Over the course of Devin Townsend’s storied career, a single constant has persevered: change. As far back as Steve Vai’s “Sex & Religion”, to 2001’s landmark full-length “Terria” to the multi-instrumentalist’s country rock outfit Casualties of Cool to his new album “Transcendence”, the Canadian isn’t too interested in keeping an even musical keel. To understand why Townsend, consciously and subconsciously, favors change is to know the man and his music today. “Music, in my opinion, is ideally the exhaust for whatever you’re going through in life,” says Townsend. “If they’re done correctly, they become an accurate representation, like a snapshot of a particular frame of mind. Like this is where I was at when I was 23 ["City"]. This is where I was at when I was 29 ["Terria"]. At the age of 44 - I guess that’s where I’m at? - to make this accurate requires all these new adjustments and analysis that end up propelling the themes that ultimately reveal themselves. The theme for the new record seems to have prevented itself as a form of surrender I think. Learning to integrate that became the process for “Transcendence”.” Recorded at The Armoury Studios in Vancouver, Canada with Townsend and Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood (Periphery, Animals as Leaders), “Transcendence” sounds absolutely massive. From the moment ‘Truth’—a re-work from the “Infinity” album—monstrously blends into the soul-stirring ‘Stormbending’ to the undulating cool of mid-point jam ‘Secret Sciences’ and Ween cover ‘Transdermal Celebration’, Townsend and crew have engineered a modern-day classic. The sheer scale of tracks like ‘Failure’, ‘Higher’, and the majestic title track is at once daunting and inviting. “Transcendence” pulls the listener in like a movie score. It has the emotional heft of Rosenman’s “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” and the mega-riff power of Black-era Metallica. The bonus disc includes another 11 new tracks!