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Devin Townsend

Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972 in New Westminster, British Columbia) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist musician. He is a vocalist and record producer, drawing on progressive metal with influences from free jazz, blues, industrial, ambient and classical music. He is the founding member and driving force of the extreme metal outfit Strapping Young Lad, and has released a multitude of his own albums under the likenesses of Ocean Machine, Devin Townsend and The Devin Townsend Band.

His five-album contract deal with Strapping Young Lad was fulfilled with the 2006 release of The New Black, leaving the band on indefinite hiatus. The Devin Townsend Band was also retired from touring later that year, although, Townsend has stated that he will pursue his role as a record producer for other bands and will continue to write and release self-produced albums from his home studio.

Biography

Early life

Growing up in the Vancouver music scene, Devin Townsend first began playing the banjo when he was 5 years old, crediting his father on showing him how to play. At the age of 12, he received his first guitar, and had a local guitar teacher between the ages 13–16. His teacher claimed to have taught Townsend differently from other students, saying that instead of teaching him numerous scales, he showed Townsend that the guitar was more about self-expression and focused lessons on how to put the expression onto tape. Townsend would practice ten hours a day; from the time he got home from school until midnight. At the age of 17, he taught at his teacher's studio for a year, until he finished school and then proceeded to enroll himself into the University of Victoria. He only attended one semester, primarily because he "couldn't take it anymore", at which point he began to pursue his musical interests.

Touring with Steve Vai and The Wildhearts: 1991–1994

His first known band was Grey Skies, in which he was a member of while he was in school. He later joined Caustic Thought at the age of 19, replacing Jed Simon on guitar and playing alongside bassist Byron Stroud, both of whom would later become members of Strapping Young Lad. The band went on one tour down the west coast, until Townsend eventually quit the band and began writing material under Noisescapes in 1993. A demo tape was recorded, and copies of it were sent to various record labels. Relativity Records responded to Townsend with a record deal and introduced him to Steve Vai, who had been looking for someone to perform vocals on his upcoming album, Sex and Religion. Impressed with Townsend's vocal work, Vai offered him the role as the album's vocalist, as well as accompany Vai on the subsequent world tour in support of Sex and Religion.

After the Sex and Religion tour had ended, Townsend landed a second touring gig, this time with the opening band of Vai's tour, The Wildhearts. He played live with the band throughout half of 1994 in Europe, and appeared as a guest musician on their Urge and Anarchic Airwaves albums. Ginger, the band's frontman, remained close friends with Townsend and would later co-write "Christeen" on the Infinity album, as well as "om" and "Sit in the Mountain" from the Christeen + 4 Demos EP.

While on tour with The Wildhearts, Townsend got in touch with Jason Newsted through the band's manager, Big Mick, formerly the sound man for Metallica. Townsend and Newsted formed a short-lived thrash metal project known as IR8, featuring Newsted on vocals and bass, Townsend on guitar, and Tom Hunting of Exodus on drums. While the demo tape had attracted Townsend attention from Century Media Records, it wasn't until eight years later in 2002 that Newsted had officially released the material under the IR8 vs. Sexoturica compilation.

Newsted was originally a part of a project with Townsend known as Physicist, but the other members of Metallica had gotten wind of the plan and were not keen to the idea of Newsted working with music outside of Metallica. The project was later recorded and released in 2000 without Newsted's presence as the Physicist album.

The beginning of Strapping Young Lad and Ocean Machine: 1995–1997

Approached by Century Media with a five-album record deal, Townsend began recording material as Strapping Young Lad. The project originally began as a solo outing as he produced and performed nearly all the instruments on the 1995 debut studio album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. Following the release of the record, Townsend and several other musician friends he knew in Vancouver recorded an album in 1996 entitled Cooked on Phonics for another one-off side project, Punky Brüster. Written and recorded in under a month, the album was produced as a parody of punk rock bands and documents the act of selling out for mainstream success.

Dating back to the Sex and Religion tour, Townsend had been writing solo material for a project called Ocean Machine. The Biomech album was recorded in 1995 and originally queued for release later that year in December on Hevydevy Records, a label created by Townsend solely for material he releases on his own. Due to unknown reasons, Biomech was put off for release until late 1996, but when the time came to finally release it, Townsend had become unsatisfied with the recordings and decided to rerecord the album from scratch. Finally released in Japan on July 21, 1997, the album sold 12,000 copies throughout its first week of sales.

Although Ocean Machine began as a separate project from Strapping Young Lad, no further albums were produced and released under the moniker. Biomech was later renamed and redistributed as Ocean Machine: Biomech under Devin Townsend's name by request of his label. Notably, the album is still released in Australia as Biomech due to having refused to change the CD covers.

1998–2005

Strapping Young Lad released their first live recordings in 1998 on an EP titled No Sleep 'Til Bedtime. It was just before the EP was released when Devin announced he and SYL drummer Gene Hoglan would be entering the studio to work on a new project called Infinity. It was assumed at the time that Infinity would be a new "band" similar to Ocean Machine. The music Infinity would be coloured white, according to Townsend.

When Infinity was released, it was to the surprise of Devin's fans as the artist was credited as Devin Townsend and the album as Infinity. Previously it was assumed Infinity would be the band name. The second surprise was the nude photograph of Devin that was used as the cover art. The artwork for the disc was completely white with a naked Devin crouching (covering his more "explicit" body parts) and grinning like a madman. This image was unlike what was seen of Devin thus far. A video and single/EP was released for the stand-out track Christeen, but as with Life, Devin was dissatisfied with the outcome as he believes his music doesn't translate well to film.

It was also with the release of Infinity that Strapping Young Lad began touring as The Devin Townsend Band and merged songs from Biomech and Infinity into a separate set.

Devin and Jason Newsted from the IR8 project began talking publicly about a new project they were working on called Physicist (or Fizzicist) which they claimed would be "heavier than Strapping Young Lad". The IR8 tape was leaked, and aired by a Californian radio station that James Hetfield of Metallica was currently listening to. Metallica were unhappy with Jason working outside of their band and made it difficult for him to continue with Physicist. This prompted Devin to record the album himself with his Strapping Young Lad bandmates, but as a Devin Townsend album.

Physicist's combination of Extreme metal with more mellow "pop" melody was a massive hit with fans and critics alike.

Townsend followed up Physicist with Terria, a warm and organic progressive album that had more atmospheric and soothing parts than crushing riffs. Terria was recorded with Gene Hoglan on drums, Craig McFarland on bass and Jamie Meyer on keyboards.

In Feb 2003, Strapping Young Lad released their self titled follow up to City. A month later (March 31) a brand new line up of The Devin Townsend Band released Accelerated Evolution and for the first time, the two bands toured separately for their separate albums, once again creating a clear line between DTB and SYL.

Accelerated Evolution was released to grandiose praise from critics, fans and musicians like Steve Vai. It is also the first album released by The Devin Townsend Band.

A live "in studio" DVD was included as a bonus with the Special Edition of the second Devin Townsend Band album Synchestra, released January 30, 2006 to overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Retirement from Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend Band: 2006–2007

On May 10th 2007, Devin announced on his official message board that he is stepping away from both bands for a while and producing solo albums.

Following the hiatus after the birth of his son Reyner, Townsend announced in November 2006 that he returned to his home studio to write and record material for a new album. The project was tentatively (and jokingly) referred to as The Mighty Masturbator during its early recording stages, but was renamed to Ziltoid the Omniscient before its release. The album was recorded by Townsend alone in its entirety, utilizing Toontrack's "Drumkit from Hell" for the drum tracks, well known for its use on Meshuggah's Catch Thirtythree album.

In May 2007, Devin announced in a Ziltoid the Omniscient press conference that he no longer plans to tour or make albums with Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend Band, due to "burn-out" associated with touring and promoting. He does however, intend to continue his career as a producer and with his own solo projects, such as his puppet shows associated with Ziltoid the Omniscient and new albums.

New Album: Late 2008

Devin plans to release a new solo album in late 2008. Devin has stated the following on his official forums regarding this new album:

“Yo...
A hugely complicated, dynamic metal 'symphony' thing...mainly instrumental... (Except for the choir vocal type shit). 72 minutes long.
I've already started it, and it's far over the top...the most complex thing to date.
Tentative title: 2. (Ziltoid was 1)...whatever it's called, it's going to have a '2' in the upper right hand corner.
Maybe by December?
Seriously...FAR over the top...TONS of guitar...TONS of solos...TONS of layers, some Devlab / Hummer bits, some beauty, some hell...no breaks between songs...some super clean quiet bits...
No Ziltoid wackiness... I see it as a real DIY honest, adult thing. I want to write symphonies, but I'm a metal head, so here we go. I find it really natural.
Making music without touring IS a break as far as I'm concerned...”

Devin also stated this on his forums on Wednesday, April 30, 2008:

“I have songs...
A Monday, Coast, Disruptr, The Way Home, Lady Helen, Synchronicity Freaks, Gato Negro, Demon League.
Thinking very hard...The record may be called 'Ki' or 'Ki-Ra'
It's very different and very special...very strange...very minimal...deeply satisfying and sometimes very heavy in a 'new' way...it may be too dark for some. I've worked on this record more than almost any record I've ever done next to Ocean Machine. Sometimes I think it's brilliant and sometimes it freaks me out.
I have an ambient record in the works as well. (That one is a ways away though...).
Konrad, who did the Hummer and Devlab art, is doing this layout and videos and he is doing an AMAZING job.”

Then, on Tuesday 9th September:

After three years of producing bands, all of which I got along with, very few of which I understood, through which I accumulated killer gear and studios...I believe I'm ready to be a musician again.
I start in the next 2 months, preparations underway...some of it will be in canada, some elsewhere. There may be a show or two.
Even sober I write fucked up shit, but I'm strangely cool with that...I guess it's just me. At least it's honest...strange how honest gets labelled crazy sometimes.
The album willl have many moods, but will be presented very interestingly I think. I'm going far up north in a few days to start assembling thoughts.
Did I mention sober?
Yeah, shes heavy...and dark, and weird, and literal, and metaphoric, and most of my buddies don't understand it quite yet. I think I do though.
CLEAN guitar tones mostly.
It will be my shittiest album ever...the worst, lamest, most boring tripe I can possible create. I've lost my edge and should have quit and become a plumber.
...oh no, shit...I mean a 'Genre defying classic'
Or...just another weird ass record in a long line of weird ass records that I wonder if I'd even listen to if I didn't write it.
Regardless...she's on her way...and her name is 'Ki'

On October 5th, the theme of the album was revealed:

Wow, this next one is something else... it's all kind of being brought together.
Nature is the theme.
Some of it is devastating...really focused and orchestral

Other information

Over the years Devin has become known for creating a completely new studio and touring band for each solo release. This may be partially explained by the fact that while the solo releases are thematically similar each release usually has a very different sound when compared to the preceding album. Devin has stated that each album has a different sound because he writes from his experiences of the past year and what he is feeling at the time the material is written.

Devin changed his approach to his solo material in 2003 by releasing albums under the name of The Devin Townsend Band instead of Devin Townsend. Devin stated that The Devin Townsend Band will be a more permanent band than the bands that had been assembled for his previous releases and that the band was created to parallel and oppose Strapping Young Lad, with his more mellow music being released by The Devin Townsend Band, and the more angry music released by Strapping Young Lad. More information on this project is listed separately.

Devin has also experimented with electronica, initially with the Project EKO EP, which was available as a bonus with the Special Edition of Accelerated Evolution, and more recently with the dark ambient record Devlab. His latest ambient electronic album was released in November 2006, and is called Hummer.

Devin Townsend produces, either alone or with others, all of his own work. Devin has also worked with other artists in producing their music. Townsend's work is often experimental and progressive. By utilizing digital audio tools and multitrack recording processes, Townsend layers sounds, sometimes with several layers of the same instrument and he will frequently lay down a soundbed of atmospheric noise giving a dense wall of sound effect.

In 2007 he lent his voice to an animated character from the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse, Bink Bonk Blammymatazz in the episode "Cleanzo".

Devin produced Zimmers Hole's third studio album in 2008. Zimmer's Hole is, for all intents and purposes, SYL with a different vocalist as the band consists of Jed Simon, Byron Stroud and (as of 2008) Gene Hoglan. Chris Valagao is their vocalist and has sang backup on many of Devin's solo albums.

A candid interview with Devin appears in the documentary film Working Class Rock Star.

Personal life

Devin Townsend has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which led to self-imposed stay at a mental-health hospital. Devin was discharged from the facility after a few short days. Devin has also incorporated the disorder theme into the Strapping Young Lad record Alien. Allegedly he stopped taking his medication during the composition and production of Alien. This piece of lore is often repeated amongst fans and mentioned in reviews and interviews.

Townsend is famous for a unique "Skullet" hairstyle, because he has been balding since he was a young man, while not cutting his hair for several years. This has resulted in a unique style in which he is bald on top and at the front, while sporting long dreadlocks to the back and sides of his head. However he has on a number of occasions been known to shave his head (Steve Vai era (1993), and post Strapping Young Lad (2008 - present) For these reasons, he is noted for having an "eccentric" appearance and personality. Devin's appearance is well known amongst the metal community. The original character design for Pickles the Drummer, an animated character from the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse bore a striking resemblance to Townsend.

Devin's wife Tracy gave birth to their first child, Reyner Liam Johnstan Townsend, on October 4, 2006.

Supporting musicians

Devin Townsend

Will Campagna – keyboards
Marty Chapman – drums
JR Harder – bass
Gene Hoglan – drums
Craig McFarland – fretless bass
Jamie Meyer – keyboards
Jed Simon – guitar
Byron Stroud – bass

Strapping Young Lad

Gene Hoglan – drums
Jed Simon – guitar
Byron Stroud – bass
Adrian White – drums

Punky Brüster

JR Harder – bass, backing vocals
Jed Simon – backing vocals
Byron Stroud – backing vocals
Chris Valagao – vocals
Surrey Wagner – drums
Adrian White – drums

The Devin Townsend Band

Ryan van Poederooyen – drums
Brian Waddell – guitar
Dave Young – keyboards
Mike Young – bass

Discography

Studio albums: Devin Townsend and The Devin Townsend Band

Title	Release date	Label
Ocean Machine: Biomech	July 21, 1997	Hevydevy
Infinity	June 17, 1998	Hevydevy
Physicist	June 26, 2000	Hevydevy
Terria	November 6, 2001	Hevydevy
Accelerated Evolution	March 31, 2003	Hevydevy
Devlab	December 4, 2004	Hevydevy
Synchestra	January 30, 2006	Hevydevy
The Hummer	November 15, 2006	Hevydevy
Ziltoid the Omniscient	May 27, 2007	Hevydevy
Ki	2009	Hevydevy

Studio albums: Strapping Young Lad

Title	Release date	Label
Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing	April 4, 1995	Century Media
City	February 11, 1997	Century Media
Strapping Young Lad	February 11, 2003	Century Media
Alien	March 22, 2005	Century Media
The New Black	July 11,2006	Century Media