Guitar legend Steve Vai has shared old interview footage circa 1993 along with the following message:
"Back when Devin (Townsend) and I were making Sex & Religion, we shot a video for 'In My Dreams With You'. Parts of the video were shot backwards, and we had to learn how to sing the chorus backwards. In this little clip from an interview we did around that time, you can hear us singing it backwards while the tape is running forward, and then you can hear us singing it forward while the tape is running backwards."
Sex & Religion celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. Vai shared the following message on the day:
"Today (July 23rd) marks the 30th anniversary release of Sex & Religion. After the success of Passion And Warfare, I had a pull to put a type of super group together with Terry Bozzio on drums and TM Stevens on bass. I know I wanted a vibrant and powerful lead singer, and to my good future, the label (Relativity Records) passed on a tape of a young Canadian powerhouse named Devin Townsend. When I listened to his tape I felt there was an exceptional talent there. I believe Devin was still in his teen years when we first met. He was funny, dynamic, unpredictable, and an intense singer, and he agreed to take the dive into this project and I was thrilled.
Although the touring band for this record changed up a bit, Devin led the band with his magnificent voice, unpredictable antics and extraverted stage performance. He was as unique as they come and offered a dimension to the entire Sex & Religion offering that raised its bar. And I can assure you there was never a dull moment through this entire adventure.
The idea behind Sex & Religion was to create a contemporary metal record with compositional overtones and heavy vocal arrangements. It’s always been my goal to offer great diversity in the various records I release and Sex And Religion hit that mark powerfully. At the time of it’s release people became aware that it was nothing like Passion And Warfare, and its heaviness and complexity was a little ahead of the curve of the trends that followed. It was not very well received by the press at the time being that it was so unexpected and aggressive. But to date, I have discovered that it has grown into a favorite for many fans.
Was that really 30 years ago?
My deepest appreciation to all those that contributed to this record to make it what it is, and to the fans that have supported it all through these years."
During a press conferenece held at Hellfest 2022 in Clisson, France, Devin Townsend was asked if there were plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of guitar legend Steve Vai's Sex & Religion album. That record was largely responsible for introducing Townsend to the metal world, and two years later he returned with his own band, Strapping Young Lad.
Townsend: "I love Steve, and if he wants me to do something with him, of course I'll do something with him. He's a genius and I love him. I love that guy. But also I think a lot of what made that record interesting yet very odd was the fact that we're very different. And back then we were really different. Now we're less different, but we're still very different.
The Starmus Festival (in 2017) was great to reconnect, but we're still very different. And I may be wrong, but I think our reasons for doing what we do are fundamentally slightly different, and it's always a little chocolate and cheese, you know? But among the people who I count as being closest to my heart, he is one of the very few. And as a friend, I would be happy to do anything that he would ask of me because I love him. It's true."
Check out the entire press conference below.
Sex & Religion is Vai's third studio album, released on July 23rd, 1993 through Relativity Records. Townsend performed all lead vocals for the album and co-wrote the tracks "Pig" and "Just Cartilage", the latter of which was only released as a bonus track in Japan.
