DEVIN TOWNSEND IS ADDICTED TO PLAYING LIVE

Devin Townsend has gone on record several times over the past couple of years as saying that he was tired of touring. It was with much delight, then, that Axl noticed the following Tweet from Devin this past July:

I miss playing live. Planning for 2010 in a number of ways. 2 minutes ago from web

And now we’ve got official confirmation that a Devy tour is indeed in the works for 2010. It’ll closely follow the release of Addicted, part 2 of his four-part Devin Townsend Project album suite, which a press release reveals to us is set to see the light of day on November 17th:

Hey folks, Dev here with the update for the second installment of the DTP (Devin Townsend Project). We are just readying the release of album 2, Addicted, so here are a few brief words: With Ki, I kind of strode out in uncharted territories for myself musically, and loved the experience, but during the course of writing this four record project, it was inevitable that I would end up writing a selection of tunes that were very much in line with my back catalogue. This group of songs is the second record in the series, and it is called Addicted.

Click through to read Devin’s words on what Addicted has in store for us, as well as news of the proposed 2010 tour.

Musically, Addicted is along the lines of the big, wall of sound hard rock/heavy metal of Ocean Machine and Accelerated Evolution (even Physicist at points). It is a very direct and ‘to the point’ album with an emphasis on groove and the chorus. In the past, lots of my records end up taking a kind of Pink Floyd-ish route (between song meandering, etc.) Addicted is really simple: 11 rocking songs with no bullshit.

I wanted to make a record that was heavy, without being dark or depressing. When I got into metal it was for the energy behind it, but somewhere along the way that energy started getting really negative. In music right now, there’s a ton of heavy bands that are really depressing to listen to loudly. I wanted to make a record without any real deep metaphor on the surface. Something that sounds good, has a good beat and a positive feeling. It is still heavy as-all-get-out, but I think there’s a differentiation to be made between being ‘peaceful,’ and being peaceful but wanting to celebrate loud, crushing music.

The vocal duties on this record are handled by myself and Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering). I wanted to have male and female vocals kind of ‘tell the story’ so to speak. It’s an honor to work with her and she has a lovely, lovely energy. The other musicians on this record are Ryan Van Poederooyen on drums, Brian Waddell on bass and Mark Cimino on guitars.

I absolutely love this record and it affects me in a way that I wasn’t prepared for. It’s a fully rocking album of optimism. If you just want to ‘play it loud’ without any crazy metaphor, this album might be for you.

I have been rehearsing with a new band and we will start touring in early 2010, representing all the back catalogue of solo material, from Ki, Addicted, Physicist, Ziltoid, Terria, Ocean Machine, DTB, Infinity, etc. I have some big plans for this and rehearsals are sounding amazing. The touring entity will be called ‘Devin Townsend’ and is essentially a way for me to get out there and interact again and showcase 15 years of music that never really got its fair shake.

I will also start working on the fourth record Deconstruction in Los Angeles this October and have some great plans for that (and btw, THAT is a heavy record with a lot of metaphor). So, I hope you will enjoy Addicted. The reason that Addicted exists is maybe a little deeper than what the record sounds like up front. But up front, it kind of states:  ‘Life is tough, the world can be an ugly place…so let’s forget about the dramas and ROCK – here’s some heavy guitars, big choruses and killer beats.’

We’ve heard Addicted, and it’s pretty much as Devin says; simpler, groove based metal/rock, no bullshit. I’m not sure that “heavy as all get-out” would be that accurate of a description when compared to Devin’s work with Strapping Young Lad, but it certainly is heavier than Ki, and it’s certainly really fucking good! When I spoke with Devin this Summer he said that the 3rd record would actually be the heaviest, so I’m curious what’s in store for that. But I’m really fucking stoked for the 2010 tour. Devin is one of the most entertaining metal frontmen alive… Frank Mullen, Mikael Akerfeldt, Devin Townsend (in no particular order).

-VN