Redefining Devin Townsend
December 26th, 2010
Canadian artist, Devin Townsend is said to have picked up his first stringed instrument at the age of 5. He went on to become a musician, songwriter, vocalist and producer. He has been associated with a wide body of music covering such genres as extreme metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, experimental metal, ambient and progressive rock. His enduring popularity is made obvious by the fact that his fans go crazy over Devin Townsend Project merch.
The man is widely known for his penchant for completing projects on his own or that are purposefully and strongly associated with himself. This is apparent in his new undertaking, the Devin Townsend Project. Like many other solo artists however, Townsend began his career with other people. His first real, notable career highlight was when he was contacted to provide vocals for Steve Vai’s Sex and Religion. The meeting paved the way for greater heights for the young artist but this initial work also proved to be a disadvantage. He began to feel that he was being boxed in with someone else’s creative work. It became difficult for him to cut his own mark as he was faced with several rejections for his own music.
In an attempt to create a fresh slate for himself as a unique artist, he took on the name Strapping Young Lad. This came as a result of a 1994 offer from Century Media Records to generate five extreme albums. Devin Townsend later put up a permanent band line up for Strapping Young Lad and recorded City. At some point, he began to rediscover his own identity as a musician and began associating his real name to his work beginning with his solo work on Infinity.
Townsend reunited with Strapping Young Lad members in 2002 but also formed another band that this time carried his name. It was with this second group that Accelerated Evolution was recorded and released. Devin Townsend toured and played music separately with both bands.
The artist’s prolific work and unrestrained energy finally took its toll. In 2007, he declared that he would no longer perform with either of his bands. As many music fans suspected however, this was to be only a temporary hiatus. Like every other active musician, Townsend was bound to make a comeback.
Townsend took on a new beginning in 2008 when he came out of his hiatus. As if to emphasize this fresh start, the artist came out without his usual locks and declared that he would no longer smoke, drink or compose under the influence of drugs. Surprisingly, the decision led to fruitful results with the artist producing music that would fit into four distinct categories. This was to be the start of the Devin Townsend Project. The project would comprise of four themes that would correspond to four albums, each of which would be played by four different sets of musicians.
Ki was the very first album to come out for the project in 2009. The album is noticeably more restrained than Townsend’s other releases. Following this release are Addicted and Deconstruction. The final album, Ghost is set for release in 2011 and is said to carry ambient type of music.
There is no stopping Devin Townsend from cementing his name in the music industry. There truly is a lot more to expect from the man and his music after the Devin Townsend Project. There’s bound to be more merch and music tees for fans to collect.
Categories: Music and Gadget
