MUSIC: Catch Devin Townsend at the Academy

THE Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer Devin Townsend is bringing his loud solo show to Dublin’s Academy on Wednesday, June 14.

The founder of the extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 has enjoyed an extensive career as a solo artist and last year released his eagerly awaited studio album ‘Transcendence’.

“Transcendence, like every record I’ve done prior, is an extension of what’s been going on in my world, represented in a new batch of songs,” Devin said at the launch.  I’m 44-years-old now, and this is where I have been over the past two years since.”

‘Transcendence’, the follow-up to 2014’s ‘Z2’ double-album sees the award-winning Townsend exploring a relatively new way of working and collaborating with the entire Devin Townsend Project band during the writing stages of the record. 

“The result of this process is a record that I truly think the intention of is special,” he says of the album.

“I ‘found’ gas to put into the tank and I am glad I did. I think the intention, the theme, and the participation of everyone involved allows this album to act like a fulcrum between the past few years and what I intend to do next with the symphony.

“I am very proud of it and everyone who is involved in it.”

Townsend’s solo albums have featured a varying lineup of supporting musicians. In 2002 he formed the Devin Townsend Project.

The last two years since the release of ‘Z2’ have seen Devin busier and more ambitious than ever, culminating last November in the release of ‘Ziltoid Live At The Royal Albert Hall’, a brilliant document of their sold-out show at the famous London venue, that saw them bring the Ziltoid story to life on stage.