Devin Townsends career is one of many distinct eras. Hes been the leader of Strapping Young Lad, the lynchpin of the Devin Townsend Project and the co-architect of country duo Casualties of Cool, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymaths newest era starts with PowerNerd: a succinct but still progressive record that pulls from its masterminds childhood love of vintage rock.

From the moment the title track ignites the record with a roar of PowerNerd!, Devins 28th studio project is a gallop of melody, noise and emotion. The opener and Knuckledragger are all-out, high-speed rampages, their impact intensified by their central figures signature wall of sound production style. However, that aggression is far from the only thing to come from Powernerds 11 episodic tracks. Dreams of Light, by comparison, is an evocative and dynamic four-minute ballad. Younger Lover calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses o