Following the recent purchase of "Infinity" and "Terria", two earlier Devin Townsend albums, I've been rediscovering the man. Historically, I've been hooked to "Ocean Machine", one of Devin's brilliant efforts, but now "Terria" and especially "Infinity" are growing on me. Earlier today I was doing some research on Townsend and hit an interesting interview from last year, when he was doing the Sounds of the Underground tour with Strapping Young Lad (which incidentally are about to release a new album which, judging by the advance track ("You Suck"), is every bit as brutal as its ancestors). From the interview, quoting Townsend:

I did acid for the first time around that time ... and fuckin' flipped out, had a Christ complex and made a record about it. I went zippy and went to a fuckin' looney bin and came out and now I don't think that way anymore. But, again, that's what I mean by practice. If I hadn't gone through that, then I wouldn't be where I am now. Like having gone through Alien - Alien is the opposite to Infinity, those two go together - so if I hadn't have gone through Alien then I wouldn't be able to do Synchestra, if I don't do Synchestra I won't be able to do whatever the fuck happens next.

I guess this gives a little insight into the man's mind. Personally, I'm delighted to find artists like these who do whatever they want to do, breaking new ground with every step they take. I'll be on the lookout for the new SYL (it's cool for those moments when you simply want to immerse yourself in noise and shut out the rest of the world) and I guess "Synchestra" will get a little more rotation soon as well.