Devin Townsend Project comes to SC

Devin Townsend, a man of many talents (though mostly musical), has accomplished much that would belie hie age. His career got off the ground in the early ’90s, at the age of 19, when he was hired as the vocalist for guitar virtuoso Steve Vai’s new project at the time. Since then, he has had numerous side projects, guest appearances, producer credits, and heaps of original music he has created under various monikers. His latest project, aptly named the Devin Townsend Project, is a work consisting of four albums of varying degrees of musical bombast, but all of which promise to be intense both lyrically and sonically. To date, the albums “Ki” and “Addicted” have been released, and the follow-ups “Deconstruction” and “Ghost” should see the light of day by the end of 2010 or soon after. The original intent was to release all of the albums and possibly tour after, but “Addicted,” released in November 2009, was so fun and such a success for Townsend, that a small winter tour seemed to be in order. Thus he appeared at Music Farm in Charleston, SC, on February 4, as an opening act for Between The Buried and Me, taking the stage after Scale The Summit, and before metal legends Cynic. A short set, but electrifying, the 30 minute showcase packed material from Devin’s earlier solo albums such as “Physicist” into an evening that also highlighted music from Addicted and his 2007 self-made tongue-in-cheek concept album, “Ziltoid The Omniscient.” Townsend will embark on the next leg of his Winter/Spring tour in March, with the possibility of more touring later this year in support of the last two albums of the Project. More info can always be found at www.hevydevy.com –written and photographed by ARK