Devin Townsend- Rediscovering the Prolific Artist

The artist Devin Townsend first became enthralled with music when he was only five years old. From that time when he held his first instrument, he hasn’t stopped playing, singing, writing songs and producing them. Merchants likewise haven’t stopped hawking tons of Devin Townsend Project merch. His work is so extensive that it has become difficult to pin him down into just one genre. His music ranges from extreme metal to ambient.

The artist is really best known for his body of solo artistic creations and productions. His most recent notable individual creation is the Devin Townsend Project. As most of his avid followers know however, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for Townsend who once had to perform for or with other people. His name first came to light in the music industry when he performed vocals for Steve Vai in Sex and Religion. This early project essentially gave him a name in the industry but it was one that he was not entirely happy with. He found it appalling that he had to work under someone else’s creative influence. What he really wanted to do was to become an artist on his own, a difficult feat considering the rejections he received for his own work.

To give himself another chance for acceptance as an artist on his own, he took on the alias Strapping Young Lad. This was the name he used in the 90s when Century Media Records offered him a contract for five albums. Townsend later decided to come up with a permanent band complement for Strapping Young Lad. With his own set of musicians, he recorded City. With more people beginning to respect his talents, he began using his name again starting with Infinity.

The members of Strapping Young Lad came together again in 2002. At this point however, Devin Townsend also formed a second band that prominently carried his name. With them, Accelerated Evolution was recorded. The artist kept his two bands active and toured with them both.

Weariness finally overtook the artist in 2007. He publicly declared his intention to no longer perform with his bands, opting instead to just write music and spend time with his family. As with all artists however, Townsend could not shake off the desire to return to the limelight.

The artist did take steps towards a new beginning in 2008. He marked this with a transformation that included having his locks cut and a new determination to stay away from drinking, smoking and composing with the help of drugs. After two years, Townsend generated sixty songs that fit into four categories. This was to be the beginning of the Devin Townsend Project, a four album venture. Each set would cover a specific theme and would be played by four different sets of session players.

The first album to see the light of day was Ki which was released in 2009. This is a significant album because it is markedly more controlled than the artist’s other previous works. This was followed by Addicted and Deconstruction. The ambient Ghost, the last album in the project, is slated for release in 2011.

You truly can’t put a good artist down. Townsend surely can’t be made to just sit down on the sidelines. After the Devin Townsend Project, he has already made plans for more creative work. Fans can therefore look forward to even more related merch and music tees.