DEVIN TOWNSEND Shares Music Video For 'Gratitude' Single From Upcoming 'PowerNerd' Album

Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend has shared a music video for his new single "Gratitude". The song is taken from his upcoming studio album, "PowerNerd", which is due on October 25 via InsideOut Music.

Devin said: "'Gratitude' is a simple song in the vein of 'Life' or 'Stagnant' (from 'Ocean Machine' and 'Terria', respectively) that acts as a simple way to continue the theme of 'PowerNerd'.

"During the making of this album, there were a lot of hurdles that we went through as a family, and the tendency to look at ones lot in life from the vantage point of being a 'victim' seems to be an easy hole to fall into. I wrote this song during a very difficult time, yet the idea of gratitude is not meant to be ironic in any way.

"I'm grateful for the lessons, I'm grateful for the swings and roundabouts of life, I'm here for it. Retaining equilibrium during challenging times is a job in and of itself, and in a sea of nihilistic thoughts, having ones creative output as a tangible expression of gratitude is in many ways the whole point for me at this stage. In any event: I feel like I'm dumb as a rock, and life is so incredible and absurd that I just feel the urge to say 'thank you' for all of it. If the quality of people who surround me and this work is of any indication, we're pointed in the right direction."

Townsend previously released videos for the "PowerNerd" title track and "Jainism".

In a recent interview with United Rock Nations, Devin stated about the inspiration for "Gratitude": "'Gratitude' is an interesting song for me, because it was such a depressing time while I was making this record, one of the most depressing times of my life. And 'Gratitude' I wrote to try to remind myself that even though it's depressing, even though it's sad, even though it's devastating in many ways, losing people, keeping in mind how fortunate we are to live this life and to have these experiences and to participate in these hard lessons and emotions… I mean, we're here for such a short amount of time, I never wanna lose sight of how grateful I am to be on this ride. It's astounding, just the audacity to believe that we can be here as a human being is so — the chances of it are so infinitesimally small that I try to keep gratitude as my baseline for my life experience now, even through moments of pain. And so that song was written during a period of really, really difficult moments for the family to remind myself that, yeah, it's difficult, but don't forget that it's beautiful."

When the interviewer noted that "Gratitude" sounds "more poppy" than the other songs on the LP, Devin said: "Yeah, well, ever since the beginning, I've written that type of music. 'Life' from 'Ocean Machine', or 'Stagnant' from 'Terria', I mean, that's just a part of my DNA, is that kind of DEF LEPPARD 'Hysteria' [sound]. [Laughs]"

Last month, Devin released a new video in which he explained the inspiration for the "PowerNerd" title. He said: "'PowerNerd' is essentially a manifesto of working through the problems that you face in life. And the definition of it had originally been — there are certain personality traits or proclivities that one may have that perhaps society deems as being a weakness, whether or not that's empathy or hypersensitivity or something. And to people who don't have those sorts of aspects of their personality, certain things can be taken for granted, as it's, like, 'Oh, it's easy to do that,' 'It's easy to go out in public,' 'It's easy to socialize,' whatever. But if these aren't things that are part of your psychological makeup, it's sometimes effort just leaving the house. So a powernerd, in a sense is — the definition that I at least adhere to — you turn those tendencies into a superpower. So if you're hypersensitive, your hypersensitivity becomes your superpower. It's about harnessing it, so it doesn't get imposed on others, of course, but at the same time, to be able to recognize the ways in which you're different and not view that as being a liability, but rather view it as being a strength. That's the definition of 'powernerd'."

Townsend's career is one of many distinct eras. He's been the leader of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, the lynchpin of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and the co-architect of country duo CASUALTIES OF COOL, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymath's newest era starts with "PowerNerd".

"It was a conscious thing," Devin said of his brand-new album, the music on which he wrote in just 11 days. "I thought, 'I've spent so much time overthinking every aspect of my work — what would happen if I didn't?' Maybe I would have the opportunity to be a bit more direct with what it is that I'm trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could cut through some of the meandering."

A song that embodies that is the album's title track, which features a guest spot from HATEBREED's Jamey Jasta. You can watch the video for that high-speed rampage of a song below.

However, that aggression is far from the only thing to come from "PowerNerd"'s 11 episodic tracks. "Dreams Of Light", by comparison, is an evocative and dynamic four-minute ballad. "Younger Lover" calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and singing, whereas "Falling Apart" and "Jainism" add texture after texture on top of dulcet, acoustic introductions.

Where "PowerNerd"'s music was written in less than a fortnight, its lyrics were refined over a far longer period of time into a narrative about strength and healing. On "Falling Apart", Devin commands himself to "keep the tension under control." "You've got to believe that things will only get better," subsequent song "Gratitude" powerfully declares. These uplifting messages even play into the record's title.

Devin previously offered as a definition: "I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that's empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power. It's like, 'Okay, yeah, I'm sensitive to this, that and the other thing, but man, I am going to pull through! I am going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.'"

"PowerNerd" will be available on several different formats, including a limited 2CD+Blu-ray artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin's first-ever Dolby Atmos mix),limited 2CD digipak in O-card, standard CD, gatefold 2LP and digital album.

The full track listing for "PowerNerd" is as follows:

01. PowerNerd
02. Falling Apart
03. Knuckledragger
04. Gratitude
05. Dreams Of Light
06. Ubelia
07. Jainism
08. Younger Lover
09. Glacier
10. Goodbye
11. Ruby Quaker

The album's artwork was created by longtime collaborator Travis Smith.

As well as express strength through adversity, "PowerNerd" will open the door to Devin's immediate future. Its positivity and succinctness will soon be contrasted by follow-up "The Moth" — described by Devin as "orchestral, over-the-top, dark and uncomfortable" — and the "alien weirdness" of finale "Axolotl". Both efforts have already been written, and together the trilogy will express the mind-boggling range of this man's musical talent.

"PowerNerd" recording lineup:

Devin Townsend - Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Bass and Computer
Darby Todd - Drums
Diego Tejeida - Keyboards, Synths
Mike Keneally - Additional Keyboards
Jean Savoie - Additional Bass
Aman Khosla - Additional Vocals
Tanya Ghosh - Additional Vocals
Jamey Jasta - Additional Vocals