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.
Today, the artist is most notably cited as a solo act with a distinct brand of music and the genius behind the Devin Townsend Project. Those however who have closely followed his career know that he began playing music with others first. Townsend saw his first real break when he was tapped to lend his vocal prowess to Steve Vai's album Sex and Religion. Although this might have proven to be a breakthrough for the artist, his association with Vai also proved disadvantageous. He found that both fans and labels identified him strongly with someone else's music. This was made apparent with the rejections that he received for the definitive music that he tried to push out separate from Vai.
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. He 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. The active musician toured and played music separately with both bands.
In 2007, the artist announced that he would no longer tour or produce new albums with his two bands. This was in response to the weariness that he had endured through his creative productions. It wasn't long however, before the music world started to see more of the artist again.
As if to mark another fresh start, the artist emerged in 2008 from his self-imposed break without his signature locks. He also took on the new resolve to give up drinking, smoking and producing music with drugs. Within two years, the artist worked on a variety of songs that conveniently fell into four different styles. This was the beginning of the idea for the Devin Townsend Project, a four album work that would cement his identity as an artist. To highlight his multi genre abilities, the project would cover four different themes executed by four different sets of musicians.
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.
From all appearances, it seems that the artist is back on track. Plans for a new album is said to be in the works after the conclusion of the his four album project.
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