Devin Townsend Devin Townsend performing in July 2012 Background information Birth name Devin Garrett Townsend[1] Born May 5, 1972 (age 46) New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada Genres Heavy metal, progressive, rock, electronic Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, producer Instruments Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards Years active 1990–present Labels HevyDevy, Century Media, Inside Out Music Associated acts The Devin Townsend Band, Devin Townsend Project, Strapping Young Lad, Casualties of Cool, Steve Vai, Punky Brüster, IR8, Front Line Assembly, Grey Skies, Caustic Thought, Noisescapes, Ayreon, the Wildhearts, Bent Sea, ReVamp, removal, Darkest Hour Website www.hevydevy.com Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007, and has an extensive career as a solo artist. After performing in a number of heavy metal bands in high school, Townsend was discovered by a record label in 1993 and asked to perform lead vocals on Steve Vai's album Sex & Religion. After recording and touring with Vai, Townsend was discouraged by what he found in the music industry, and vented his anger on the solo album Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, released under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. He soon assembled a band under the name, and released the critically acclaimed City in 1997. Since then, he has released three more studio albums with Strapping Young Lad, along with solo material released under his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records. Townsend's solo albums, a mix of hard rock, progressive metal, ambient, and new-age, have featured a varying lineup of supporting musicians. In 2002 he formed the Devin Townsend Band, a dedicated lineup which recorded and toured for two of his solo releases. In 2007, he disbanded both Strapping Young Lad and the Devin Townsend Band, taking a break from touring to spend more time with his family. After a two-year hiatus, he began recording again, and soon announced the formation of the Devin Townsend Project. The project began with a series of four albums, released from 2009 to 2011, each written in a different style. Townsend continued to record and tour under the new moniker until January 2018. Across all his bands and projects, Townsend has released twenty-three studio albums and three live albums. Townsend's trademark production style, featuring a heavily multitracked wall of sound, has been compared to the styles of Phil Spector and Frank Zappa. His vocal delivery ranges from screaming to an opera-esque singing. Townsend's musical style is rooted in metal, and his albums are written to express different aspects of his personality. Early musical career (1972–1994)[edit] Devin Townsend was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, on May 5, 1972.[2] Townsend picked up the banjo when he was five, and began playing guitar when he was 12.[3] As an early teenager he befriended Brian "Beav" Waddell, who would later play guitars as part of the Devin Townsend Band and bass on the Devin Townsend Project.[4] He participated in several metal bands while he was in high school, and founded Grey Skies at the age of 19. Around the same time he joined a popular local group called Caustic Thought, replacing Jed Simon on guitar and playing alongside bassist Byron Stroud, both of whom would later become members of Townsend's flagship band, Strapping Young Lad.[5] In 1993, Townsend began writing material under the name Noisescapes, a project he later described as "just as violent as Strapping Young Lad".[6] Townsend recorded a Noisescapes demo and sent copies to various record labels. Relativity Records responded to Townsend with a record deal and Townsend began work on what was to be the first Noisescapes album, Promise.[7] Shortly afterward, the label introduced him to musician Steve Vai. Impressed with Townsend's vocal work, Vai offered him the role of the lead vocalist on his new album Sex and Religion. After recording Sex and Religion, Townsend accompanied Vai on a world tour in support of the album.[7] Townsend soon landed a second touring gig, this time with the opening band of Vai's tour, the Wildhearts.[8] He played live with the band throughout half of 1994 in Europe, and appeared as a guest musician on their single Urge. Ginger, the band's frontman, remained close friends with Townsend,[9] later co-writing several songs on Infinity and the Christeen + 4 Demos EP. While on tour with the Wildhearts, Townsend formed a short-lived thrash metal project with Metallica's then-bassist Jason Newsted. The band, known as IR8, featured Newsted on vocals and bass, Townsend on guitar, and Tom Hunting of Exodus on drums. The group recorded a few songs together, although Townsend says that they never intended to go further than that. "People heard about it and thought we wanted to put out a CD, which is absolutely not true," he explains. "People took this project way too seriously."[6] A demo tape was put together, but the material was not released until 2002, when Newsted published the IR8 vs. Sexoturica compilation. Though Townsend was proud of what he had accomplished so early in his career, he was discouraged by his experience with the music industry. "I was becoming a product of somebody else's imagination, and it was mixing with my own personality," he later reflected. "This combination was appalling."[10] He pushed to get his own projects off the ground. Despite getting notable touring gigs with other musicians, however, Townsend continued to face rejection of his own music. Relativity Records dropped Noisescapes from their label shortly after Townsend accepted Vai's offer, seeing no commercial appeal in Townsend's music.[11] "I have a hunch they only offered me a deal to get me to sing with Steve," he mused.[6] While touring with the Wildhearts, Townsend received a phone call from an A&R representative for Roadrunner Records, expressing an interest in his demos and an intention to sign him. The offer was ultimately rescinded by the head of Roadrunner, who regarded Townsend's recordings as "just noise". In 1994, Century Media Records offered Townsend a contract to make "some extreme albums".[12] He agreed to a five-album deal with the record label,[13] and also provided much of the guitar work on the 1994 album Millennium and the 1995 album Hard Wired by Vancouver industrial band Front Line Assembly. Townsend began to record material under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. He avoided using his real name at this point in career, looking for a fresh start after his high-profile Vai gig. "At the beginning, I wanted to avoid at all cost to use my name because I was known as the singer for Steve Vai and it wasn't the best publicity to have," he later explained. "I was playing somebody else's music and I was judged in respect to that music."[10] Townsend produced and performed nearly all the instruments on the debut studio album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, which was released in April 1995. Following the release of the record, Townsend and several other musician friends he knew in Vancouver recorded his first solo album in 1996 entitled Punky Brüster – Cooked on Phonics. 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. Townsend founded his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records, to release the album. Townsend assembled a permanent lineup of Strapping Young Lad to record City, including prolific metal drummer Gene Hoglan, along with Townsend's former bandmates Jed Simon on guitar and Byron Stroud on bass. The industrial-influenced[14] album was released in 1997. To this day, the album is widely considered Strapping Young Lad's best work,[15][16]with Metal Maniacs calling it "groundbreaking"[17] and Revolver naming it "one of the greatest metal albums of all time".[18] Townsend himself considers it the band's "ultimate" album.[19] Later that year, Townsend released his second solo album, Ocean Machine: Biomech. The album featured a mix of hard rock, ambient, and progressive rock --------------------------- There is some crossover between the Strapping Young Lad albums and the initial Townsend solo albums. Although I can appreciate what Strapping were doing, it is a little too screamy for me and so I am going to focus on the solo material and the later band projects. If you don't like metal, don't be too perturbed, because to my ears Townsend transcended being purely a metal artist. There are certainly elements through his work that are metal in origin but I think he is an extremely talented writer and manages to put together a chocolate assortment of music that manages to sound like him. His production style appears not to please some people, but I think it suits the music he does perfectly. I only discovered Townsend reasonably recently .... I bought the initial VAI album and loved it, particularly rescue me or bury me and deep into the pain and found the singer to be quite remarkable. I wondered what he had done since that, figuring he couldn't have just disappeared. I had a listen to the "City" album and found it to be quite spectacular, but to focussed on screaming too much to really get me to want to buy it. Then I heard some of his solo work and found it to be quite remarkable, and I still find it strange that he has such a "cult" fan base. I suppose he covers too much ground to hold a lot of metal heads and plays too much metal to really hold the attention of those that are objectionable to the style. Anyhow, knowing full well that few people will probably get very involved with this, I am going to run through these albums anyway, because to me it is a shame that this guy isn't more recognised than he is. Please stay with the album and songs we are on. If you want to comment on something we have gone passed, please do. I love hearing people tell of their experiences and thoughts so jump in. I am no expert on Heavy Devy, I just have the albums and enjoy them. So if you are an expert, give us the info we need to flesh this out. Cheers
Ocean Machine: Biomech Studio album by Devin Townsend Released July 21, 1997 Recorded September 1996 – December 1996 Genre Progressive metal Length 73:52 Label HevyDevy Producer Devin Townsend Ocean Machine: Biomech is the second studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, originally released as Biomech under the name Ocean Machine. The album was released in July 1997 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records. Material for Ocean Machine: Biomech had been around since the time Devin Townsend was touring with Steve Vai in support of Sex & Religion, with some tracks, such as Funeral, Regulator and The Death of Music, stretching back to Townsend's days with Noisescapes. The album was recorded in studio around December 1996, but was delayed for release until mid 1997. Prior to its release, Townsend was unsatisfied with the recordings and re-recorded the album from scratch. The re-recordings were done at Townsend's home studio with instrumentation help from Marty Chapman, JR Harder, Chris Valagao of Zimmers Hole, and John Morgan. Ocean Machine: Biomech featured a mix of hard rock, ambient, and progressive metal.[5] The album was the follow-up to the critically acclaimed[6] City by Townsend's extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad. Townsend considered Strapping Young Lad a "little project" that he considered a "parody" and not the intended focus of his music, but lamented that Ocean Machine, which he described as "the music that was really close to me," was largely dismissed upon its release.[7] Many of the tracks on the album have become live staples during Devin's career; however, "Bastard" and "The Death of Music" did not make their debut until April 2015.[8] The album is specifically referenced in the post-Ocean Machine demo "Ocean Machines" from Ass-Sordid Demos and "Resolve" from Addicted. "Sister" is sampled in the ambience ending "Traveller" on Accelerated Evolution. "Voices in the Fan" is recalled in "Colour Your World" on Ziltoid the Omniscient. A riff in "Regulator" forms the basis of "Om" from the Infinity/Christeen + 4 Demos EP. "Bastard" is referenced in "Rain City" on Sky Blue. "The Death of Music" reuses the chorus of bonus track "Japan" from the first SYL album Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing (also released as a bonus on No Sleep 'till Bedtime). Ocean Machine: Biomech was released in July 1997. When Townsend was unable to get the album picked up by a record label, he founded his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records, to release his solo material.[7] On its original Japanese release, the album was entitled Biomech and "Ocean Machine" was listed as the artist name; the album was later reissued worldwide with a compound title under Townsend's name. The album was distributed in Canada by HevyDevy, in Europe and America by InsideOut, and in Japan by Sony. The album sold 12,000 copies in Japan in its first week of release.[9] Although musically straying from Townsend's extreme metal work in Strapping Young Lad, Ocean Machine: Biomech was met with favorable reviews. Metal Hammer praised it as a "concept album akin to the sensuality and escapism of Pink Floyd, [as] Devin lyrically and musically explores real and not particularly uplifting topics such as death, isolation, and depression."[10] Noise Level Critical wrote that "anyone who heard the [Steve] Vai album Sex & Religion will know that Townsend's voice is top-notch, with the ability to go from aggressive bark, to high-pitched wail, to soft emotional whisper in the space of one song."[11] On 17 March 2017 a complete live playthrough was made at Hammersmith Apollo, followed on September 22, 2017 by a performance in the Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, recorded for a DVD & Blu-Ray release. I really like this album and to me it was anew creature on the landscape. It pushes boundaries, it yells and screams on occasion but has a beauty rarely seen in the form. The songs have some fantastic melodies and riffs and really reward the listener. I think that the closing four songs are essential listening for anyone claiming to love music.
Seventh Wave So yes we open with pounding drums and big guitars. Dig a little deeper though and listen to melodies and the subtleties ... yes I know subtle isn't something people associate with Devin but I hear a certain subtlety within the wall of sound that Devin produces. Lyrics Running away, running away Running away forever It was her only chance of finding home Running away, running away Running away together... With only thoughts of finding home I'll wait for the ocean to rise up And meet me as it rose up before (I'll know the time) I'll wait for the ocean to rise up And greet me as it rose up before (I'll know the year) Because you're never alone ...Even when you're alone You're never alone... Watch the seventh wave Running away, running away Running into the weather With only thoughts of finding home Running away, running away Running away forever I realize I'm on my own On my way pass it on On my way pass it on I'll wait for the ocean to rise up And meet me as it rose up before (I'll know the time) I'll wait for the ocean to rise up And greet me as it rose up before We're never alone Even when you're alone We're never alone... watch the ocean
Life I love this song. To me this has such a fantastic sound and feel. There is plenty of dynamics and melody and to me this is a really good feel good song. Lyrics My life is all that I've known And it's all that keeps me here My time is all that I own So I won't let it slip away... How long can this life go on Who we are what we are... I'll see you on the other side Wouldn't you rather live it on your own Even when it bends you over So when it comes time to go home You don't let them fade away... How long can this all go on? How long till it's over? And how long till it all comes down? ...And how bad do we need a new reminder?
Been a fan of Devin's for about 15 years now. Definitely one of my favorites. I like Ocean Machine, but it has never been one of my favorites. Highlights are Bastard, The Death of Music, Things Beyond Things (minus the scream at the end) and Funeral. One thing I really like about the song of this record is the water effect that seeps into the music (musically, not through backing track effects), like the beginning of Bastard or parts of Seventh Wave. The music at times almost sounds like the ocean, fitting for an album called Ocean Machine. Good album, with much better ones still to come.
Night The layering of guitar and keyboards on this works extremely well. This is almost an Alice Cooper style vocal on the verses. Then we move into a nice chorus that again shows Townsend's want to inject melody into his music. Another strong song, the vocals may be mixed a little low though. Lyrics Here I am, driving through Japan at night Here I am, pretending everything's alright And I've got so far to go before the morn And I can't believe how much it hurts at home Here I am, living life inside a comic book Here I am, bored with everything... And I can't believe that I'm here to stay 'Cause I never worked it out this way And I love you more than I can say But I hate you every other way Rain, falling down Rain, falling down Rain, falling down Rain, falling down over me I think I'm closer now I think I'm closer now I'm getting closer now Under the light of the moon And I can't believe that I'm here to Stay, 'cause I never worked it out... And I love you more than I can say But I hate you every other... And I'll keep my world from falling apart In the corner of an aching heart So say you'll come into the city Come back with me please...
Hide Nowhere Again we hear some elements of metal, but there is an emphasis on song structure and much more here than a mere slam it out metal song. Townsend is putting down textures to explore. Lyrics Cold blue waves Cold dead sky See in the sea what I need to be Cold blue waves Cold blue mind... (hear them talk about) Cold dead mind See in the sea what is and what will be Every dream I have wants me to stay Every night I try to find a way I hide nowhere They hide in my world I have nowhere to go Dreams come as they... Sleep comes as it... Dreams come as they do
Sister This song starts off with a big power chord and then moves into some synth washes and effected talk tracks that move into virtual white sound, with some vocals over the top. Effectively this track works a s a link track, but the lyrics combined with the audio would make one feel that something deeper is going on with this one. Lyrics Sister... Sister... Sister... There's nothing I could do Sister... Sister... Sister... Sister... Nothing I could do Sister... Sister... Nothing I could do
3am Here we have a short ambient piece with some vocals that again would seem to be working as a link track, but again the lyrics and the ambient feel leave you feeling that there is something more to this. Lyrics Time will be on my side No looking back Time will be on my side No looking back this time All that I've known is gone Time to be moving on...
Totally. The album is even structured like a voyage out – starts with choppy waves (tracks 1-4), then takes a dive in with Sister/3AM, comes back up for Voices/Greetings/Regulator, then some more elongated dives for the final trilogy. I certainly feel like I held my breath through Funeral/Bastard/TDOM... very cathartic endings all, and rollercoasters to get there. Things Beyond Things may be 'just' a Grey Skies demo, but what an intense song. It's been accepted as part of the OM canon (hence its inclusion on the Plovdiv show), and that does it fine justice, though I do wish it had perhaps been included somewhere before the 'big three'.
Voices in the fan This song kicks in with a steady groove with drums and electronic rhythmic tools. This gives way to a more traditional guitar and vocal section and back. The outro takes the form of a church choir Lyrics Who's the weakest now? Caught up in the wire I'm already gone Who's the weakest now? And it's the grey days that I'll remember the most And it's the grey times in the water before morning I won't be alone Think of me at night Send my love to home I'll be alright And it's the grey days that I'll remember the most And it's the grey times in the water before morning And it's only tonight that I'll be able to leave And it's only the weak that cry for me, mourning 'Cause tonight there'll be no sleep Tonight they come for me Please help them understand I've become the voices in the fan Goodbye
Great description about a voyage! However, I do think Things Beyond Things is the perfect closer. It's like the epilogue following the sheer terror of The Death of Music.
Greetings A nice guitar riff opens this one up. Again the vocals are a little buried. After the intro we get the Devin wall of sound. This first real solo album, if anything suffers a little at the hands of the mixing and production. We can see what he was trying to achieve, from his later albums, and this is by no means a bad album, but he refines his technique on future projects. This song also works as a lead in to the next song. Lyrics From my world, I bring you greetings From our world, I bring you greetings It's so hard to tame them ...it will be so hard to prove them wrong I believe, we'll lose our world for them... I believe, we'd throw up arms before Them... ...And bore them So call it home
Regulator This album has much more of a metal feel than a lot of his other post strapping albums, and as it it his first (aside from the punk album) since then, that makes sense. This song works well and the mix has more clarity. Lyrics I'm regulated I'm regulated Odd times and all Odd times and all I'm regulated I'm regulated Odd times and all Odd times and all I'm regulated No meantime at all I'm regulated No meantime at all Time won't wait for me There goes that old feeling. I'm free again. I'm regulated No meantime at all I'm regulated No meantime at all I'm regulated No meantime at all I'm regulated No meantime at all
Funeral This song clocks in around the eight minute mark and starts with some pulsating atmospherics. This is one of the best sounding songs on the album as it isn't too dense. Townsend likes a wall of sound and for his music it works, but later down the track he got much better at putting these walls together. Some songs on his early albums the density is slightly distracting from the song being listened to. This song has room to breath. This song is magnificent and doesn't really have much resemblance to a metal song at all. Great use of chord structures and melody. A typically great vocal from Townsend and an emotive delivery give this song full points. Lyrics Jesus, here lies my brother Tortured and blown Stretch for the heavens and go ...I watch him go Here it comes Jesus was a poor boy Jesus was a poor boy "It's justa spring clean for the May queen" I'm coming home And this one's for the life This one's for the funeral in the rain And if only for tonight This one's for the funeral in the rain The day's gone and the year's gone And I don't know when I'm coming home I can't hold on to what I've had When what I've had There's nothing left at all... So this one's for the life This one's for the funeral in the rain And if only for tonight Close your eyes and try to sleep again... A world away, you turn away I'm wide awake, and I don't need your home Tell me why he went, it seems to be An element to this mystery It's so cold today, so I get away, and I'm left behind with nothing but words...
Bastard Again this song has a somewhat atmospheric beginning. Then the main riff kicks in and the lurching beat draws you into the song. Nice use of dynamics and structure to again give the song room to breathe. Another epic song here that, to my ears at least, doesn't feel overly long. There is a lot of musical information to digest here and a lot of textures to absorb ... it may take a couple of listens to appreciate. The song has essentially two sections which are a) not one of my better days and b) the girl from blue city. Lyrics [1] Not one of the better days Nighttime, turn around Lonely is the city tonight Nighttime, all around Lonely in the city tonight Grey people stare at a static sky (as you will) Ours is not to question why Same thing, every time It always seems to need what I'm not To all the hopeful ones: Nobody gives a **** what you've got I only wish that I could pray to god (but you will) Stay longer Please don't leave me alone Bastard, mother, father, no... Time passed quicker than you will ever know And they can push me harder But you know I'll never go And they will justify it, but you know It will take them slow [2] The girl from blue city The lights from across the harbour And the boys are out on the corners Sex in the neon basements (red and smelly) And don't feel a thing (it's too cold to worry) So in the corner by the dock Where there's no light It smells like piss but no one knows And right now just to sleep would be alright ...Feel old, gone where the feelings go ...Gone now in a field of green Gone where feelings go...
The Death Of Music This song starts of with some atmospherics and a kick drum drawing a beat in the background, with some people talking in the background. As the song starts to take shape the Townsend vocal comes into the mix, again I would have liked the vocal slightly more forward, but it is effective none the less. There is a sense of sorrow that flows through this song, as the title may well suggest. This is a fantastic song and I highly recommend checking out the live version from the Royal Albert Hall concert DVD/Bluray also. Lyrics Question... Leapt like dog from man... Terminate high thinking... Known in your prophecy... Sun... Son... Sun it shifts, and brittleness subsides To sleep... sleep away One comes, the rain will always be And things I am Are things that should not be They laughed at me but we never bothered My friends and I There were no others Now it comes... Bolt across the blue... Shadows dance over the land... Walls high, water deep Brick and steel gathering speed Guess it's just a feeling ...Guess it's just a feeling... Rain may come The rain may never be In things you are Are things I need to be My friends were there but they never bothered Now there's you and I an There are no others It's like when death becomes musical ...It's musical It's like a death becomes musical Musical And it comes... To make sure that he will never rise And the groans from the bellies Have never cried this hard And the eyes of the wicked ones Have never been full of dust In the middle of the sea it waits... ...Closer... Home, nor anywhere on Earth on that final day will anyone be apart ...one...schooled...together... Towards the sea... And we may drown, fly, fall from faith ...but the pain won't be realized Because the emotions will hit as god should And the mountains will offer no shelter And the clouds will be no cover... No matter where we run... We will simply not be alone... Don't die on me Don't go away When I need you here In my need The rain will come The rain will always be In things I am Are things that have to be My friends have come and I never bothered Myself and I There is no other It's like a death becomes musical It's musical
Things Beyond Things There is a graceful beauty to this song. A nice guitar sound washed in delay and reverb gently plays its figure and then the vocal comes in quite beautifully. I have always been taken by Townsend's voice, I think he has so much variety and range that there seems there isn't much he can't do with it. On this song we're treated to a more forward vocal mix. So ... when this beautiful but sad song, that may be about addiction, or perhaps just childhood wounds that rear their head throughout our lives, finishes .... we have a primal scream ... some people love it, some people hate it, but it could well be seen as appropriate in the context of the song. Lyrics Once when I was young, I used to dream for hours and hours I'd dream a world that wasn't small... And I'd travel to a valley where under trees and earth I'd set my girl... ...And I knelt down by her head And lay roses in her hair and I kissed her gently... But this is what you are As the sun sets in my eyes I know... I know I know I know I know I know And I know this one's the light And the worm inside of me Is the oldest wound that I've nursed along ...So don't try to get inside These things inside are wrong, things beyond things It's sick now It's rotten to the core, its eyes bulge and gaze at me... ...Lovingly... And I remember this smell from my dreams except it was sweeter then... And even in this room, where I used to lock my secrets It's starting to smell just like my friend And I told you not to breathe, so now I sit and watch the rain, I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know And I know this one's the dark And the woman inside of me, is the oldest fear that I've nursed along... So don't try to get inside These things inside are all just things
