Accelerated Evolution - Music

Music

Accelerated Evolution was written as "the polar opposite" of SYL. The album blended aspects of different genres, including alternative rock, hard rock, and progressive metal, with elements of "heaviness, ambience, humor, and experimentalism". The album has been described as more melodic and more rock-based than SYL or Physicist, yet "more song-oriented" than Terria, with influences by John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Rush. Songs such as "Storm", "Suicide", and "Sunday Afternoon" were compared to Townsend's Infinity, but were noted as "less frantic and more mature". Townsend wrote the album to be "commercially viable", making his existing style more concise and accessible but without going so far as to write "pop songs". Townsend utilized clean vocals much more than in his previous albums, and produced and mixed the album in his trademark "wall of sound" style, blending "layers upon layers of guitars, keyboards, and vocals".

All tracks written by Devin Townsend, with additional arrangements by Brian Waddell, Ryan Van Poederooyen, Dave Young, and Mike Young.