Lightwork
Lightwork is the twenty-first studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released on November 4, 2022. The album has been described by Devin as a return to a "song oriented album", with "more traditional arrangements", after his latest releases (Empath and The Puzzle). Lyrically, the album addresses the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reflecting about the post-pandemic future.
| Lightwork | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lightwork cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 4, 2022 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 55:59 | |||
| Label | HevyDevy, InsideOut Music | |||
| Producer | Gggarth, Devin Townsend | |||
| Devin Townsend chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Lightwork | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Blabbermouth.net | 8.5/10[1] |
| Kerrang! | 3/5[2] |
| Metal Hammer |   [3] |
| Metal Injection | 9/10[4] |
Lightwork is the twenty-first studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released on November 4, 2022. The album has been described by Devin as a return to a "song oriented album", with "more traditional arrangements", after his latest releases (Empath and The Puzzle). Lyrically, the album addresses the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reflecting about the post-pandemic future.[5]
Track listing
[edit]All lyrics are written by Devin Townsend; all music is composed by Townsend, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Moonpeople" | 4:44 | |
| 2. | "Lightworker" | 5:29 | |
| 3. | "Equinox" | 4:39 | |
| 4. | "Call of the Void" | Townsend, Mattias Eklund, Martin Kennedy | 5:53 |
| 5. | "Heartbreaker" | 7:00 | |
| 6. | "Dimensions" | 5:23 | |
| 7. | "Celestial Signals" | Townsend, Diego Tejeida (ending) | 5:12 |
| 8. | "Heavy Burden" | 4:23 | |
| 9. | "Vacation" | 3:10 | |
| 10. | "Children of God" | 10:06 | |
| Total length: | 55:59 | ||
Personnel
[edit]- Devin Townsend – guitar, bass guitar, vocals, synths
- Darby Todd – drums
- Morgan Ågren – additional drums
- Federico Paulovich – additional drums
- Diego Tejeida – additional keyboards
- Nathan Navarro – additional bass guitar
- Elektra Women's Choir – additional vocals (on "Heavy Burden"), choir vocals
- Echo Picone – additional vocals (on "Heavy Burden")
- Jonas Hellborg – additional bass guitar (on "Dimensions")
- Mike Keneally – guitar solo (on "Dimensions")
- Rhys Fulber – additional programming (on "Equinox")
- Hutch Hutchinson – bass guitar (on "Vacation")
- Joy Lapps – steel pan drums (on "Vacation")
- Ché Aimee Dorval – additional vocals
- Anneke van Giersbergen – additional vocals
- Aman Khosa – additional vocals (on "Heavy Burden")
- Tanya Ghosh – additional vocals (on "Heavy Burden")
- Elizabeth Zharoff – additional choir vocals
- Tia Rose Maxfield – additional choir vocals
- Brian Diamond – additional choir vocals
- Ram Dass – voice sample (on "Lightworker")
- Technical and artwork personnel
- Gggarth – production, engineering
- Devin Townsend – production, mixing, engineering
- Troy Glessner – mixing assistant, mastering
- Nygel Asselin – mix setup, engineering
- John "Bandstack" Beatle Bailey – engineering
- Travis Smith – artwork, layout
- Paul Harries – photography
Charts
[edit]| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[6] | 16 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[7] | 122 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] | 40 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] | 9 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[10] | 131 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] | 24 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] | 11 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 21 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 50 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC)[15] | 11 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[16] | 2 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[17] | 92 |
| US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[18] | 56 |
Nightwork
[edit]| Nightwork | |
|---|---|
 Nightwork cover | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | November 4, 2022 |
| Recorded | Lighthouse (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) |
| Length | 47:51 |
| Label | HevyDevy, InsideOut Music |
| Producer | Devin Townsend |
Nightwork is a bonus album released with the deluxe edition of Lightwork.[5][19] According to Devin Townsend, the songs that ended up on Nightwork do not form a "throwaway album", they are songs that thematically didn't fit the main record.[20] Some critics have pointed out the more experimental nature of Nightwork, compared to Lightwork.[21]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Devin Townsend.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Starchasm, Pt. 2" | 4:34 |
| 2. | "Stampys Blaster" | 0:38 |
| 3. | "Factions" | 5:13 |
| 4. | "Yogi" | 3:57 |
| 5. | "Precious Sardine" | 10:14 |
| 6. | "Hope Is in the World" | 4:16 |
| 7. | "Children of Dog" | 6:45 |
| 8. | "Sober" | 4:37 |
| 9. | "Boogus" | 3:33 |
| 10. | "Carry Me Home" | 4:04 |
| Total length: | 47:51 | |
Personnel
[edit]- Devin Townsend – guitar, bass guitar, vocals, synths
- Morgan Ågren – drums
- Aman Khosa – additional vocals (on "Precious Sardine")
- Tanya Ghosh – additional vocals (on "Precious Sardine")
- Mattias Eklund – additional instrumentation (on "Sober")
- Steve Vai – additional instrumentation (on "Starchasm Pt. 2")
- Anneke van Giersbergen – vocals (on "Starchasm Pt. 2")
- Technical personnel
- Devin Townsend – production, mixing, engineering
References
[edit]- ^ Lawson, Dom (2022). "Reviews: Devin Townsend - Lightwork". Blabbermouth.net.
- ^ Ruskell, Nick (November 3, 2022). "Album review: Devin Townsend - Lightwork". Kerrang!.
- ^ Chillingworth, Alec (October 24, 2022). "Album review: Devin Townsend's Lightwork album: arena rock eccentricity with a prog metal heart". Metal Hammer.
- ^ Blum, Jordan (November 2, 2022). "Album Review: Devin Townsend Lightwork". Metal Injection.
- ^ a b "Lightwork". Devin Townsend's Official Website. HeavyDevy. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Devin Townsend: Lightwork" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Devin Townsend – Lightwork". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 17/11/2022 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Devin Townsend – Lightwork". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart on 17/11/2022 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart on 17/11/2022 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart on 17/11/2022 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Devin Townsend Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Devin Townsend Chart History (Top Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2023. [dead link]
- ^ "Devin Townsend Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "DEVIN TOWNSEND - Lightwork Track-By-Track Part 11: Nightwork Bonus Album". BraveWords. February 22, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Adams, Gregory (November 3, 2022). "Devin Townsend: "I don't love playing guitar solos, but I think I'm good at them"". Guitar World. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
