Devin Townsend Will Perform Strapping Young Lad Material on 2020 Tour
For the past decade, the topic of Strapping Young Lad has been something of a bugaboo for Devin Townsend. When asked in interviews by zealous fans about that era of his career, his answer essentially amounted to “It doesn’t represent me anymore,” and as such he declined to play any SYL stuff live.
But it seems he’s had a change of heart, as Heavy Devy — an appropriate moniker in this context — told the Australian podcast Everblack that he plans to trot out some classic Strapping material at live shows in 2020, mixed amongst material from the rest of his career:
“I’m doing a tour in November that’s gonna be a very selfish tour for me — a ton of people onstage, playing a bunch of stuff that I’ve wanted to play for years, a lot of improv, a lot of really interesting things. But starting next year, I’m gonna be touring everything, and that includes the Strapping stuff. I’m gonna be doing what equates to… like, what’s a ‘best of’ what I’ve done over the past few years. Let’s make this live venture for me the best it can possibly be and learn from your past and come back out.”
What sparked this change of heart? A recently reinvigorated passion for metal, says the shiny-domed one:
“I think there’s a lot of musicians that fall away from metal. But I kind of fell back in love with it recently. But in no way does that mean that it’s taking over. It’s a big part of what I do and it’s a big part of who I am, and I think I’ve denied that for a certain amount of time. But it’s everything, man. It’s like Empath was for me — the metal part of it is just as big a part of my trip as the mellow part of it. It’s not one over the other; it’s just who I am.
I don’t wanna get rid of [the metal side of my music]. I love it. It has to play ball with the other stuff, and that stuff has to play ball with the other stuff. It’s healthy for me to recognize that it’s a part of my nature as opposed to denying it.”
I was never part of the chorus calling for Devin to play SYL stuff live — I was fortunate enough to see that band live, and they were incredible, but if he’s not feeling that stuff anymore why make him force it for the fans’ sake, ya know? — but it’ll certainly be a treat to get to hear him play some of that stuff live again. I ain’t complainin’.
Have a listen to the full interview below. We will, of course, update you as soon as Devin’s touring plans come to light.
[via Blabbermouth]
