Part of the beauty of Infinity is that it never knows where it's going to end up... Hence Infinity. I enjoy the fact that it lacks ultimate focus. It's an incredibly varied album that leaves you as confused as you are impressed, and I enjoy that.

However, I do think if you did focus on the overall ideas (especially with the size, these are epic albums!) then you could potentially make your difinitive masterpiece. Not to sell the rest of the discography short, but the idea of these 2 albums define your music best: it's unyeilding and inquisitive.

I really enjoyed E.K.O. I know it was only a bonus thing but it was amazing. I'm still a huge fan of Devlab, it speaks to me in great vibrations.

Out of all of the other stuff thou, I have really connected with Physicist, Ocean Machine (my first love) and Synchestra. I find myself thou, at an awakening and relistening to all of his work, finding things I never heard before, nuggets of truth.

Alien was a great album, I remember selling many of my other records to just get it. It took me 7 albums to trade for it.... SoB's around here and not liking metal.

Devin, you did a great job!

Glad that you were able to hang in there and not burn out, at least to the point of not ever wanting to do anything again. I'm looking forward to a play from you thou, I got caught up with what you could do with Ziltoid, and hope there is something more there. Maybe you'd be able to do that soundtrack that you wouldn't mind doing anyway.

Watching what you've been saying over the past few months, watching where the conversations go, I've been able to open up my eyes so much to the "real" world around me. Thank you for blazing that path, you and everyone else on this forum!

Petroglyphs, Nezca Lines, Ester Island, The Library of Alexandria, Garden of Eden.... Lets look to the ocean!


har har har!

....::::End Fanboy::::...

I realize as you grow as an artist and get older you can see what mistakes you've made in the past and now that it's over with and you can look at it from a distance and judge it from there but I thought Alien and Infinity were awesome and I guess I can see what you're missing now that you've matured as an artist.

Quitting the dope can also be a factor what you thought was cool then was a better idea when you were blazed rather than a more sober point of view

I guess its many factors but in some ways I think you interpret things a lot different with a clouded mind vs a clear one

It's all good in my opinion though I love you as a high artist and as a sober one and whatever one is better for you is better for me too! Can't wait for the next 3 records man I bet it will blow us all away

No confusion here, and no.. not trash.

It's just a metaphor

Oh man...not trash...

I LOVE those two albums, put more effort into them than almost all the others...but they missed the ideal point by losing my shit towards the end...

Please don't get me wrong, they are 2 of my absolute favorites, I was just distressed that they could have been stronger.

I could have been stronger while making them, and that is reflected in my listening experience, most people may not notice.


Sorry to add typical Dev confusion.

Damn you, Dev!

You're saying that those 2 albums could be better...us, mere humans, could only dream of creating such masterpieces!

Oh man...not trash...

I LOVE those two albums, put more effort into them than almost all the others...but they missed the ideal point by losing my shit towards the end...

Please don't get me wrong, they are 2 of my absolute favorites, I was just distressed that they could have been stronger.

I could have been stronger while making them, and that is reflected in my listening experience, most people may not notice.


Sorry to add typical Dev confusion.

Oddly, I can agree with this. I can hear points in a song in an album where it felt like you were about to explode to a whole new level, and you were just seconds from it, but it was like you were scared to get there, or didn't understand how. I'm not sure which. The first suggests experience but a fear to go to that level (Be it emotional or physical), whilst the second suggests the opposite. YOu wanted to go there, but you simply couldn't push yourself.


Oooor maybe I'mma just talkin' the shit.

Oh man...not trash...

I LOVE those two albums, put more effort into them than almost all the others...but they missed the ideal point by losing my shit towards the end...

Please don't get me wrong, they are 2 of my absolute favorites, I was just distressed that they could have been stronger.

I could have been stronger while making them, and that is reflected in my listening experience, most people may not notice.


Sorry to add typical Dev confusion.

It makes sense. The unfocused part adds something you couldn't get otherwise, though. It's like reading a book you know is unfinished. Not sure how to explain it, but that very disorder that teases towards a certain crescendo, but never delivers...

I'll use this analogy, embarrassing as it is. It's like sexually frustration. The constant teasing and "almost there... NO!" of it is a psychological antagonism to me, and that's incredibly motivational (maybe not the right word...).

Having said that, to see it completed... I'd think that would almost shatter a mental physique, or at least almost completely rewire it.. I write, and am not nearly as beautiful and coherent an artist as you, but when I focus purely, it forces things in my head... not sure how to explain this... every part of it opens up and floods the mainstream of consciousness. The dark parts, the sick parts, the innocent parts, the childish parts, the scientist, the narcissist, ect.... that's just dangerous. Beautiful, but dangerous... best of luck, and be careful... now you got us all ranting...

Not sure if that makes any sense, and if I said anything insulting, didn't mean it that way.

alien is one of my favourite albums its skekis (never know how to spell that) and love? 2 of my favourite songs ever. The end riff of skekis sounds like a fuckin mammoth. heavyiest riff ever for me!!

infinity is one i have got into more recently wild coloinal boy is an amazing song sounds like something out of a musicial.

im trying not to sound like a fanboy but i cant fault anything really that dev has ever made, he is a true musicial genius

cant for for deconstruction

drummer for decon? i know rvp for addicted, but decon? Duris deeply satisfies on ki..

Infinity is the album that took me the longest to "get", probably because I was quite young when I first heard it, and was still kind of making that transition from being a close-minded teenager that listened to metal and only metal. Over the years it's become one of my favourite Devin Townsend albums. I love how chaotic and multilayered it is in places, I really like music where there's a lot going on at the same time.

As for Alien, I have a really hard time deciding whether I prefer City or Alien, it depends on my mood really as I can't fault either of them. There's something about Alien that makes it so much harsher though (harsh in a good way). The drums, guitars and vocals feel like they have a hell of a lot more bite to them than they do on City. I don't really know how to describe what I mean, but it feels like the sound has a harsher "texture" than on city.

I think with alien, the reason i clicked with it so well, was because of that lack of focus which featured in it. it had an honest view of anger, anxiety, confusion and many other emotions, at the time it came out, it was where my head was at and it really did help me, cos i thought "hey, im not the only one out there who is feeling this f*cked up, this is awesome"

Infinity is an awesome album, its just so epic and grand, i did read that Devin had not fully finished with the album and it was kinda rushed to be released, am i correct on that? its an amazing album, none-the-less. Dynamics always manages to give me goosebumps when i listen to it.

I think Ki was a perfect album to come at a perfect time because it shows a more mature soul, with all those previous experiences with other albums, everything comes together in one tight package. the beauty of each record is, they never repeat each other, its why i can never compare any of the albums to others, cos they all have their own kind of musical aura about them.

After spending several days in a row reading and posting on the forums, I found myself typing a "train-of-thought" type post. As I find it slightly annoying to read really long posts that are not by Devin here, I decided to post it on my blog site. It is inspired by the artist I imagine Devin Townsend to be, and the work he does for us. Especially all the debate sparked over Ki. (Which I am humbly waiting for on CD.)

http://thisbrainisheavy.blogspot.com/2009/04/train-of-thought-we.html



"Higher vibrations by their very nature are violent, beautiful, deconstructive and flowering. They are volatile. The true artist is a reflection of this. It is tormenting, and absolutely vital."

Oh man...not trash...

I LOVE those two albums, put more effort into them than almost all the others...but they missed the ideal point by losing my shit towards the end...

Please don't get me wrong, they are 2 of my absolute favorites, I was just distressed that they could have been stronger.

I could have been stronger while making them, and that is reflected in my listening experience, most people may not notice.


Sorry to add typical Dev confusion.

I can dig that. I see it in the way the albums start and finish. They convey a certain sound and idea.....but it gets paranoid and jumbled in the middle on Alien, and here and there on Infinity. It seems like sometimes your fans are more protective of your music than you are!! I know I am.
But anyway....Infinity to me only makes sense in musical direction with Truth, War, Soul Driven, Dynamics and Unity. I love Christeen and it ALMOST fits for me, but just misses the mark for cohesion. Slip Processional and maybe OM in there and it would be perfect. Or maybe I am full of shit. Just my opinion.
Alien is totally awesome.....almost like combining Infinity and City or something. When Love hits is when it seems like a different (albeit AWESOME) album, almost like you were afraid of losing peoples attention so you gave em' something to dance to.
I myself am making an album that is hard to keep focus on because I just don't wanna start 6867867 projects. I am sure this is how you feel at times....like, (where do I put this? Ok, I'll put it here....) and it confuses people. Anyone is free to check it out.http://www.myspace.com/1omegaproject

Hi Dev,

Thanks for the great post again.
I have to be honest, I wouldn't have noticed had you not pointed it out, that Alien while being truly outstanding, doesn't have the same kind of coherance (if that's a good word) that City does. The flow of the record does indeed spike a little strangely at times. I've always found it easier to listen to it out of chronological order as opposed to City which has always been better heard from start to finish.

I do get what you mean about the effect recording such music has on you though. Of course I can't understand but from a listeners point of view, I can admit that the two albums can bring me to a very dark place, depending on my mood when going in.

Don't get me wrong, they've brought me as high as any drug while listening stone cold sober but you did put sounds and ideas on those two records that have crossed my mind many times before and since first hearing them. And a little of that kind of thing I realise now, goes a very long way. And too much time spent on such things can make it very, very difficult to get away from them at all.

Luckily for me, they made me realise that I didn't need that all the time. I felt I'd spent 15 years looking for the biggest, heaviest, craziest and most amazing metal music, to help express this one set of emotions that I didn't seem able to express myself and I'd finally found it. But the problem with that was when I realised that I'd spent so much time trying to get this shit out of me I'd almost forgotten about the other parts of my personality altogether. So the only thing to do was look for the same quality in other kinds of music. That really helped alot, so I get that a guy like yourself needs to embrace all the parts of your character.

Thankfully, for me at least, I reckon you play alot of different styles about as well as I've heard them played. If you're looking for something to listen to while recording Deconstructed, that maintains a chaotic, insane, metal vibe, while not being overtly heavy there's a band called Electrocution 250. They've an album called "Electric Cartoon Music". It's like a Speed frenzy in a Cartoon Jazz bar. I think you might like it. Far as I know it's available for download, and might take the edge off.

Lookin' forward to all the new material. Bonus jams were much appreciated indeed.
And thanks again man.

I can dig that. I see it in the way the albums start and finish. They convey a certain sound and idea.....but it gets paranoid and jumbled in the middle on Alien, and here and there on Infinity. It seems like sometimes your fans are more protective of your music than you are!! I know I am.

I dunno, I think fans will always see an album in a different way to the person than made the album in the first place.
There's no way you can see the album the same way without being psychic or walking around in that person's head.

At the end of the day, if it's a good piece of music, then people are going to like it whether or not it expresses what the musician wanted to express in the first place.

Don't ask me though, I'm hammered smashed face, Scottish styleeeeee