Deconstruction

According to an interview with Townsend, the album is a concept album focused around a man who is obsessed with finding the true nature of reality. In the process of this journey, he goes to Hell and meets the devil. The devil shows him the secrets of the universe, presenting a cheeseburger to him. However, being a vegetarian, the man cannot eat the cheeseburger, rendering his attempts at working out the true nature of reality pointless. The album is chaotic in nature and has elements which are prominently humorous, which is a radical departure from Townsend’s more recent work. Townsend also stated in this interview that Deconstruction is a musical representation of facing your fears and overcoming them. Townsend explained that he wanted the album to have a positive message, despite its highly chaotic nature.

The album’s choral and orchestral parts were written and arranged by Townsend using Pro Tools software. The parts were later transcribed into conventional musical notation for the orchestra.