Devin Townsend guests on the new episode of The SDR Show With Ralph Sutton, and during his appearance he reveals that he was invited to audition to replace Rob Halford in Judas Priest in the early 90s.
Says Devin: "Technically, yes, that happened, but it wasn't like they were knocking down my door. Basically, they threw out a blanket thing to a bunch of singers... Warrel (Dane) from Nevermore, myself, a couple of other people. Unleashed In The East' was the shit for me, and so to have that was... But I also remember thinking that singing was this thing that happened to me because of my involvement with Steve (Vai), because I never really set out to be a singer. I learned to sing because I was a guitar player and most of the singers I auditioned, I didn't relate to. So I thought, 'Okay, I'm gonna learn to sing until I don't have to fucking sing anymore. And then, here we are, so many years later, where it's kind of my deal. But, as a result of that, the technique that I had was so shoddy that had I gotten to a situation with that level of expectation, to sing like Rob Halford... dude, I'd be crucified."
Other highlights of the interview include:
- How, at fifty, he doesn’t love loud music anymore - and understands that it was the younger him that wanted to burn down the world that set him up always to hear it loud.
- His 11th-grade perm and his poor decision to use deodorant on his balls, thus making them lime-scented (or, as Sutton points out, along with the salt, his balls were halfway to a margarita).
- That, of course, if asked, he would work with good friend Steve Vai again - but added that he (Townsend) is a bit hardheaded and might not be the best collaborator.
- His thoughts on mental health.
- How acid was responsible for some of the worst choices of his life.
After a few exceptionally long years full of personal change and near manic levels of creative activity, Townsend released his follow up to 2019’s well received Empath in the form of his new release, Lightwork. Assembled from a barrage of material written during the pandemic, Lightwork (and its companion album of B-sides and demos; Nightwork) represents Devin at this stage of his life, post pandemic, and his reflections on what he (and many of us) have all gone through.
For Lightwork, Devin decided to see what would happen if he included a producer (an experiment he has been excited to attempt for some time) to help guide this selection of material. He chose long-time friend Garth “GGGarth” Richardson to help bring this idea to fruition, and through a difficult (but wonderful) process, the next Devin album have been delivered. The name Lightwork represents the music, as well as the act of creating music, as a kind of ‘light in the dark’ while trying to navigate the seemingly endless challenges that life can often present. When things seem like there’s “no way out” or that a situation becomes seemingly insurmountable, the connection to music, family, and creativity became a light in the dark that is the bedrock of this wonderful album.
Featuring artwork by frequent collaborator Travis Smith, Lightwork arrives in several editions including a Limited Deluxe Orange 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray boxset that includes both Lightwork & its companion album Nightwork on both CD & Vinyl, as well as a Blu-ray including 5.1 surround sound, album commentary & visuals, art-cards & extensive perfect-bound booklet, all contained in a lift-off lid box. There is also a Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook, Limited 2CD Digipak, Gatefold 180g 2LP+CD, Standard CD Jewelcase and Digital Album.
Order here.
Tracklisting:
"Moonpeople"
"Lightworker"
"Equinox"
"Call Of The Void"
"Heartbreaker"
"Dimensions"
"Celestial Signals"
"Heavy Burden"
"Vacation"
"Children Of God"
"Call Of The Void" video:
"Moonpeople" video:
