Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 5, 2026

Lightwork

Lightwork is the twenty-first studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released on November 4, 2022. The album has been described by Devin as a return to a "song oriented album", with "more traditional arrangements", after his latest releases. Lyrically, the album addresses the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reflecting about the post-pandemic future.

Last revised
Jun 5, 2026
Read time
≈ 4 min
Length
917 w
Citations
22
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Lightwork
Lightwork cover
Studio album by
Devin Townsend
ReleasedNovember 4, 2022 (2022-11-04)
Studio
  • The Warehouse (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
  • The Farm (Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada)
  • The Armoury (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
  • Lighthouse (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
GenreProgressive rock
Length55:59
LabelHevyDevy, InsideOut Music
ProducerGggarth, Devin Townsend
Devin Townsend chronology
The Puzzle / Snuggles
(2021) 		Lightwork
(2022) 		PowerNerd
(2024)
Singles from Lightwork
  1. "Moonpeople"
    Released: August 26, 2022
  2. "Call of the Void"
    Released: September 27, 2022
  3. "Lightworker"
    Released: October 25, 2022
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth.net8.5/101
Kerrang!3/52
Metal HammerStarStarStarStar3
Metal Injection9/104

Lightwork is the twenty-first studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released on November 4, 2022. The album has been described by Devin as a return to a "song oriented album", with "more traditional arrangements", after his latest releases (Empath and The Puzzle). Lyrically, the album addresses the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reflecting about the post-pandemic future.5

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Devin Townsend; all music is composed by Townsend, except where noted.

Lightwork
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Moonpeople" 4:44
2."Lightworker" 5:29
3."Equinox" 4:39
4."Call of the Void"Townsend, Mattias Eklund, Martin Kennedy5:53
5."Heartbreaker" 7:00
6."Dimensions" 5:23
7."Celestial Signals"Townsend, Diego Tejeida (ending)5:12
8."Heavy Burden" 4:23
9."Vacation" 3:10
10."Children of God" 10:06
Total length:55:59
Nightwork (deluxe edition bonus disc)
No.TitleLength
1."Starchasm, Pt. 2"4:34
2."Stampys Blaster"0:38
3."Factions"5:13
4."Yogi"3:57
5."Precious Sardine"10:14
6."Hope Is in the World"4:16
7."Children of Dog" (alternate version of “Children of God")6:45
8."Sober"4:37
9."Boogus"3:33
10."Carry Me Home"4:04
Total length:47:50

Personnel

  • Devin Townsend – guitar, bass guitar, vocals, synths
  • Darby Todd – drums
  • Morgan Ågren – additional drums
  • Federico Paulovich – additional drums
  • Diego Tejeida – additional keyboards
  • Nathan Navarro – additional bass guitar
  • Elektra Women's Choir – additional vocals (on "Heavy Burden"), choir vocals
  • Echo Picone – additional vocals (on "Heavy Burden")
  • Jonas Hellborg – additional bass guitar (on "Dimensions")
  • Mike Keneally – guitar solo (on "Dimensions")
  • Rhys Fulber – additional programming (on "Equinox")
  • Hutch Hutchinson – bass guitar (on "Vacation")
  • Joy Lapps – steel pan drums (on "Vacation")
  • Ché Aimee Dorval – additional vocals
  • Anneke van Giersbergen – additional vocals
  • Aman Khosa – additional vocals (on "Heavy Burden")
  • Tanya Ghosh – additional vocals (on "Heavy Burden")
  • Elizabeth Zharoff – additional choir vocals
  • Tia Rose Maxfield – additional choir vocals
  • Brian Diamond – additional choir vocals
  • Ram Dass – voice sample (on "Lightworker")
Technical and artwork personnel

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Lightwork
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)6 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)7 122
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)8 40
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)9 9
French Albums (SNEP)10 131
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)11 24
Scottish Albums (OCC)12 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)13 21
UK Albums (OCC)14 50
UK Album Downloads (OCC)15 11
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)16 2
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)17 92
US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)18 56

Nightwork

Nightwork
Nightwork cover
Studio album by
Devin Townsend
ReleasedNovember 4, 2022 (2022-11-04)
RecordedLighthouse (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
Length47:51
LabelHevyDevy, InsideOut Music
ProducerDevin Townsend

Nightwork is a bonus album released with the deluxe edition of Lightwork.519 According to Devin Townsend, the songs that ended up on Nightwork do not form a "throwaway album", they are songs that thematically didn't fit the main record.20 Some critics have pointed out the more experimental nature of Nightwork, compared to Lightwork.21

Track listing

All tracks are written by Devin Townsend.

Nightwork track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Starchasm, Pt. 2"4:34
2."Stampys Blaster"0:38
3."Factions"5:13
4."Yogi"3:57
5."Precious Sardine"10:14
6."Hope Is in the World"4:16
7."Children of Dog"6:45
8."Sober"4:37
9."Boogus"3:33
10."Carry Me Home"4:04
Total length:47:51

Personnel

  • Devin Townsend – guitar, bass guitar, vocals, synths
  • Morgan Ågren – drums
  • Aman Khosa – additional vocals (on "Precious Sardine")
  • Tanya Ghosh – additional vocals (on "Precious Sardine")
  • Mattias Eklund – additional instrumentation (on "Sober")
  • Steve Vai – additional instrumentation (on "Starchasm Pt. 2")
  • Anneke van Giersbergen – vocals (on "Starchasm Pt. 2")
Technical personnel
  • Devin Townsend – production, mixing, engineering
References

References

  1. Lawson, Dom (2022). "Reviews: Devin Townsend - Lightwork". Blabbermouth.net.
  2. Ruskell, Nick (November 3, 2022). "Album review: Devin Townsend - Lightwork". Kerrang!.
  3. Chillingworth, Alec (October 24, 2022). "Album review: Devin Townsend's Lightwork album: arena rock eccentricity with a prog metal heart". Metal Hammer.
  4. Blum, Jordan (November 2, 2022). "Album Review: Devin Townsend Lightwork". Metal Injection.
  5. "Lightwork". Devin Townsend's Official Website. HeavyDevy. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  6. "Austriancharts.at – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  9. "Devin Townsend: Lightwork" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  10. "Lescharts.com – Devin Townsend – Lightwork". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Devin Townsend – Lightwork" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  12. "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 17/11/2022 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  13. "Swisscharts.com – Devin Townsend – Lightwork". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  14. "Official Albums Chart on 17/11/2022 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  15. "Official Album Downloads Chart on 17/11/2022 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  16. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart on 17/11/2022 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  17. "Devin Townsend Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  18. "Devin Townsend Chart History (Top Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  19. "Devin Townsend Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  20. "DEVIN TOWNSEND - Lightwork Track-By-Track Part 11: Nightwork Bonus Album". BraveWords. February 22, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  21. Adams, Gregory (November 3, 2022). "Devin Townsend: "I don't love playing guitar solos, but I think I'm good at them"". Guitar World. Retrieved August 13, 2023.