Chris Hawkins Sits Down With S

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It’s the year 2003 and finally the wait is over. Strapping Young Lad has resurfaced after an extended hiatus with the quintessential soundtrack for right now. Their new album, simply titled “SYL” and clocking in at just over 39 minutes is full of the bitterness, rage, and aggression that pervades the human conscience in these troubled times. Perhaps it took times like these for SYL’s mastermind, Devin Townsend to thankfully make the decision to bring back the band that was always a notch above whatever “heaviness” the “band of the moment” had to offer. Devin has been quite busy in the years between “SYL” and their last release “City”, working on his own inner demons with various solo albums including Ocean Machine, Infinity, Physicist, and Terria. It was an honor to sit and chat with Devin shortly before he was set to take the stage with Strapping Young Lad on their tour with Nile, Napalm Death, Dark Tranquility, and The Berzerker. Read on as Devin talks about the new album, his new solo project, and much more.

KNAC.COM: How is the tour going so far?
TOWNSEND: Fun! Yeah, it’s been a lot of fun, dude. There’s been a lot of new people to meet, and a lot of cool things going on.

KNAC.COM: It’s a pretty diverse lineup. I spoke with Gene recently, and he mentioned that he was pretty pumped up for this.
TOWNSEND: He’s got a right to be, man. He’s Gene Hoglan! He’s the man.

KNAC.COM: How did the Progpower fest in Atlanta go that you played with your solo band?
TOWNSEND: Dude, people hated me. Yeah, that’s cool. It was our second show. We just went down there and did our best. I had just finished two records. I think we did well. We’re a young band, but we did well.

"Sometimes I don’t want to do Strapping Young Lad at all. Sometimes I fucking hate it. I hate it! It makes me feel violated, and other times it’s just the best thing in the world."

KNAC.COM: I had to ask because I never took you for “Prog Rock”.
TOWNSEND: It depends on what your definition of Prog is. If it just means doing something progressive or progressing, then I think I am a lot more so than a lot of these other bands that just sound more like other Prog bands. It’s not really progressing. It’s just being in the category of one thing that progressed. It’s kind of inert Progressive.

KNAC.COM: So what’s next after this tour with Strapping Young Lad?
TOWNSEND: We go to Europe with the Devin Townsend Band and Strapping Young Lad playing together. Then we go out in America with Meshuggah. Yeah, it’s in April.

KNAC.COM: Have you played with Meshuggah previously?
TOWNSEND: No, I’m really looking forward to it.

KNAC.COM: It should be cool and also bring a lot of people to see you guys.
TOWNSEND: Yeah, absolutely.

KNAC.COM: I got the new album just in time to get acquainted with it before talking to you. It’s a great album, man.
TOWNSEND: Thanks, dude. It’s got some good people on it. It was bound to be good. Gene, me, Jed, and Byron putting our efforts into it…

KNAC.COM: I heard it was a lot more democratic…
TOWNSEND: Oh, totally. Absolutely. We put it together as a band. We wrote it as a band. It was a new idea.

KNAC.COM: I’m sure that was a lot of pressure taken off your shoulders.
TOWNSEND: Yeah, actually. It gave me more of a chance to focus on being a singer, making noises, and different stuff. It was fun. I liked that.

KNAC.COM: I’ve heard that this album’s catalyst was the attacks on 9/11…
TOWNSEND: I guess. It’s not about it. It’s just more how I feel now that it’s happened. Everything’s different now.

KNAC.COM: It’s almost surreal. I could see how that would make you want to create something as angry as “SYL”.
TOWNSEND: Yeah. It’s crazy, but I think as a result of that we have a cool job to provide the vibes coming out and being the best we can be….doing weird shit, but being together and talking our problems out without letting petty shit get in the way. It’s important, you know. I think it puts us in a category that’s kind of unique.

"[Jed’s] right hand sounds like Ride the Lightning. I can play it all, of course, but he has that feel. He’s the king of it. He’s the right hand master."

KNAC.COM: There are parts on the album that have more of a Death/Black Metal kind of feel…
TOWNSEND: Right on. Death Metal, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, all of it, man. It’s just Metal. I still listen to it, all that stuff. You know between my last one, Terria, and these two, Strapping Young Lad and the Devin Townsend Band which is coming out in April, I just liked that power behind it. It’s cool.

KNAC.COM: What are some of the bands that you listened to in that period?
TOWNSEND: I listened to lots of stuff. I listened to a band called Myrkskog, Immortal, Emperor, but I also like Disassociate, the real grind like Napalm Death, Carcass, some of the older Vader stuff, Dark Angel, and Slayer. I try to mix that with Judas Priest and WASP. It took a bit of the chaotic thing that was going on with the last one out because that’s not really who we are anymore. That was just me at the time with a new sampler. Now it’s like when you listen to music, it’s like just play metal. Let’s have guitars, bass, and keyboards but not as much the mechanical shit. It may happen in the future that we use that more, but not for this record.

KNAC.COM: “SYL” seems a bit more focused.
TOWNSEND: Yeah it really is, actually. We took a lot more time to write it.

KNAC.COM: What were the rehearsal sessions like?
TOWNSEND: We would all just be writing at home and thinking about the songs at home. We’d just go everyday except the weekends, four or five hours and pound through it, hang out and drink some Coors Light with whoever was there. It really was fun.

KNAC.COM: It’s great you guys can get together like that…
TOWNSEND: Especially after so long. Finally, it’s like, ok, let’s do it.

KNAC.COM: What was Century Media’s reaction when after all this time you said you had this back together?
TOWNSEND: Surprised. That’s cool. Sell the record, man! You can’t really be held accountable for decisions you make regarding your heart because it changes so often. Sometimes I don’t want to do Strapping Young Lad at all. Sometimes I fucking hate it. I hate it! It makes me feel violated, and other times it’s just the best thing in the world. You know what I mean? It’s like usually you get interviewed in both those times…

KNAC.COM: Am I at a good time right now?
TOWNSEND: Oh yeah, it’s totally good. A couple weeks ago, it really wasn’t and I said I don’t want to do it anymore.

KNAC.COM: A lot of people don’t understand, though, that musically and creatively you can’t just turn it on and off.
TOWNSEND: Yeah, exactly! That’s why it took six years for another record to come out. It just wasn’t time. I had to do Infinity, Terria, Physicist, and Ocean Machine. Then I decided I’d do another Strapping Young Lad album. The best way to do another Strapping Young Lad would be: A) to do it in tandem with another solo record, and B) to make a band out of it. That way you can delegate a lot of that shit, and you can focus on being your part, singer, guitar player. Jed recorded all the guitars on “SYL”. I made the noises and the ambient shit. Jed’s 39. He’s been playing Slayer since they came out. His right hand sounds like “Ride the Lightning”. I can play it all, of course, but he has that feel. He’s the king of it. He’s the right hand master. Part of the project is to make it as best as it can be, and Jed’s the man.

KNAC.COM: When did you start playing a Strat?
TOWNSEND: On Terria…

KNAC.COM: Yeah, you can hear the Strat in it…
TOWNSEND: On the new record, the Devin Townsend Band, it’s all Strat except it’s a new Strat. It’s got a Pearly Gate pick up in it. Yeah, and there’s a five minute long guitar solo in there. It was one take too. But yeah, it’s all Strat in the DT Band, which is the other thing. It’s a whole different group of guys. The record comes out April 1st. It’s the opposite of Strapping Young Lad. It’s really cool…

KNAC.COM: And that’s through your label, Hevy Devy Records?
TOWNSEND: And Inside Out.

KNAC.COM: How would you describe that material?
TOWNSEND: It’s like Ocean Machine. It’s like the first four songs on Ocean Machine, how they’re sort of Pop-ish…

KNAC.COM: Catchy…
TOWNSEND: Yeah, nine of those. It’s like a good Hard Rock record. It’s really cool. It’s really emotional too. It’s got some really cool sentiments on it, probably the most emotional I’ve done actually. It’s still in that catchy format.

"[Metal is] awesome, it’s super-powerful and emotional, but at the end of the day we’re dudes with long hair and guitars going, 'RAAAAAR!'"

KNAC.COM: I’ve always heard that out of everything you’ve done, you hold Infinity dearest.
TOWNSEND: Infinity and Terria, and the Devin Townsend Band. No, I think Infinity and Terria are still the ones…

KNAC.COM: Physicist really grew on me…
TOWNSEND: I like them all, man. It all depends. A lot of people who have heard the Devin Townsend Band think it’s the best. It’s a lot easier to hear. You don’t have to devote everything to it. You can if you want. That’s still there, but it doesn’t demand it because it’s based around this cool Rock. It’s not super-layered like Infinity. There’s layers, but it’s a lot more like Ocean Machine layers where it’s kind of subtle. The production is really good. It’s probably the best I’ve done.

KNAC.COM: I always find it enjoyable when it is subtle, when it’s the 15th time you’ve heard the album and you are still picking out new chords or passages you never heard.
TOWNSEND: Exactly. That’s the Devin Townsend Band. It’s really emotional, spiritual music.

KNAC.COM: What were some of your inspirations going into that?
TOWNSEND: Just the relationship with my wife, the relationship with my family, the things I feel when I’m on the road, people I meet when I’m on the road, all that stuff, all those emotions, all those real ones. That’s what it’s about. Strapping Young Lad is really guarded, and it’s got this sort of façade of Heavy Metal around it which makes it a cool thing to watch because it’s a performance. With the Devin Townsend Band, it’s just me talking about me. That’s what the record is, and I tried to make it easy for people to understand. With the next record I’m going to do, it’s going to be like Infinity and really freaky. For the Devin Townsend Band, I just wanted to sort of take a break and just write some cool stuff. The reason I can get away with it and not have to redefine myself like Terria did is because I did Strapping Young Lad at the same time so there’s two.

KNAC.COM: That’s cool, though. It’s exciting…
TOWNSEND: Yeah, it really is. It’s like either way it’s good. The purist will always think the new record is not as good as the one before. Every record is not as good as the one before, but that’s the trend. It’s like it takes a year. By the end of the year, it’s like they kind of get it.

KNAC.COM: It has to grow on them…
TOWNSEND: Yeah, that’s the thing, but the Devin Townsend Band is the first thing that’s proably not as much like that. It doesn’t really have to grow on you because you can listen to it and go, “oh, that’s a cool melody”. It’s kind of like there you go.

KNAC.COM: How do you delegate your ideas between solo material and Strapping Young Lad?
TOWNSEND: I think it’s just you know it as soon as you start it. Sometimes I tend to write in blocks. I get a theme and I’ll just write until the theme is used up. If I have five songs, then it never really gets reused. If I have ten songs, then it becomes an album. After a while, just constantly writing whenever I feel like it, there’s tons of ideas floating around. It’s just a matter of putting enough energy into the execution of it to make it valid so it’s not just like a slight of hand thing.

KNAC.COM: It goes without saying that there’s a high level of perfectionism within your music. When can you sit back and say, “Ok, that’s it, this is done”?
TOWNSEND: I think I have a vision of it from the beginning. By the end of it, it’s just a matter of making it sound like it’s supposed to sound in my head. You kind of know. It’s like, “ok, that’s done.” To add anymore would just be stupid.

KNAC.COM: You also do a lot of recording. I know you just did Lamb of God and Soilwork. How did you get into recording other bands?
TOWNSEND: They just ended up calling me. I never really sought it out. Soilwork was the first one to say, “Would you like to try it?” It’s like, “Yeah, I’ll give it a shot. Sure.” And I’m a good worker too. As a result of that, I managed to have a thing for it. It’s cool. I like it, but it’s other people’s shit. So I end up spending two months on other people’s shit when I could be spending it on my shit.

KNAC.COM: That’s got to be aggravating…
TOWNSEND: It is especially when it’s like you get good or bad press as a result of it. I think eventually I’ll probably end up being a producer, but right now I’ve got so much music in me that it’s a side-line.

KNAC.COM: What are your thoughts about Jason Newsted releasing some of the stuff that you recorded with him?
TOWNSEND: Fucking full Metal, man! I saw him in San Francisco. He seemed much better.

KNAC.COM: Do you ever catch Voivod up there?
TOWNSEND: No, but they were there too. It was kind of a blast to see those guys.

KNAC.COM: Do you ever think Metal just takes itself far too seriously?
TOWNSEND: Oh God, yeah! Almost always! It’s stupid. It’s fucking Metal. I mean, it’s awesome, it’s super-powerful and emotional, but at the end of the day we’re dudes with long hair and guitars going, “RAAAAAR!”

KNAC.COM: How do you maintain that tongue-in-cheek element?
TOWNSEND: By considering it irony rather than stupidity. Then it’s like you’re actually getting a point across through being an actor. Other than that, I just couldn’t be in just a “band”. I couldn’t sing for a band that took themselves seriously. I mean, we take ourselves far too seriously. I mean, we’re in our 30s, man.

"If you’re in a Metal band, you should sound like Gene Hoglan!"

KNAC.COM: How do you manage to avoid the Metal clichés?
TOWNSEND: I don’t think I do. I think I thrive on them….

KNAC.COM: “Far Beyond Metal”???
TOWNSEND: Yeah, totally! Metal has a formula. That’s what the new Strapping Young Lad is about. What type of vocals do you put on Heavy Metal? To me, I love Death Metal, Grindcore, and Black Metal, all those bands’ types of vocal styles. To me, Heavy Metal is Rob Halford, Iron Maiden…

KNAC.COM: I can definitely hear that influence in some of the screams on the new record…
TOWNSEND: Yeah, totally. The guitars I thought always should sound like “Ride the Lightning”. The drums should sound like Gene Hoglan. If you’re in a Metal band, you should sound like Gene Hoglan!

KNAC.COM: His drums sound a lot more organic on this one.
TOWNSEND: Yeah, I agree. They do. I mean it was just a performance. Byron’s got a really great bass sound which is great for Metal.

KNAC.COM: Through all of this, playing with Steve Vai and everything, what was the turning point that made you say, “I want to do all this on my own”?
TOWNSEND: When I came back from a two month tour of Europe with Aerosmith, I had to get a job washing dishes at an Italian restaurant at a mall up the street from my house. There had to be a better way. Other people can do this, so can I.

KNAC.COM: On a side-note, I’m going to be starting my own column for KNAC.com that’s going to deal with bands people should take note of. I was thinking of calling it, “Far Beyond Metal”. Is that all right by you?
TOWNSEND: Oh awesome! Awesome! It’s an honor. Thank you. That would help us, man. The more times our name or our song titles are heard, people are going to be like, “Oh, that’s Strapping”. Eventually, Strapping Young Lad is everywhere!

(Photos by Chris Hawkins)