Devin Townsend

Just pre-ordered this (the $100 version):



Sounds like it'll be a pretty bad-ass box set. Really looking forward to the two discs of unreleased stuff. And the 10" is said to have two unreleased songs as well.

Sweet! Nice name, though. Haha.

Quote :

"Contain Us" official specs:

* A 12" x 12", 64-page, perfect bound book featuring a charcoal linen hardcover with ink-less debossing of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT logo on the front and applicable titling on the spine.

* Housed in an uncoated, charcoal linen, hardcover slipcase — presented with a photographic portrait of Devin inset on the front and ink-less embossing of applicable titling on the spine.

* Contains the following: the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT albums: "Ki", "Addicted", "Ghost" and "Deconstruction" plus two bonus DVDs and CDs. The DVDs have one featuring live performances and all the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT promotional videos while the other has audio commentary for all four albums, live audio tracks, song stems for remixing and more. One of the audio CDs features all the bonus tracks from the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT sessions with the other having the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT session demos. "Ghost" and "Deconstruction" were both remastered just for this set.

* The four DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT albums will be housed within the front cover's pastedown while the four unreleased discs will be in the back's.

* The interior features acid free, linen-embossed charcoal end papers and museum-quality, dull text and cover stock throughout.

* The center of the book will feature a double gatefold printed on cover stock and comprised of the four album covers.

* A clean, crisp, classic-yet-modern design featuring color and black-and-white imagery throughout. Materials include Devin and the band's personal archives, photography from around the world, and any InsideOut/Devin-related photoshoots from the period.

* A permanently attached, purple fabric linen bookmark.

* This edition is limited to 5000 copies worldwide

* 500 individually-numbered, limited edition copies that include two exclusive items: A. An autographed lithographic print featuring original artwork by Devin drawn exclusively for this edition, and B. A 10" piece of vinyl featuring two exclusive tracks, "Rapture" and "Dinosaurs". Note: 250 copies of the record will be pressed on black vinyl while the other 250 are on white.

Bye bye money.

Yeah, I actually had to sit down and really think about this one. Haha. I mean, I have all four albums, you know, and I could download the other stuff. But I don't know, I thought back to the time when Devin wasn't so popular, when he and Tracy would chat with like 20 of us fans on the Yahoo! mailing list all the time, and I figured I could do a lot worse with my money. Devin and Tracy are really good people, you know.

Plus, I'm a damn fanboy! So I splurged. I would do this for very few musicians.

I'm going to hold off a little bit before I order - you can pre-order it on Amazon here, but I want to wait until its available through a more official channel so I actually have a chance getting some of the extras.

I agree, I really wouldn't do this for many musicians at all. But this seems rather worthwhile, really. It's a bit weird the latest two records have been remastered though.

Smindas wrote:

I'm going to hold off a little bit before I order - you can pre-order it on Amazon here, but I want to wait until its available through a more official channel so I actually have a chance getting some of the extras.

I agree, I really wouldn't do this for many musicians at all. But this seems rather worthwhile, really. It's a bit weird the latest two records have been remastered though.

Yeah, definitely odd, that. I didn't hear anything particularly wrong with them. But maybe the unreleased stuff is just of a higher quality, so it was necessary that everything have the same sound. I don't know.

Are you going to get the limited-to-500 version? I'm pretty sure that'll sell out, so you might not want to sit on it long.

I won't get the limited to 500 one if it means ordering from the US. The cost of shipping will just make it too unaffordable, basically.

Smindas wrote:

I won't get the limited to 500 one if it means ordering from the US. The cost of shipping will just make it too unaffordable, basically.

I think Century Media are offering 250 of them, while Inside Out will have the other 250. They should be the International seller, basically. They haven't made that link available yet, though.

And now I play the waiting game!

...when did I become such a shameless fanboy?

Got the box set today. This thing is awesome! I was worried it was going to be cheaply made, with possibly CDRs and stuff. You know how bands do it these days. But this thing is bad-ass!

Thick, heavy card stock for the box, which is basically a slipcase. The rest is a big-ass book made from the same card stock. The book houses the CDs—four in front, four in back—and then there are nearly 100 pages of pictures, liner notes and other cool things.

I definitely got my hundred dollars' worth. This might be the highest-quality box set I own. Now I have to find downloads of the exclusive tracks from the 10" EP because I don't have a damn record player! Haha.

By the way, listening to the unreleased stuff now, and some of this stuff is amazing. I hope, someday, Devin truly gets the recognition he deserves.

I got my boxset yesterday too. The thing is beautiful. Haven't really had a chance to delve in to it too deeply yet, but the first CD of extras was great in its own right. Even this man's off-cuts put a lot of other musician's to shame.

Also, if you find a download of the record tracks, send them my way! 'Dinosaurs' is an absolutely amazing track.

Smindas wrote:

I got my boxset yesterday too. The thing is beautiful. Haven't really had a chance to delve in to it too deeply yet, but the first CD of extras was great in its own right. Even this man's off-cuts put a lot of other musician's to shame.

Also, if you find a download of the record tracks, send them my way! 'Dinosaurs' is an absolutely amazing track.

How did you hear "Dinosaurs?" You own a record player? I'm jealous.



There are so many quotable lines in this one.

Oh, and "Juno" is an amazing tune. Can't believe that never made it onto an album.

Heard this?



Never heard these guys before, but this song is so good. Anyone know if this is a good example of their style?

Eyesore wrote:

How did you hear "Dinosaurs?" You own a record player? I'm jealous.



There are so many quotable lines in this one.

Yeah, my flatmates bought me a cheap record player for my birthday this year as they're an awesome bunch. Great fun to have.

From what I've had a chance to delve in to, 'Juno' is probably one of my favourite tracks. It reminds me a lot of 'Material' off Physicist, with that soaring chorus. Absolutely brilliant stuff. 'Brown Man' is ridiculous, but great.

I did hear that Gojira track a while back, but it never really clicked with me. Gojira have just never quite been my bag at all, to be honest.

EDIT: No Mp3, but you have to listen to this;

Eyesore wrote:

Oh, and "Juno" is an amazing tune. Can't believe that never made it onto an album.

Agreed entirely. My dad got me the 80 dollar version for Christmas; the 100 dollar ones were sold out even when he ordered it a week after it came out xD

holydiver97595 wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Oh, and "Juno" is an amazing tune. Can't believe that never made it onto an album.

Agreed entirely. My dad got me the 80 dollar version for Christmas; the 100 dollar ones were sold out even when he ordered it a week after it came out xD

This irony is funny.

Devin wrote "Juno" as a reaction toward Canada's music industry (their big award is the Juno, of course), because they have essentially ignored him his entire career. The liner notes say something like, "They don't know what to do with me."

So Devin finally releases something with that song on it...and he gets nominated for a Juno. Haha. Not for that song or box set, but for Deconstruction. And that makes it even funnier, because Deconstruction is one of his most insane releases!

But of course Devin is much more popular now. Goes to show you how these award things work, eh?

Eyesore wrote:

holydiver97595 wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Oh, and "Juno" is an amazing tune. Can't believe that never made it onto an album.

Agreed entirely. My dad got me the 80 dollar version for Christmas; the 100 dollar ones were sold out even when he ordered it a week after it came out xD

This irony is funny.

Devin wrote "Juno" as a reaction toward Canada's music industry (their big award is the Juno, of course), because they have essentially ignored him his entire career. The liner notes say something like, "They don't know what to do with me."

So Devin finally releases something with that song on it...and he gets nominated for a Juno. Haha. Not for that song or box set, but for Deconstruction. And that makes it even funnier, because Deconstruction is one of his most insane releases!

But of course Devin is much more popular now. Goes to show you how these award things work, eh?

If only he were nominated for Contain Us or Juno... that would've been hilarious. In any case, I wish him the best of luck there, and if he wins and makes a speech, I would pay a fair amount of money to see that.

Rarely do I look forward to live albums, but I can't wait for this thing:



Although I'm pretty sure that's mostly the studio version playing.

I was at the Ki and Addicted gigs. Suffice to say, I'll be picking this up.

Heard earlier today that Devin was going to tour the States with Katatonia and Paradise Lost this fall.

That would be killer!

So Devin's next release is called Epicloud. By all accounts, it sounds like it's going to be brilliant. But little is know about it yet, aside from it supposedly being epic. Haha. But again he's working with Anneke, like he did on Addicted!, and she recently had this to say about it:

Quote :

As mentioned, Anneke recently completed recording her parts for Canadian vocalist / guitarist / producer Devin Townsend’s new album, Epicloud. It’s the second time the pair have worked together, with Devin having conscripted Anneke in 2009 for his Addicted record after seeing a YouTube clip of her performing the Ziltoid The Omniscient track ‘Hyperdrive’ live in concert. It’s one of those artistic relationships that, according to both parties, has it’s own untouchable corner.

“I love Devin Townsend like my brother.” Anneke say without missing a beat. “He means so much to me musically and as a person. In his music he has the perfect symbiotic relationship between heavy and melody and true emotions and feelings. It’s just so pure and so heavy. When I was singing for the Epicloud album I told him I could hear West Side Story in the music. It’s so fairytale-like but so damn heavy. I love it.”

“I almost cried when I sang in his studio,” she says of Epicloud. which is due for release later this year. “There was one song that I did and he listened back to it quickly, and I was really quiet while he did that. It almost made me angry because it was so good but he didn’t say anything (laughs). He realized that and said ‘Oh, um, you know how I am with compliments…’ and I was like, ‘Devin, this has nothing to do with compliments. This song is out of this world!’ It’s just… smurfing hell, Epicloud a classic and it’s not even out yet. It made me angry because godammit it was good, and Devin was just ‘Oh, well, um, cool…’ (laughs). I know Devin’s music but I haven’t heard anything like Epicloud in my life. I’m so proud to be involved.”

This isn’t just heat of the moment lip service. During the Epicloud recording sessions back in April, Anneke took time out and posted a brief update on the proceedings via Facebook saying Devin “made me do 20 hours of the loudest and most gorgeous vocals I’ve ever done.” Not a statement to be taken lightly from a critically acclaimed singer.

“Yeah, because I never say that,” she laughs. “I’ve never said that in my life. It’s funny you noticed that because I thought about it when I was writing that post, and it’s Devin making me sing the stuff. I’m doing what he wants me to do, so if he says ‘Stand on your head naked in a corner and sing’ I’ll do it because that’s what he means to me.”

Devin has a reputation of being a taskmaster of veteran drill sergeant proportions in the studio. Soilwork frontman Björn “Speed” Strid went on record with BW&BK in 2002 following the vocal recording sessions for the band’s Natural Born Chaos album, saying that Devin pushed him well beyond his known limits and “almost killed me” in doing so. Anneke understands Björn’s experience, albeit at a less musically volatile level.

“He did it on Addicted and even more on Epicloud. I know my own voice pretty well, but Devin made me do things I didn’t really know I could do. He asked me to sing in various ways and I didn’t really know how, but I tried because he asked me to and, smurfing hell, I can do it (laughs). I can reach this high, I can reach this low, be this loud or this soft. Devin gets out every aspect of my voice.”

In an interview with Devin back in June 2011, he discussed his plans for Epicloud and laughingly explained that “hopefully I’m going to write all the heavy and hard singing parts for Anneke.” In actual fact he sings with her on the album as they did on Addicted and for the select tour dates that followed.

“Devin’s voice is just amazing,” says Anneke. “When we were in the Epicloud sessions he asked me about doing a quiet vocal and showed me what he wanted, and I said we should do it together. So, we were at the mic together, and having him singing next to me without the surrounding sound of a live show… he scared the hell out of me. I think I have a strong voice, but he was so loud that I couldn’t hear what I was doing (laughs). Devin said ‘Okay, I’ll stand on the other side of the room…’ and he still scared the hell out of me. He’s my hero.”

As such, Anneke readily admits that working with Devin has definitely influenced her own music.

“He’s influenced me quite directly, actually. For some reason, what Devin is doing in big I’m doing in my own little world. I’m very inspired by people and especially by Devin in being able to mix heaviness with pop elements and beautiful and bright things, and there’s also a dark side to it. I think that’s the way we are as people, and because we have so many sides why not put all that in one song or one album or one show? That was my idea for Everything Is Changing, and I’m very proud of it. But Epicloud, the magnitude of it is out of this world.”

She makes it sound so awesome. Devin is brilliant, and Anneke is one of may all-time favorite female vocalists (absolutely love her tone), so I was already really looking forward to the album. Obviously. But reading this really amps up my excitement.

Devin Townsend really deserves to be up there with the greatest songwriters ever.

Pretty sure this will be the best album of 2012.