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INTERIOR: ASAHI's room (a little messy, decorated with punk- rock- and metal band posters. There are books about engineering, music theory, guitars and famous bands scattered around). DELANO is sitting on the bed, FANG is laying next to him with her head on his thigh. ASAHI is sitting at the desk, on his laptop. There is some punk music playing from the laptop. DELANO is listening with his head titled, while ASAHI looks nervous and keeps stealing glances at DELANO, trying to judge his reaction.

DELANO: Gotta say, punk is a genre I haven't listened to much before.

ASAHI grimaces.

DELANO: But I like this, though. I didn't expect the synths, but I like it.

ASAHI's expression brightens.

Read more on Toyhouse.

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Yesterday was Lightmore's two year anniversary! Let's catch up with what has happened in the plot since the 100th chapter!

Delano wakes up in a hospital right before Lieselotte barges into his room with a nurse and a wheelchair. The nurse deems Delano good enough to be discharged, so he's free to go. As Lieselotte is taking Delano out of the hospital, she says that she and Delano have to go clothes shopping because Delano's clothes are so worn and because he needs a suit for the upcoming charity gala where Delano is supposed to make his social debut as Lieselotte's husband (and which Delano is just learning about for the first time right now).

Lieselotte drives Delano to her house, chatting cheerfully, despite Delano barely responding to her. When they get to the house, Lieselotte says that there's someone who's eager to see him. Delano, expecting Fang, eagerly steps in. However, instead of Fang, Lieselotte calls for Adriano. Delano freezes immediately when he sees him, recognizing that they have the same eyes. Lieselotte tells Delano that Adriano is her and Delano's son. Delano, stunned, asks where Fang is. Lieselotte, astonished that he would care about her, tells him that she took her to an animal shelter. Delano isn't quite angry about it, but he's upset. Lieselotte tells him that she can have Fang brought to the house if she absolutely must. Delano tells him that he does absolutely need her. Lieselotte excuses herself to make some calls.

Adriano and Delano move to the kitchen to have sandwiches. The two bond over liking dogs, as Adriano reveals that he's always wanted a dog, but Lieselotte would only allow him a small breed dog.

Lieselotte appears into the kitchen, happy that the two are getting along already. She tells that Fang will be brought to the house tomorrow morning and starts making plans for keeping Fang outside as she strokes Delano's hair, unaware that Delano is frozen solid under her hands.

Delano asks if he has a room in the house. Lieselotte doesn't seem happy about the question, but tells him that there's a guest bedroom that she hasn't prepared for Delano, but where Delano can sleep. Delano goes to see the room, and Lieselotte brings his clothes there also, in a trash bag. Lieselotte starts to unpack his clothes, which takes such a long time that Delano asks how much of his clothes did she bring here. Lieselotte tells him that she brought all of them because Delano is going to live here now.

In Mala's basement, Mala brings Jaimal a smoothie. She asks if she can sit up by himself, which Jaimal can. However, the shifting draws Jaimal's attention to his mutated left arm and he finally has a good look at it for the first time after waking up. He's in shock at the sight of it. His left arm is now long enough to easily reach past his knee and it's much thicker than his right arm. His hand is big enough to easily cover both of Mala's hands. After Mala reassures him that the mutation is how he's still alive, Jaimal seems to calm down a little, although he's still shaken. Mala helps Jaimal drink his smoothie, and the couple chat about Aditi. As Mala cleans Jaimal's face, Jaimal sees the wedding ring on Mala's left hand. Jaimal doesn't seem to remember that they got married. Jaimal asks about the wedding ceremony and Mala tells him that they have a whole photo album full of photos from their wedding. Jaimal wants to see it, and Mala promises to bring it for Jaimal's next meal.

Beatrice and Qianfan bring the evidence of Lieselotte's side company disposing chemicals improperly and experimenting on spontaneous mutations to Jaqueline, who seems very happy about it. This will surely ruin Lieselotte's reputation in the top levels. However, this evidence doesn't help Delano. Beatrice promises that Orlando is heading to Lieselotte's house to help Delano, and Qianfan promises that they'll get Delano back to Jaqueline. Jaqueline muses that the Badawis don't even need the information about Zeus anymore since they found about the mutation drug. Beatrice confirms this, but says that they'll help Delano anyway because it's the right thing to do. Jaqueline appreciates this and tells Beatrice that she owes the Badawis a favor now. She tells her that if the Badawis need help with getting someone out of their way or hiding a body, she can help because she doesn't have the same strict honor code as the Badawis do.

Meanwhile, Angelo, Camila and Isabella are cooking, while Angelo seems a little absent. Camila asks what's on his mind, and Angelo asks what it means when someone calls you cute. Angelo ends up telling Camila and Isabella about the evening at the bar and how at the end of it, Whisper called Angelo cute, while drunk. Camila asks if Angelo likes Whisper, which Angelo isn't sure about, but would like to find out. Isabella suggests that Angelo could just ask Whisper what they meant by calling him cute because autistic people like herself and Whisper like direct and clear communication. Angelo seems dubious about it working, but says he'll think about it.

The next morning, Delano wakes up in Lieselotte's house, briefly confused before he remembers where he is. He wanders around Lieselotte's house, makes himself breakfast and finds his furniture in the garage. He also finds Lieselotte's yard, where he ends up standing there, watching the sky change color in the sunrise, where Lieselotte finds him. Delano says that he needs to call Tomo about his broken arm. Lieselotte tells him that she already did that the previous day while Delano was in the hospital. Lieselotte asks Delano about Fang (calling her "it"). Delano tells her how he met her when he was a young adult and Fang was an abandoned puppy.

At the time, Delano was in a gang and fought other people because he was constantly angry. One day, he found a pitbull puppy at a dumpster. He picks her up and takes her to an animal shelter. The shelter worker tells Delano that she doesn't have a microchip, so she doesn't have an owner. The worker also tells him that pitbulls are an unpopular breed so it's likely that no one will take her. Delano asks what will happen to her. The worker picks up that Delano might have some feelings towards the puppy and asks if he's interested in adopting. The worker gives Delano some pamphlets about owning and training a dog and promises to keep the puppy on hold on one condition: Delano would have to prove that he can take care of her. Delano accepts the deal. That was the incentive for Delano to get his shit together. He got an apartment and a job just so he could take care of Fang. Delano says that Fang saved his life.

In the present, Lieselotte finally understands why Delano loves Fang so much. But she also connects the dots that Delano met Fang around the same time she met Delano too. Delano says that that was a bad time for him because his mother's death and because of... Lieselotte interrupts Delano before he can finish the sentence.

They're interrupted by the doorbell. Fang has arrived. Fang and Delano both are very happy about the reunion. Delano takes Fang to the yard, where Fang is happy to run around. Adriano appears and greets Fang too, immediately falling in love with her.

After Fang and Adriano play fetch for a bit, Adriano asks Delano what he should call him. Delano tells him just his name is good, which Adriano seems relieved about. Adriano seems to want to tell Delano something, but Lieselotte interrupts them, telling Delano that they have an appointment at the tailor to get him measured for his suit.

At the tailor, Gina, the tailor, asks what color Delano would prefer for the suit. Lieselotte wants a dark cyan with a subtle shimmer, but Delano wants a more cyan-y dark seafoam green and a dark magenta for the tie. Lieselotte thinks that pink isn't manly, but Delano says that he likes it because Fang's collar is the same color.

As Delano and Lieselotte leave the tailor shop, Delano asks what the gala is for. Lieselotte tells him that it's a charity event for a homeless shelter and Delano and Adriano's social debut.

Back at Lieselotte's house, Delano goes to his room, but Fang seems reluctant to enter. Orlando is standing behind Delano and clears his throat. After the shock wears off, Delano recognizes Orlando as one of his clients. Orlando officially introduces himself as a Badawi Family member and tells him that he's here to help Delano. Orlando notices Delano's arm in a cast and asks what happened. After Delano tells him he got beaten, Orlando asks if the perpetrators were caught. Delano doesn't know, so Orlando says he'll look into it before he leaves.

Orlando reports back to Jaqueline that Delano seems scared and depressed to be in Lieselotte's house and that his arm is broken. Jaqueline says that it's not enough to move Delano and his stuff out of the house, because Lieselotte might just find Delano again and move him back. To make sure that Delano is completely safe from Lieselotte, they would have to make sure that Lieselotte won't go after him again. To do that, Jaqueline's Plan A is to ruin Lieselotte's reputation and businesses so no one will want to associate with her and she won't have the money to pay people to do her dirty work. Orlando suggests a restraining order. Jaqueline shrugs him off because she wants something bigger and worse for Lieselotte because she gentrifies the lower levels and tries to get sex work recriminalized. Orlando tells her that he understands her now, although he doesn't agree with her. Jaqueline asks about Delano's furniture. Orlando tells her that he met Delano's landlord who told him that his furniture had been moved out, so it's likely that they're all at Lieselotte's house, but he has an idea about them.

Lieselotte is cooking lunch. Delano appears and asks about the men who beat him. Lieselotte tells him that he doesn't have to worry about it. Delano says that the police might want to hear his testimony about it, but Lieselotte insists that he doesn't have to worry about it, pulling a knife out of a knife block. Delano folds and apologizes.

Maurice meets with Orlando as he's leaving the casino. He asks Orlando how Delano was at Lieselotte's house, if he's eaten, if he's scared and if Fang is with him. Orlando answers honestly. Orlando sees that Maurice cares about Delano and he offers to take Maurice along when he heads to Lieselotte's house again the next day. Maurice agrees. Daxton, who is escorting Orlando out, asks if he can come too. Orlando says no, Maurice says yes, causing instant friction between the two. Orlando compromises that Daxton can come along when they get Delano's furniture out.

At he hospital, Camila and Isabella visit Leonardo, Sofia and Lorenzo. Leonardo confesses that he's getting bored. He asks Camila how Beatrice is doing. Sofia agrees that she should be resting like the rest. Camila sighs that she doesn't have the right to tell Beatrice what to do. Leonardo asks Camila to tell Beatrice to call him. He could talk to her.

At Lieselotte's house, Lieselotte leaves for work. Delano goes to play fetch with Fang in the yard again. Adriano joins him and says that he has something to tell Delano. Adriano finally confesses that he's not actually Delano's son because Lieselotte adopted him when he was five.

At Mala's basement, Jaimal and Mala are looking through the photos from their wedding. Jaimal is sad that he can't remember it. He asks when he can come upstairs. Mala tells him that she has to decontaminate everything and make sure that no outsiders see him before they're ready. Jaimal also has to climb the stairs up. Jaimal says that he has to practice his walking in the meantime. Mala says she could install bars for Jaimal to lean on.

Back at Lieselotte's yard, Delano is reeling. Adriano tells him that his real name is Asahi. Asahi reveals that the first thing Lieselotte said to him was that his eyes were "just like his father's" and that Lieselotte wanted Asahi to be buff when he was younger, which he was unable to do because building muscle is hard for his body type. At least Lieselotte is supportive of Asahi's band. The mention of the band draws Delano out of his stupor and he asks what they play and seems interested in hearing their music.

Asahi says that Delano is taking the news surprisingly well. Delano says that it's a lot and that he's still processing, but he's a little relieved because he would feel bad about leaving his actual kid behind. Asahi seems understanding about it. The two agree to make the best of an awful situation in while Delano is stuck at the house, though.

Angelo struggles to type a message to Whisper. Qianfan steps in and offers to help him compose a message and sends it without asking. Whisper answers that they were drunk last night, but they do think that Angelo is cute and to "make of that what you will". Angelo is confused that the latter means. Qianfan (still on Angelo's phone) asks, and Whisper tells that Angelo can take it as flirting or ignore it if he wants. Angelo does want to get to know Whisper better, but his life is hectic right now. He figures that he can't ask Whisper to wait until his life calms down. Qianfan suggests that the two can hang out as friends first. Whisper was about to suggest that too.

Orlando then speaks up and asks Qianfan to come with him to Lieselotte's house to see Delano's furniture. They meet up with Maurice and head to the house.

Delano seems pleasantly surprised to see Maurice and hugs him tightly. Orlando sees this with a shrinking smile. Qianfan sees him stare at Delano and Maurice wistfully and asks if he really fell in love with a sex worker, someone who he's paid to spend time with. Orlando doesn't want to talk about it. Qianfan brings the group back on track and asks about Delano's furniture. Delano tells that Lieselotte brought everything here because she clearly wants Delano to live here permanently. The plan is to move Delano's stuff out little by little without Lieselotte noticing, which means that Delano has to stay at the house until everything is moved. On the bright side, it should take less than a week. Maurice promises to take Delano in until he can find a new apartment. For now, the group will take Delano's coffee maker, microwave and toaster and bring them to Maurice's apartment, and get Delano's bigger furniture with a car the next day. Delano says that Lieselotte will be out of the house for the gala, which is when they should move the furniture.

As Delano is seeing the group off at the front door, Asahi appears. Delano tells him that he's going to leave soon, which makes Asahi a little sad. Delano promises that they can still meet and talk even after Delano is out, which cheers him up.

Lieselotte, however, gets a notification from her home security system of unusual activity at her house. She sees security camera footage of Maurice, Orlando and Qianfan in her garage with Delano. She doesn't seem to think much of it, though.

At the Police Department, Yuuji and Whisper are starting their work day. Yuuji asks Whisper if they've talked to Angelo, which Whisper is flustered about. Yuuji clarifies if Whisper has talked to Angelo about the case. Yuuji asks Whisper if they want to talk about the whole flustered business, and Whisper confesses that they called Angelo cute by drunk accident. The two end up talking about the whole situation between Whisper and Angelo and the conclusion the two reached. Yuuji is happy for Whisper. He then asks if Angelo is going to join them in the investigation again. Whisper texts Angelo and asks.

When Angelo joins the two, Yuuji asks if Angelo knows any "rich women" who could have beef with the Badawis. Angelo tells him that they've gotten a hint elsewhere that Lieselotte could be involved with the incident. Yuuji asks if the Badawis could have any other enemies, to which Angelo responds that the family has blown the whistle on a lot of people and companies, who haven't been happy about it, but Angelo doesn't know if there are any rich women in that group because he hasn't kept up with all the investigations. So Lieselotte seems to be the most likely suspect. The group agrees to go talk to Lieselotte's ex-PA.

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Now that I've listened to Powernerd a few times (I'm addicted and it's becoming a problem), I've realised just how masterful the order of the songs is. The album opens with a speedy power banger, immediately followed by a song that starts out gentle and mellow but quickly grows in power and size. And that is followed by the lowkey silly power banger Knuckledragger that's about getting shitfaced in a party, which then is followed by the thoughtful and almost mellow Gratitude.

Powernerd keeps altering harsh with gentle, big with small, serious with silly, mellow with power. And it doesn't even feel whiplash-y at any point because the songs develop and flow with each other so well that it just feels like it's natural that Jainism's despair would fade into Younger Lover's mellow start. It's mindblowing.

I'm also happy to report that Powernerd has now achieved the rare status of a no-skip album for me. All of the songs slap so much that I don't skip any of them and I listen to every track when I put Powernerd on.

FINALLY! Townsend's newest album, only a couple months old, Powernerd from October 2024. I've waited to hear this for the first time since I started relistening to Townsend's discography.

The album immediately opens with the energetic title song, Powernerd. And it's an interesting sound! This is more hard rock than heavy metal from what I can hear. It's a fun banger.

By Knuckledragger, I figure that the vibe on this album is... a little more tangible than I've gotten used to from Townsend. Like, it's easier to listen to, you know? I don't know how to describe it. It's less Tool and more... I don't want to say "mainstream palatable", but it's the closest thing I can think of. It's still heavy metal/hard rock with screamed vocals and abrasive lyrics, but it's easier to grasp and comprehend than, say, Puzzle. It's an interesting direction from Townsend and I like it!

Gratitude brings it back to the traditional Townsend sound, though. It's big, it's epic, it blows you over like a strong gust of wind. Incredible track.

Jainism is another track that I want to highlight because it's easily the best song on the album and the reason why I've been so excited for this album. The sing-along-able chorus and thought-provoking lyrics are so good and the punchy "this is so much larger" line before the chorus is so headbangable. This song has been stuck in my head off-and-on for a couple of weeks now and I couldn't be happier. Jainism is easily one of the best metal songs of 2024, which is a feat because Gojira's Mea Culpa and Bloodywood and BABYMETAL's Bekhauf also came out this year.

Glacier is another incredible track that continues the traditional Townsend sound. I stand wildly corrected in assuming that this album would be all hard rock.

The closing track of the album, Ruby Quaker, is a fun romp about drinking coffee. I don't have much else to say about it, it's just so much fun with lighthearted lyrics.

This is an incredible album and it was well worth the self-imposed wait. While I might not come back to it like I would come back to, say Epicloud or other of my fave albums, I will continue to listen to Jainism for a long time.

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“The Wounded Angel” by Hugo Simberg

Finnish, 1903

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Sara also dropped their new Album, Hallava!

Sara really is back to their heavy roots with this album. The sounds and vibes on this album really remind me of some early Sara, especially Saattue and He kutsuivat luokseen era.

The vibes on this album are are incredible. Heavy, but thoughtful, melodic and still airy. The album starts with a slow, beautiful memorial to the vocalist, Joa Korhonen's father, Hyvästi kapteeni, which is easily one of the best songs on the album.

The next song, Valtameri ovella, then immediately slaps you with an entirely different vibe. It's majestic, it's dark, it's mysterious and stormy.

Lumo is also a good song. Its synths are beautiful and make a great contrast with the rough guitars.

This is a really good album. I think I'm going to be listening to it a lot.

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All right! All the UMK songs are out. I've heard them all at least once now, so here are my opinions on the songs.

NEEA RIVER's Nightmares: Nice trance banger. I like it a lot, but I think that it might not stand out in Eurovision. I like her voice, too. It fits so well in this kind of genre.

Nelli Matula's Hitaammin hautaan: The lyrics are super relatable to me and I really like the punchy bits with the "än yy tee" part before the chorus. It's nicely energetic and powerful, but it needs an Interesting stage show to stand out.

costee's Sekaisin: Mmm. I respect what he's doing, but it's... a little boring for me. Not my cup of tea. Also, is his artist name just "moist"? Is that how it's read?

VIIVI's Aina: It's... it's really beautiful, but it's a ballad. We all know how we feel about ballads in Eurovision.

One Morning Left's Puppy: It's fun and novel, but it'd tank with the jury vote. I can see this becoming a meme in tiktok on videos with actual puppies.

Goldielocks' Made Of: She has a very indie pop voice. This, also is not to my tastes, but I can see the appeal. However, this isn't Eurovision material, it's way too lowkey. I'm also confused as to what is going on in the music video. With they toy(?) city, her costume and her jerky movements, I'm baffled as to what they're trying to say with this.

Erika Vikman's ICH KOMME: NOW WE'RE TALKING!! It's camp, it's over the top, it has easily sing-along-able chorus (very important in Eurovision), it has EVERYTHING. THIS is the song that I was waiting for! I was afraid that this year's UMK would be a bust because the rest of the songs are honestly pretty underwhelming, but thank GOD for QUEEN Vikman. She's going to singlehandedly save the competition this year, I can feel it. This is the candidate that I'm going to root for, for sure.

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@important-animal-images

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Teach me how to use my tumblog

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FINALLY! Townsend's newest album, only a couple months old, Powernerd from October 2024. I've waited to hear this for the first time since I started relistening to Townsend's discography.

The album immediately opens with the energetic title song, Powernerd. And it's an interesting sound! This is more hard rock than heavy metal from what I can hear. It's a fun banger.

By Knuckledragger, I figure that the vibe on this album is... a little more tangible than I've gotten used to from Townsend. Like, it's easier to listen to, you know? I don't know how to describe it. It's less Tool and more... I don't want to say "mainstream palatable", but it's the closest thing I can think of. It's still heavy metal/hard rock with screamed vocals and abrasive lyrics, but it's easier to grasp and comprehend than, say, Puzzle. It's an interesting direction from Townsend and I like it!

Gratitude brings it back to the traditional Townsend sound, though. It's big, it's epic, it blows you over like a strong gust of wind. Incredible track.

Jainism is another track that I want to highlight because it's easily the best song on the album and the reason why I've been so excited for this album. The sing-along-able chorus and thought-provoking lyrics are so good and the punchy "this is so much larger" line before the chorus is so headbangable. This song has been stuck in my head off-and-on for a couple of weeks now and I couldn't be happier. Jainism is easily one of the best metal songs of 2024, which is a feat because Gojira's Mea Culpa and Bloodywood and BABYMETAL's Bekhauf also came out this year.

Glacier is another incredible track that continues the traditional Townsend sound. I stand wildly corrected in assuming that this album would be all hard rock.

The closing track of the album, Ruby Quaker, is a fun romp about drinking coffee. I don't have much else to say about it, it's just so much fun with lighthearted lyrics.

This is an incredible album and it was well worth the self-imposed wait. While I might not come back to it like I would come back to, say Epicloud or other of my fave albums, I will continue to listen to Jainism for a long time.

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We're getting so close to Powernerd. I skipped Snuggles from 2021 because it's another ambient album and I don't have much to say about it. It's nice, calm and meditative. Good album for falling asleep.

So instead, here is my take on Lightwork from 2022.

This album has the same sweeping and majestic feel as Epicloud did and I love it. Although it's much more mellow than Epicloud, I feel. Which kind of makes sense because a lot of the songs handle the COVID-19 pandemic. It makes sense that when people were in quarantine in their homes, you'd want to create mellow art.

I want to bring up Call of the Void because it's my favourite song from the album and because it exemplifies most clearly the mental situation in 2022. The vibe of the song is so calm and mellow and(/but?) the lyrics are so soothing and validating, if a little (or A LOT) melancholic. It's easily the highlight of the album and one of the best songs Townsend has made, in my opinion.

Of course, this album isn't completely void of heavy sound. Dimensions brings in that heavy metal sound that we all know Townsend for.

Heavy Burden is another incredible song. It's downright whimsical. It sounds like it could play on the background in a scene of a children's fantasy movie. I've said this a million times by now but god I want Townsend to compose the soundtrack to a movie. Townsend has the range for epic and majestic to calm, mellow and melancholic to whimsical, mysterious and even silly. He could do it and he would do an incredible job at it.

Vacation is another interesting song. It reminds me of Gorillaz's Melancholy Hill, which is an odd contrast because the song is about going on a vacation.

I've only listened to this album once and it's so much better than I remembered. A lot of the songs are straight up majestic bangers that wash you away in a wave of sound.

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To be honest, I was going to skip The Puzzle (2012) because by the description on Wikipedia, it's another experimental and ambient album, but the first track had some speech in Finnish in it and it gave such whiplash that I had to stick around.

The first two tracks are... pleasant enough. They're very mellow and chill, good for concentrating on something.

And Yucky Lung immediately after them is loud and chaotic with dissonant sounds that come out of nowhere.

Shark in the Ice is another chill and mellow track that's followed by the deceptive Devil in the Details that starts out chill, but suddenly gets louder and chaotic in the middle.

By the time Hammerhead Sugarplum came on, I... think I like this album? A lot more than I expected. The sound is kind of chaotic and hard to predict, but it's not nearly as dissonant and hard to listen to as I feared.

The Puzzle is another track that stands out to me. It's, again, very Pink Floyd-y in it's sound with how it meanders and gets... almost jazzy towards the end? And when I say "Pink Floyd-y", I don't mean "inspired by Pink Floyd", I mean "this could legit be a lost Pink Floyd track".

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Today is the last album of the 2010's, Empath from 2019.

I have to admit, maybe because I was distracted and busy listening to this album, a lot of it just went in from one hear and straight out from the other. But what did catch my attention was that the sound is much more orchestral and much less heavy than Townsend's other albums. Which is not to say that heavy metal guitars are completely absent from this album, they are there, but they're not nearly as prominent as you'd expect.

This is a very interesting album. A lot of the songs sound like soundtrack for epic moments in a movie. This all just reminds me how much I want a movie where Townsend makes the soundtrack for lol

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Today I'm listening to Transcedence from 2016.

It's been so fascinating to hear Townsend's sound evolve. It's still larger than life, epic and majestic, but it keeps growing more and more complex and textured. I don't understand anything about music theory, but I know a banger when I hear it.

Failure is an especially interesting song because it takes a Pink Floyd -esque guitar break. I've heard people compare Townsend to Pink Floyd, but this is where I actually understand and hear what they mean.

Stars is another incredible banger from this album. It's sweeping, you can sing along to it, it has a progression, it's majestic. It's just. My god. Such an incredible album.

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I skipped a few days because I was busy and straight up Forgor, but today I'm listening to Z^2, which is listed as two separate albums on Wikipedia, but as a double feature on Spotify. Either way, I'm listening to both today.

The first album continues the majestic, airy vibe of Epicloud, taking it even further and bigger than Epicloud did. It's just as awesome and even more refined and polished. It works pretty well on its own too. It's an incredible listen, especially after Epicloud.

The second album seems to continue the Ziltoid story. This time, Ziltoid has returned to Earth to get coffee, but he's welcome like some kind of rockstar or a god. Ziltoid has a creature called a poozer with him, and the mother of the poozers, a power hungry war princess, has noticed that one of her babies is missing. Uh oh! The poozer escapes Ziltoid and returns to his home planet and tells his mother that he was abducted by Ziltoid and brought to Earth. UH OH!

And so the war princess gathers her troops and attacks Earth. The attack is ruthless, and humans throw Ziltoid into a high security prison because their good will towards him quickly soured while being attacked. However, Captain Spectacular, the general of the human army, goes to negotiate with Ziltoid to try and find out if there's a way to fight against the war princess. Captain Spectacular and Ziltoid enter an uneasy alliance to defeat the war princess and to use Ziltoid's ultimate weapon, Herman the Planet Smasher. Who is a small furry guy the size of a football and he's so cute (or so the narrator tells us, this is still a non-visual story in audio form).

But oh no! Ziltoid betrays the humans! But wait! Captain Spectacular tries to negotiate with Ziltoid, begging him to think back to his childhood and reveals that he and Ziltoid are half brothers. OH SHIT.

Ziltoid, now convinced to work for the humans again, commands the Planet Smasher to attack the war princess, but she defeats Herman easily and kills Captain Spectacular.

But seeing Ziltoid cry over Captain Spectacular's body, sadly singing Memories from Cats, Planet Smasher feels something spark in his heart... Which is hatred for musicals.

With Planet Smasher's help, the human kind evict Ziltoid and the war princess into a worm hole and start celebrating their victory. Ziltoid awakens in a barren, abandoned moon, alone with the war princess and one bag of coffee.

This is a super fun romp of an album. I love stories and this was a light-hearted and fun story to follow. I can't wait for the next part of the Ziltoid story.

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Today I'm listening to Epicloud from 2012. This is the first album I ever heard from Devin Townsend and it's one of my top fave albums of all time. Expect a lot of gushing from me now LOL

True North opens the album and sets the mood so well. It's majestic and ethereal, but still tangible in a way that Ghost really wasn't. The Wall of Sound envelops you gently and takes you

And then immediately after that is Lucky Animals that's a drastic mood shift with a much heavier touch, as if to remind you that Townsend is still a heavy metal artist after all. It's a fun banger, though! Reminds you that heavy metal doesn't have to be dead serious all the time. I also 100 % recommend watching it's unofficial music video from Townsend's channel, that's just Townsend dancing in his back yard.

AND the Official music video, which seems to be made from combining submissions from fans. It's very cute:

Liberation is also a fast-paced, fun banger that's immediately followed by the calm and mellow Where We Belong, that soon develops into another majestic and larger-than-life song. And after those, Save Our Now has a light and airy vibe.

This album bookends itself beautifully with Effervescent and Angel at the start and end of the album respectfully, with how Angel starts with a similar lyrics and melody that were played in Effervescent. It's that kind of unifying themes that make me go feral while listening.

This album is amazing. It's a borderline religious experience. Epicloud is honestly the best place to start listening to Devin Townsend. It's light enough to not scare people who don't like heavy metal, but still heavy enough that it might act as a gateway album for heavier metal and heavy enough that metal fans get something out of it as well. I've only added a couple of the songs on this album on my Devin Townsend faves playlist, but the songs between those are still good enough to listen to. This is a no-skip album. I grabbing you by the shoulders and telling you to listen to Epicloud at least once in your life. No matter what genre you come from, you should give Epicloud a chance. It's that good. I promise you won't regret it. Where's that Lady Gaga gif?

[luxnebula]

Today I'm listening to Ghost from 2011.

The opening track is immediately amazing. Atmospheric, gentle, airy, ethereal. That sounds continues in the whole album, in fact. This is another curveball from Townsend. This is such a fun, chill and mellow album, but it still has hints of the traditional Townsend Wall of Sound. The sounds get complicated, layered, textured and really detailed. It's a fascinating listen. This album is great for falling asleep.

[luxnebula]

Today it's Deconstruction's turn (2011).

... hey, uh. Do you remember when I said that I thought that Devin Townsend Project is less heavy metal in tone? Turns out I was wrong. Because this album is very heavy. The sound is a little more melodic and... I don't think "orchestral" is the right word, but I don't know how else to describe it. It feels like if Bach made heavy metal, if that makes sense. The textures and layers are kind of interesting.

I'm struggling to come up with anything else to say about it, like I've been struggling with the couple of few albums now. Which is weird because I was under the impression that Townsend's music is incredible. Maybe it's just that the Townsend songs that slap, slap so hard that you just forget about the songs that you find unremarkable. Which isn't a bad thing, though. Bangers are bangers and bangers are good.

I do have to say that this isn't a bad album. It's just not to my tastes. I'm not a huge metalhead, so a lot of heavier metal music tends to be a miss for me. Sometimes it includes whole albums from artists that also have whole albums of bangers. And that's okay! Sometimes people just like different things.

Take this as my formal apology to anyone who's tracking Devin Townsend related tags for clogging them with my nothingburger takes. I swear, I will have something interesting to say when I get to Epicloud, though (which is only a couple albums away now! I'm so excited.)