DEVIN TOWNSEND: 'Since 'The Moth' Was Done, I've Written About 100 Songs'

In an interview with Zenae Zukowski of Metal Insider, Canadian metal maverick Devin Townsend was asked if he is already working on new music following the release of his ambitious, orchestral metal opus "The Moth" back in May via InsideOut Music. He responded  (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Since 'The Moth' was done, I've written about 100 songs, and we're just in the midst of getting them all going now. I've got about five different projects. But as much as that sounds like an indicator of being a workaholic or whatever, I would like to say I got a super-efficient process and an amazing team. So we're working towards a creative avenue for myself where I just write whatever I feel like whenever I want, and then we work with the Patreon and all these things to afford wages for the rest of the team. So then I could say, for example, 'Can you get all these sessions set up so that the gain structure's right and they're all color coordinated the right way, and we've eliminated the break points on the automation. We've got two bars in the beginning, and here's the click, and this is where it's stored on the Synology Drive,' or whatever. And then by the time I get back to it, all that legwork and the logistical work that I spent countless years spending most of my day doing is taken care of by somebody who really likes doing that for the first time. So now all of a sudden, my day is much more efficient because then you can focus on your exercise, you can focus on meditation or your family or writing something else or building a shitty chair or whatever your day is, you can do that. And then when I go back to it, I'm in a frame of mind to create, and I don't have to constantly switch between left brain, right brain to be, like, 'Here's the engineer side of me, here's the producer side of me.' And we're just starting that process. But what it yields is just endless potential for creative content. And once we refine that pipeline to the point where everybody's doing what they're good at, and then there's like a way... It's, like, 'Okay, so we've done this. We send a group text. In this folder, there's three new ideas. Can you please get them to stage two or whatever?' It's a new way of thinking for us, but I think if we're prioritizing our mental health, our physical health, our spiritual health over productivity, I think that the productivity will increase tenfold because it's not as precious."

Devin continued: "When I was in my 20s, so much of my self-worth was connected to my ability to produce shit. It's, like, in absence of productivity, I'm a shitty person or whatever the thing going on at the time was. But by being thrust into a scenario, I was just forced to contend with that stuff. I'm, like, 'No, I'm not a shitty person.' And in fact, if I lose my capacity to make music, I'm still going to be me. And there's all these things — it's like you can't unring a bell once you start recognizing those things, at least for me. And then at that point, it's like, I have to prioritize this now because it's all connected. And the proof's in the pudding. When I start integrating those senses of self-compassion or mental, physical, spiritual health into the process, it becomes a representation of the gratitude that I feel for it. It's not like... It kind of removes a bit of that desperation to be recognized. So when people are saying... I did an interview yesterday, like, 'Do you realize if you would've continued this, how much more successful you would've been?' And my first... I'm just, like, 'I don't fucking care at all.' In fact, fame in general is a scourge. You've gotta be able to juxtapose what your intent for your work is versus a true reflection on what your need to do that is. 'Cause if your need to do that is just to be validated by a bunch of people that you don't know, I mean, dude, you're doing that for the rest of your life. So once myself and the team and everybody else here recognizes, like, it's a balance, and the way that this is really gonna move forward is if we find balance within ourselves and our process and our work life and how much time we spend on this versus how much time we spend taking off. It's a new way of thinking for us, but I have to say it's just so much more creatively free."

This past May, Devin announced a return to live activity, with a European solo tour set to take place in September and October 2026. Townsend will perform a range of tracks from his 31-strong studio album discography across a range of different artist projects, including PUNKY BRÜSTER, CASUALTIES OF COOL, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and the genre-defining STRAPPING YOUNG LAD.

The "Metamorphosis" solo tour offers a rare unfiltered opportunity to see Devin back on stage, performing solo at 23 shows across 10 different countries in Europe. In typical Townsend fashion, expect the unexpected with a varied setlist that will doubtless change night by night, and, of course, a few (bizarre) surprises along the way.

Photo credit: Tom Hawkins