and relaxing experience. It’s not an album for everyone, but if anyone likes post-rock or ambient rock this is a great album for you.