10 Sci-Fi Hard Rock Albums You Need To Hear

7. Ziltoid The Omniscient - Devin Townsend Project

Complete musical messiah Devin Townsend is one of the most gifted creative geniuses working today, and although he's done everything from death metal to acoustic ballads, songs about lost space kittens finding belonging to one called "Oh My F*cking God", Ziltoid the Omniscient is a more "straightforward" concept.

At least, when it comes to being able to sum it up in a couple of sentences, anyway.

Literally based around the titular alien travelling the cosmos in search of the perfect cup of coffee, many tracks begin and end with Ziltoid and his minions' discussing their findings. Over time we hear tales of humans fleeing Ziltoid's menace, something called the "Planet Smasher" being armed in return, and the whole thing culminating as a daydream inside the mind of a barista, detailed in the song "Tall Latte".

Devy has talked at length about how something as stupid-sounding as a caffeine-seeking alien was actually a total breakthrough for him; representative of how he could write without the approval of bandmates or a collaborative process.

As such, I tend to think of Ziltoid as the turning point for Devin overall. He would go on to form the Devin Townsend Project, expanding this creative philosophy in as many directions as possible, even turning in a sequel album, "Z²" in 2014.