Devin Townsend’s new studio album PowerNerd will be released on 25.th October via InsideOutMusic, and now a video for the title track has been released, which can be streamed as a single.
Devin Townsend’s career is one of many different eras. He was the leader of Strong young ladthe pivotal point of the Devin Townsend Project and co-architect of the country duo Victims of coolnesswhile continuing his productive and acclaimed solo project. Now the polymath’s newest era begins with PowerNerd.
“It was a conscious thing,” Townsend said of his brand new album, whose music he wrote in just 11 days. “I thought, ‘I’ve spent so much time thinking about every aspect of what I do – what would happen if I didn’t do this?’ Maybe I’d have the opportunity to be a little more direct about what I’m trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could break through some of those detours.”
One song that embodies this is the album’s title track – featuring a guest appearance from Jamey Jasta – and you can watch the video for it here at RAMzine and stream the song here and order the album here.
Aggression is not the only thing that arises PowerNerd‘s 11 episodic titles. “Dreams of Light”is, in comparison, an impressive and dynamic four-minute ballad. ‘Younger Lover’ calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and vocals, while ‘Falling apart’ And “Jainism” Add texture after texture to the gentle acoustic introductions.
Where PowerNerdThe music was written in less than two weeks, the lyrics were refined over a much longer period of time into a narrative of strength and healing. ‘falling apart’, Townsend orders himself to “keep the tension under control”. Following song ‘Gratitude’ explains, “You have to believe that things are only going to get better.” These uplifting messages even play into the title of the record, as he explains, “I would say a power nerd is someone who has a tendency that society deems weak or worthless, whether it’s empathy or isolation or introversion, and turns that into some kind of personal strength. It’s like, ‘OK, yeah, I’m sensitive to this, that and that, but man, I’m going to get through this! I’m going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.'”
PowerNerd will be available in a variety of formats including a limited edition 2CD+Blu-ray artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Townsend’s first Dolby Atmos mix), a limited edition 2CD digipak in O-Card, a standard CD, a gatefold LP and a digital album. The album artwork was created by our long-time collaborator Travis Smith.
The full track list of the main album is as follows: “PowerNerd”, “Falling Apart”, “Knuckledragger”, “Gratitude”, “Dreams of Light”, “Ubelia”, “Jainism”, “Younger Lover”, “Glacier”, “Goodbye” And “Ruby Quaker”.
As well as expressing strength in times of need, PowerNerd will open the door to Devin’s immediate future. His positivity and incisiveness will soon be contrasted by follow-up posts. The Moth – self-described as “orchestral, exaggerated, dark and uncomfortable” – and the “strange strangeness” of the finale Axolotl. Both works have already been written, and together the trilogy will express the overwhelming range of this man’s musical talent.
Devin Townsend will be performing live acoustic shows with Myles Kennedy in the UK this November. Dates are listed below and tickets are available here.
DEVIN TOWNSEND ACOUSTIC TOUR DATES WITH MYLES KENNEDY
25 November: Glasgow SWG3
November 27th: Manchester Academy
November 29th: Nottingham Rock City
November 30th: Birmingham, O2 Academy
02 December: Cardiff, Great Hall
Dec 3rd: London O2 Forum Kentish Town
