Transcendence (Devin Townsend Project album)

Transcendence is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. It is the seventh and final album in the Devin Townsend Project series. It was released on September 9, 2016 via HevyDevy Records.

Transcendence
Studio album by Devin Townsend Project
Released	September 9, 2016 (2016-09-09)[1]
Recorded	March 27–May 2016[2][3]
Studio	Armoury Studios
Genre	Progressive metal symphonic metal
Length	64:16
Label	HevyDevy
Producer	Devin Townsend, Adam "Nolly" Getgood
Devin Townsend Project chronology
Z² (2014) Transcendence (2016) Ocean Machine - Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv (2018)
Devin Townsend chronology
Z² (2014) Transcendence (2016) Ocean Machine - Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv (2018)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Kerrang!	4/5[6]
Metal Injection	9/10[7]
Record Collector	[8]
Sputnikmusic	3/5[9]

Background

Transcendence is the first Devin Townsend album not to be produced solely by Townsend, by featuring ex-Periphery member Adam "Nolly" Getgood as additional producer, engineer and mixer.[10][7] By Townsend's request, the other musicians' input to songs, arrangements and production is also greater than on previous Devin Townsend albums.[7]

The first song on the album, "Truth", is a re-recorded version of a song that appeared for the first time on Devin Townsend's solo album Infinity, while the bonus disc includes a re-recording of the song "Victim", from Physicist. The song "Stars" was publicly demoed during a live stream sponsored by Toontrack.[11] The album also includes a cover of Ween's song "Transdermal Celebration" from the album quebec.

The album entered the UK official charts at number 26 on September 16, 2016, after entering the mid-week update chart at 16.[12]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Devin Townsend, except where noted.

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Truth"	Townsend	4:47
2.	"Stormbending"	Townsend, Dave Young, Brian Waddell, Ryan Van Poederooyen, Mike St-Jean	5:22
3.	"Failure"	Townsend, Young, Waddell, Van Poederooyen, St-Jean	6:02
4.	"Secret Sciences"	Townsend, Young, Waddell, Van Poederooyen, St-Jean	7:28
5.	"Higher"	Townsend, Young, Waddell, Van Poederooyen, St-Jean	9:40
6.	"Stars"	Townsend	4:17
7.	"Transcendence"	Townsend, Young, Waddell, Van Poederooyen, St-Jean	5:54
8.	"Offer Your Light"	Townsend	3:57
9.	"From the Heart" (Townsend, Kagel)	Townsend, Kagel	8:23
10.	"Transdermal Celebration" (Ween cover) (Dave Dreiwitz, Josh Freese, Glenn McClelland, Dean Ween, Gene Ween)	Dreiwitz, Freese, McClelland, D. Ween, G. Ween	8:26
Total length:			64:16

Vinyl edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Gump"	5:24
12.	"Loud"	3:23

Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Sophie's Boobies" (demo)	0:50
12.	"Young Gods" (demo)	4:47
13.	"Wolves" (demo)	3:24

Holding Patterns (deluxe edition bonus CD)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Gump"	5:24
2.	"Celestial Signals" (demo)	5:02
3.	"Support the Cause" (demo)	4:31
4.	"Into the Sun" (demo)	3:11
5.	"Time Overload" (demo)	4:00
6.	"Lexus" (demo)	5:14
7.	"Farther On" (demo)	2:51
8.	"Victim" (demo, originally from Physicist)	3:09
9.	"Monkey Mind" (demo)	3:52
10.	"Canucklehead" (demo)	2:09
11.	"Loud"	3:23
Total length:		42:52

Sources:[13]

Personnel

Devin Townsend Project

• Devin Townsend – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, programming, production
• Dave Young – guitars, keyboards
• Brian Waddell – bass
• Ryan Van Poederooyen – drums
• Mike St-Jean – keyboards

Additional personnel

• Anneke van Giersbergen – vocals
• Ché Aimee Dorval - vocals

Other staff

• Adam "Nolly" Getgood – additional producer, engineering
• Ermin Hamidovic - mastering
• Anthony Clarkson – cover art

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	10
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15]	49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16]	52
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17]	51
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18]	43
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[19]	2
French Albums (SNEP)[20]	56
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21]	43
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[22]	6
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23]	21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24]	33
UK Albums (OCC)[25]	26
US Billboard 200[26]	117

References

1. Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence on metal-archives.com Retrieved August 28, 2016.
2. DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT To Begin Recording New Album In March - blabbermouth.net Retrieved August 28, 2016.
3. Devin Townsend on Facebook Retrieved August 28, 2016.
4. https://www.metacritic.com/music/transcendence/devin-townsend-project
5. Jurek, Thom (September 2016). "Transcendence - Devin Townsend Project". AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
6. "The Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence". Kerrang! (1634): 51.
7. Lambert, Aaron (September 9, 2016). "Album Review: Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence". Metal Injection. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
8. Hamnett, Alun. "The Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence". Record Collector. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
9. Gerhart, Thompson D. (September 9, 2016). "Review: Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
10. Kennelty, Greg (March 28, 2016). "Devin Townsend Project enters studio with Periphery bassist". Metal Injection. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bxzr9n_HK8
12. "Official Albums Chart Update Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
13. Transendence (booklet). Devin Townsend Project. HevyDevy Records. 2016. ASIN B01HOGKV74.CS1 maint: others (link)
14. "Australiancharts.com – Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
15. "Austriancharts.at – Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
16. "Ultratop.be – Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
17. "Ultratop.be – Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
19. "Devin Townsend Project: Transcendence" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
20. "Lescharts.com – Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
21. "Offiziellecharts.de – Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
22. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
25. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
26. "Devin Townsend Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2016.