Talk:Accelerated Evolution

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Accelerated Evolution/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Hello. I'll be reviewing this article for GA. Check back for my analysis. Timmeh!_{(review me)} 22:53, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Checklist and analysis

GA review (see here for criteria)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose): b (MoS):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

   The release section seems a bit short. Have any singles been released for this album? If so, how have they done on music charts? Has the album itself appeared on any major charts? Has the Devin Townsend Band toured in support of the album, and where have they done so?

   OK, I added some information. There were no singles (Townsend's only released one single in his career) and as an independent album it didn't sell very well, although it had a minor appearance on the charts in France. —Gendralman (talk) 23:42, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

   Unanimous praise? Really? Is there not one reviewer that had anything negative to say about the album, even within a generally positive review?

   They didn't intend it literally, I'm sure, but I see your point about NPOV. I kept the source but adjusted the wording. —Gendralman (talk) 23:42, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

   I'll wait for my questions to be answered before taking any further action. Timmeh!_{(review me)} 22:02, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

   I've passed the article, as my concerns have been addressed. Thanks for quickly responding, and good luck with this and other articles in the future. Timmeh!_{(review me)} 23:51, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

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Peer review

Accelerated Evolution

I've listed this article for peer review because I'm looking to nominate this article to FAC. Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks, Z1720 (talk) 21:48, 3 June 2026 (UTC)

Comments from Noleander

• I'm not a musician or music fan, but I'll do my best to provide some feedback.

• "They cited that the album blended different genres of ..." word "cited" doesn't sound right. Not sure what word is better: maybe check other music articles for ideas? "Observed", "noted", "remarked", "commented", "stated" ?

• Changed to "stated" Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• "Accelerated Evolution was released on 31 March 2003[11] on Townsend's independent label, HevyDevy Records. It is distributed in Canada ... " WP:CITEFOOT and MOS:REFPUNCT say that footnotes mid-sentence should generally be avoided, unless there is a compelling reason not to. Suggest move the [11] cite to after the period.

• Moved ref to the period. Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• " He utilized clean vocals much more than in his previous albums,..." Consider adding a few words there constrasting/describing the vocal style of the prior albums.

• I rephrased this section to better match what is verified in the source. Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• Image "Devin Townsend Accelerated Evolution cover.jpg" is copyrighted, but it has correct fair-use justification, and is low-resolution, and is in WP (not Commons), and is used in only 1 article. Y
• Image "File:Devin Townsend.jpg" - has good licensing info.Y
• I ran the "Show Ref Check" tool, does not show any issues with citations.
• Source title capitalization: article uses both title case & sentence case e.g. "Symphony X to Tour with the Devin Townsend Band" vs "Even the most bizarre and ingenious of his ideas seem to hit the target": The Devin Townsend albums you should listen to... and one to avoid". WP:CITEVAR says to use one or the other (for all titles of a specific class of source) and ignore how source capitalizes itself.

• I think I fixed them all, but will continue to look. Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

There is a tool that will convert all source titles to same captlz style: User:ZKang123/TitleCaseConverter. Noleander (talk) 00:25, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• This has double quotes within double quotes: ""Even the most bizarre and ingenious of his ideas seem to hit the target": The Devin Townsend albums you should listen to... and one to avoid" Should be single quotes within double quotes.

• Fixed. Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• I ran Earwig Copyright Violation tool: It reported no issues.

• First sentence: "Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003." The "... released in 2003" does not scan well. Could probably ignore it anywhere else in the article, but you don't want to alarm reviewers in the very 1st sentence. Consider "Accelerated Evolution, released in 2003, is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend." Or "Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend." and put release year in next sentence.

• I rephrased based on III (Banks album), a recently promoted FA about an album. Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• Better word? "... was Townsend's first dedicated lineup for his solo material, ..." Is there another word besides "dedicated" that more precisely tells the readers what the sources are trying to convey. I'm not sure if that means the group had a name? or they were a semi-permanent grouping (vs disbanded after the album)? etc.

• I removed dedicated for now. If a better word comes up during a rewrite, I'll add it in. Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• Colloquial: "... a nod to the frantic pace ..." "a nod to" is vulgar/colloquial. Sentences in the encyclopedia's voice should use a more formal/professional wording.

• Rephrase to "in reference to". Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• Explain? "Accelerated Evolution was written to be a polar opposite of SYL." Readers will wonder "polar opposite of what, specifically?" The tone of SYL? The production values? The profit margin? The instrumentation? If it is referring to the musical tone/character: then it should explain the tone/character of SYL. (Alternatively: if the character of SYL is described above in the same major section, no need to repeat it here).

• Changed to "large contrast" Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• "Credits adapted from Accelerated Evolution album liner notes." "adapted" is an unexpected word here. Readers might wonder if it indicates something fishy: did the article editor take some creative liberties? Can the word be eliminated?

• Other album articles like III (Banks album) and Blackstar (album), both promoted in 2026, seem to use this phrasing. Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

• That's all I have. After the prose is made a bit more professional, should have no problem getting promoted to FAC, because it is relatively small, has typical RS quality for music articles, and has no contentious material. Fine article! Noleander (talk) 03:29, 8 June 2026 (UTC)

• @Noleander: Thanks for your comments. Responses above. Do you mind if I ping you in the nomination? Z1720 (talk) 00:22, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

  @Z1720 - Yes, please ping me. I'll be happy to do an FA review! Noleander (talk) 00:26, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Metalicat

Some comments from a non-specialist; metal is well outside my listening and my editing patch, so treat these as prose, MoS, and internal-consistency points only.

• The first sentence now reads Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by The Devin Townsend Band, but the body says it was the band's first album, and the infobox chronology places it in Townsend's solo sequence. I suspect this crept in with the recent rephrasing of the opening sentence: it is Townsend's sixth studio album and the band's first. Something like Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first recorded with his backing group The Devin Townsend Band would square the lead with the body.

• Done. Z1720 (talk) 21:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

• Date formats are mixed and there is no date-format template to police them. In the prose, the lead has March 31, 2003 while the Release section has released on 31 March 2003; in the citations, publication dates mix mdy and dmy, and access dates run to three styles (mdy, dmy, and ISO), occasionally within a single reference. MOS:DATEUNIFY will come up at FAC. Adding {{Use mdy dates}} (or dmy, your choice) auto-formats every CS1 date, so a manual sweep would only be needed for the prose and the few hand-written references the template cannot touch.

• Added template and did manual sweep. Z1720 (talk) 21:25, 12 June 2026 (UTC)

• Both images lack alt text: the infobox |alt= is empty and the Townsend photograph has none.

• Alt text added. Z1720 (talk) 00:52, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

• SYL first appears in the body as a large musical contrast from SYL without the abbreviation ever being introduced; the Background section calls it Strapping Young Lad's self-titled album. Adjacent to Noleander's point about that sentence: could the abbreviation be established at first mention, e.g. self-titled album (SYL), so the Music section's uses are anchored? While there, contrast from would read more naturally as contrast with.

• I tried introducing the album more effectively, and changed "from" to "to. Z1720 (talk) 00:52, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

• The recording studios (The Armoury, Merchland and Hipposonic studios) appear only in the infobox and nowhere in the body. Infobox-only facts tend to draw queries; a sentence in Background or Release citing the liner notes would cover it. Is "Merchland" the spelling the booklet uses?

• I couldn't find a source that verified this, so I removed it. Z1720 (talk) 01:08, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

• Townsend performed guitar, vocals, and production: "performed" cannot govern "production". Perhaps Townsend played guitar, sang, and produced or handled guitar, vocals, and production.

• I tried rephrasing to separate what he played from production. Z1720 (talk) 00:52, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

• Two tense questions. It is distributed in Canada by HevyDevy, in Japan by Sony, and in Europe and North America by InsideOut states 2003 distribution arrangements in the present tense; unless a current source supports them, past tense is safer. Conversely the lead's The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles describes the work itself, which takes the present: is a mix.

• Both fixed. Z1720 (talk) 00:52, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

• The distributor is spelled both InsideOut (Release) and Inside Out Music (Track listing); one form throughout would be tidier.

• Changed to Inside Out per wikiarticle. Z1720 (talk) 00:52, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

• A question rather than a point: the lead does not mention the chart placings or the touring that followed release. Both are short sections, but MOS:LEAD expects the lead to touch every major section; a single sentence would do it.

• Added info to lead. Z1720 (talk) 00:52, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

A tight little article and an enjoyable read even for someone who has never knowingly heard a note of it. Happy to look again before FAC if useful. Metalicat (talk) 16:37, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

• @Metalicat: Thanks for reviewing it: responses above, and additional comments are welcome. Would it be alright to ping you in the FAC nom? Z1720 (talk) 01:08, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

  No worries. That’s it’s from me. Feel free to ping me at FAC. Metalicat (talk) 07:34, 14 June 2026 (UTC)