Canadian Devin Townsend first heard the call of music at the age of five when he picked up his first instrument. The call has never stopped since then. Aside from now being a respected musician, he is also credited for being a talented songwriter and vocalist. His popularity is made obvious by the many fans who continue to buy Devin Townsend Project merch. His actual work is so extensive that he has compositions that fall under several different genres.
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.
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. 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.
In 2002, Strapping Young Lad came together to perform in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks. It was also around this time however when Devin Townsend put together another band that was named after him. It was then that he released Accelerated Evolution. Townsend played with both bands on different occasions.
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.
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 released in 2009. Unlike other Townsend compositions, this one clearly showed more restraint. Addicted and Deconstruction followed Ki. Ghost, an ambient themed album is scheduled for release in 2011.
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.