The Devin Townsend Project has released a lyric video for the track “Rejoice” from the Sky Blue side of their upcoming double album, Z².

Z² will be released on October 27 and has two sides: Sky Blue and Dark Matters. The former is a product of the Devin Townsend Project, while the latter is a follow-up to 2007’s Ziltoid the Omniscient concept album. Townsend also invited fans to get in on the making of the dual album with a call to collaborate as “The Universal Choir.”

“Rejoice” is the first track fans get to hear from Sky Blue – Townsend previously released a lyric video for the song “Deathray” from the album, but it’s from Dark Matters. The new tune is pretty fast-paced, and though there are some ethereal vocals at the beginning and during the chorus of it, the sound is in a largely loud and in-your-face style. Heavy guitar riffs and screaming vocals, along with lyrics like, “Arrogant mental, this world seems arrogant, sick and demented,” make the track seem angry, but not all of the lyrics fit that profile. For instance, “You’ve come a long way so be not afraid, you’ve got to use your mind,” sounds more inspirational than rage-fueled. The backdrop for the lyric video is a surreal illustration with minimal animation.

Townsend says of the track,

The album in general is about fighting through the ugly moments, and I think this song kind of summarizes it.
Z2 was a very challenging record, but after intense personal scrutiny, I feel very proud. It’s the most accurate representation of a challenging time. rejoice! 🙂
Thanks for the support guys.

The Devin Townsend Project will be touring this fall in both North America and Europe as well, so don’t miss out! Also catch up on the Dark Matter side of Z² with episodes one and two of ZTV, featuring Ziltoid the Omniscient.