DEVIN TOWNSEND Talks About Producing DARKEST HOUR

The Megalith rock webzine recently conducted an interview with STRAPPING YOUNG LAD mastermind Devin Townsend. Several excerpts from the chat follow:

The Megalith: I reviewed the latest DARKEST HOUR album [which Devin produced]. I was really impressed and it was being touted as a masterpiece. I was wondering how that came about.

Devin Townsend: "I wouldn't go as far, personally, as saying it was a masterpiece."

The Megalith: It was being touted as one.

Devin Townsend: "Yeah, I know. It's record company bullshit, it makes me crazy. I think that that record kind of unified all the thoughts that they had put into the previous record without changing their formula. It was like, after hearing three DARKEST HOUR records this one says that now, from all that learning, we're gonna shorten songs and still have the metalcore, you know, and the Bay Area shit and the screaming vocals and all that but ... the record company and everbody was like, 'You gotta change it. You gotta make them different than they were.' And I'm thinking, 'But that's what they do! They've been doing it for fuckin' four records,' right? So I just put 'em on a click track and I got the singer to put all his consonants in the words as opposed to just 'Blaaaablaaablaaa,' so it was 'BsLAAAATSBLAAAATRS.' So we just kind of refined it a bit as opposed to changing the whole thing. I think the result of it is a record that, for a style that maybe I'm not totally into, I really like it. So from that point of view it's a success."

The Megalith: With the constant intense energy drain on a nightly basis, are you able to put your whole situation in perspective once in awhile and just relax from time to time?

Devin Townsend: "You take what you're given, right? Some days are good, some days are bad but ... the workings of the machine shouldn't be an issue to the listener. Like, whether or not I have lots of mellow days or lots of chaotic days, it's kind of subjective. Like everybody. But for my art I deserve no pay because I do it to myself. Like flippin' that switch and everything is purely a choice.

The Megalith: How does everything previous fit into the puzzle? "City", OCEAN MACHINE and TERRIA ...

Devin Townsend: "Practice. Everything's practice. These records are practice for the next ones. I'm never gonna be there, right? This STRAPPING record we just did is good practice for the next one. And the next one'll be good practice for the next one. OCEAN MACHINE was good practice for INFINITY and INFINITY was good practice for PHYSICIST and PHYSICIST was good practice for TERRIA ... not that one is always gonna be better than the other. But ... that's also something you don't have very much control over. The theme is there, and some records are better than others but the songs are there so you might as well fuckin' do 'em."

Read the entire interview at TheMegalith.com.