On Thursday, March 27, the lifelong work of visionary musician, composer, and producer Devin Townsend will unfold in De Oosterpoort in Groningen, where he will perform the rock opera The Moth together with the Noord Nederlands Orkest.
This show is exclusive and will only be performed in Groningen; it will not be staged anywhere else in the world.
Townsend is renowned for his groundbreaking fusion of metal, progressive rock, and ambient music. With a career spanning more than 30 years, he has pushed the boundaries of musical genres and collaborated with world-famous orchestras, establishing an unparalleled artistic legacy.
The Moth - An Impressive Rock Opera by Devin Townsend:
For his latest project, he has teamed up with the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and composed The Moth, a 'rock opera' he has been working on for years, which represents his lifelong ambition. The Moth tells the story of the human experience from birth to death, comparable to the transformation of a caterpillar into a moth. It symbolizes the human quest for meaning and offers perspectives on the fear of death through analogy and narrative. Ever since Townsend witnessed large musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar and Phantom of The Opera in the 1970s, he has seen this project as his calling.
The Moth has been in the making for over a decade, and Townsend has been building towards it for 30 years. Now, he is ready to bring it to life. He will share the stage at De Oosterpoort in Groningen with no less than seventy musicians from the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, a sixty-member choir, and his own band, which includes Mike Keneally, Joseph Stephenson, Darby Todd, and James Leach.
Ticket sales start Friday, September 27 at 5 PM via spotgroningen.nl. VIP Upgrade packages with M&G and exclusive goodies will soon be made available.
Townsend recently announced the release of his forthcoming new studio album, PowerNerd, available worldwide on October 25. Devin Townsend’s career is one of many distinct eras. He’s been the leader of Strapping Young Lad, the lynchpin of the Devin Townsend Project and the co-architect of country duo Casualties Of Cool, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymath’s newest era starts with ‘PowerNerd’.
“It was a conscious thing,” Devin says of his brand-new album, the music on which he wrote in just 11 days. “I thought, ‘I’ve spent so much time overthinking every aspect of my work – what would happen if I didn’t?’ Maybe I would have the opportunity to be a bit more direct with what it is that I’m trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could cut through some of the meandering.”
However, that aggression is far from the only thing to come from PowerNerd’s 11 episodic tracks. “Dreams Of Light,” by comparison, is an evocative and dynamic four-minute ballad. “Younger Lover” calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and singing, whereas “Falling Apart” and “Jainism” add texture after texture on top of dulcet, acoustic introductions.
Where PowerNerd’s music was written in less than a fortnight, its lyrics were refined over a far longer period of time into a narrative about strength and healing. On “Falling Apart,” Devin commands himself to “keep the tension under control.” “You’ve got to believe that things will only get better,” subsequent song “Gratitude” powerfully declares. These uplifting messages even play into the record’s title.
Devin offers as a definition: “I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that’s empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power. It’s like, ‘OK, yeah, I’m sensitive to this, that and the other thing, but man, I am going to pull through! I am going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.’”
Townsend previously shared the video below explaining his definition of a PowerNerd:
PowerNerd will be available on several different formats, including a Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin’s first ever Dolby Atmos mix), Limited 2CD Digipak in O-card, Standard CD, Gatefold LP & Digital Album. Pre-order here
The album’s artwork was created by longtime collaborator Travis Smith.
PowerNerd tracklisting:
"PowerNerd"
"Falling Apart"
"Knuckledragger"
"Gratitude"
"Dreams Of Light"
"Ubelia"
"Jainism"
"Younger Lover"
"Glacier"
"Goodbye"
"Ruby Quaker"
"Jainism" video:
"PowerNerd" video:
As well as express strength through adversity, PowerNerd will open the door to Devin’s immediate future. Its positivity and succinctness will soon be contrasted by follow-up The Moth – self-described as “orchestral, over- the-top, dark and uncomfortable” – and the “alien weirdness” of finale Axolotl. Both efforts have already been written, and together the trilogy will express the mind-boggling range of this man’s musical talent.
PowerNerd lineup:
Devin Townsend – Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Bass and Computer
Darby Todd – Drums
Diego Tejeida – Keyboards, Synths
Mike Keneally – Additional Keyboards
Jean Savoie – Additional Bass
Aman Khosla – Additional Vocals
Tanya Ghosh – Additional Vocals
Jamey Jasta – Additional Vocals
(Photo - Tanya Ghosh)
