Alright, metalheads and prog nerds, buckle up: Canadian noise wizard DEVIN TOWNSEND just dropped a bombshell. His North American tour kicking off May 2nd in Nashville? Yeah, that’s your LAST CHANCE to catch his wild-haired genius live “for quite some time.” Consider this your final boarding call for the Townsend hype train. 🚂
In a statement dripping with his signature self-aware drama, Devin mused: “For nearly 35 years, I’ve followed a creative path guided by instinct…” (Cue the violins! Or in his case, maybe a 7-string guitar played through a blender.) The man who brought us everything from STRAPPING YOUNG LAD’s face-melting chaos to CASUALTIES OF COOL’s space-country crooning (yes, that’s a real thing) is finally hitting pause. Why? Let’s break it down:
“…my dogs are on their last legs, the kids have moved out…” Translation: Dude’s becoming a suburban dog hospice nurse. But also, “THE MOTH” – his decades-in-the-making rock opera – is nearly done. Fun fact: This thing’s been brewing since he saw PHANTOM OF THE OPERA as a kid and thought, “But what if the phantom wore cargo shorts and could scream like a banshee?”
Don’t panic – he’s not quitting music. He’s just swapping tour buses for YouTube with “THE RUBY QUAKER SHOW”, where he’ll finally build those “strange, wonderful ideas” he’s stockpiled like a musical squirrel. Think: less airport food, more inventing alien instruments in his basement.
But first – ONE LAST TOUR. Townsend promises deep cuts and “big ones” from his 30+ album catalog. Pro tip: If he plays anything from STRAPPING YOUNG LAD’s City album, wear earplugs. Those tracks could strip paint.
In classic Devin fashion, he doubled down via video: “I’m going on a vacation. That vacation will incorporate about a dozen things I’ve been waiting to do…” Translation: His “break” involves composing a symphony for kazoos and teaching his dogs to bark in 7/8 time.
PSA: The man recently performed “THE MOTH” with 70 musicians from the NOORD NEDERLANDS ORKEST and a 60-person choir. Because apparently writing regular songs is for amateurs. This rock opera’s his “Jesus Christ Superstar” moment – if Judas wore a Dimebag Darrell shirt.
Career recap for newbies:
– 90s: Fronted STRAPPING YOUNG LAD (imagine if a nuclear reactor formed a band)
– 2000s: Launched the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT (four genre-bending albums in two years – dude’s a Spotify algorithm’s nightmare)
– 2010s: Dropped “PowerNerd” – a love letter to classic rock, because why not?
Final warning: The North American tour starts May 2. After that? Devin’s swapping mosh pits for dad mode. But knowing him, he’ll probably score his dog’s vet visits to a 23-minute ambient metal suite.
