TOWNSEND LIVES!

Thanks to ten or twelve of you who all e-mailed us at once to demand we spend some time talking about Ki, the new album from the the now barely-recognizable Devin Townsend, or, rather, The Devin Townsend Project. A preview of the album currently available on Townsend’s MySpace page promises all the awesomeness we expect from this dude (and plenty of heavy as fuck metal), but the accompanying interview may be even better, if only for these tidbits of information:

On Ki:

“Ki is a project, one of four. The next record in the quartet is an entirely different cast of characters. The whole point is to have the RIGHT people for the job, no square pegs into round holes. At the end of the ‘DTP’ (Devin Townsend Project) when it gets played live, (which it will) I will choose one group of people to represent it all. But, for the albums, the aesthetic of each record partially depends on the folks involved. So yes, Ki is a ‘Project band’ :)”

On the possibility of touring:

“When all 4 records in the DTP series are done, and the box set is released at the end (8 records including a dvd), I will play selected shows throughout the world. I will not be climbing into a van and playing clubs in the middle of nowhere though. I am going to assemble a sober team of incredible musicians to play ALL the records, perfectly, to many people. You will see me soon, and get ready for the next 3 records in the series, Ki is a subtle introduction to a sprawling theme. Please enjoy, it’s good to be back.”

The fact that we’re getting four more albums from Townsend, and that eventually we’ll be getting the chance to see him (and his inimitable brand of stage banter) live again, almost makes up for the fact that he shaved his skullet – almost.

I can’t seem to find an official release date for Ki but it should be out sometime this summer. In case you can’t tell, we’re stoked.

-AR