After performing in a number of metal bands in high school, Townsend was discovered by a record label in 1993 and was asked to perform lead vocals on Steve Vai's album Sex & Religion. After recording and touring with Vai, Townsend was discouraged by what he found in the music industry, and vented his anger on a solo album released under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. He soon assembled a band under the name, and released the critically acclaimed City in 1997. Since then, he has released three more studio albums with Strapping Young Lad, along with solo material released under his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records. Townsend's solo albums, a diverse mix of hard rock and progressive metal, have featured a varying lineup of supporting musicians. In 2002 he formed The Devin Townsend Band, a dedicated lineup which recorded and toured for two of his solo releases.
In 2007, Townsend disbanded both Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend Band, taking a break from touring to spend more time with his family. After a two-year hiatus, he began work on a four-album series called The Devin Townsend Project, with each album written in a different style. The first two entries in the series, Ki and Addicted, were released in 2009. Townsend scheduled tours throughout Australia and North America in 2010 in support of the albums, and released the next two, Deconstruction and Ghost, in 2011.
Townsend's trademark production style, featuring a heavily multitracked wall of sound, has been compared to the styles of Phil Spector and Frank Zappa. His versatile vocal delivery ranges from screaming to an opera-esque singing, and his songwriting is similarly diverse. Townsend's musical style is rooted in metal, and his albums are written to express different aspects of his personality.
The Death of Music
Devin Townsend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leapt like dog from man...
Terminate high thinking...
Known in your prophecy...
Sun... Son...
Sun it shifts, and brittleness subsides
To sleep... sleep away
One comes, the rain will always be
And things I am
Are things that should not be
They laughed at me but we never bothered
My friends and I
There were no others
Now it comes...
Bolt across the blue...
Shadows dance over the land...
Walls high, water deep
Brick and steel gathering speed
Guess it's just a feeling
...Guess it's just a feeling...
Rain may come
The rain may never be
In things you are
Are things I need to be
My friends were there but they never bothered
Now there's you and I an
There are no others
It's like when death becomes musical
...It's musical
It's like a death becomes musical
Musical
And it comes...
To make sure that he will never rise
And the groans from the bellies
Have never cried this hard
And the eyes of the wicked ones
Have never been full of dust
In the middle of the sea it waits...
...Closer...
Home, nor anywhere on Earth on that final day will anyone be apart
...one...schooled...together...
Towards the sea...
And we may drown, fly, fall from faith
...but the pain won't be realized
Because the emotions will hit as god should
And the mountains will offer no shelter
And the clouds will be no cover...
No matter where we run...
Don't die on me
Don't go away
When I need you here
In my need
The rain will come
The rain will always be
In things I am
Are things that have to be
My friends have come and I never bothered
Myself and I
There is no other
It's like a death becomes musical
It's musical
The lyrics of Devin Townsend's The Death of Music exude a haunting and surreal atmosphere. The first stanza begins with a cryptic line, "Leapt like dog from man," implying a violent and sudden shift. The next line, "Terminate high thinking," suggests the end of intellectual pursuits, perhaps due to some cataclysmic event. The line "Known in your prophecy" could mean that the events that led to the end were foretold or predestined.
The next stanza switches to a more sensory description of the aftermath, with "sun" and "brittleness" as contrasting images. The lines "One comes, the rain will always be / And things I am / Are things that should not be" evoke a sense of doom and utter hopelessness. The singer's friends seem to abandon him/her, but it doesn't matter since "there were no others" left in the end.
The song continues to paint a picture of a world lost, with the line "Guess it's just a feeling" appended to the grim imagery. The motif of rain comes up again, symbolizing both the unstoppable force of nature and the tears of the survivors. The singer declares that in this post-apocalyptic world, they need to be like "things you are," and that "there are no others" left to rely on. The final refrain of "It's like a death becomes musical" seems contradictory at first, but upon deeper reflection, it highlights the eeriness of a dead silence after a catastrophic event.
Line by Line Meaning
Leapt like dog from man...
I made a quick and sudden escape, similar to how a dog would run away from a person.
Terminate high thinking...
I want to put a stop to any excessive or pretentious thoughts.
Known in your prophecy...
You have already foreseen and predicted what is going to happen.
Sun... Son...
The words sound similar, but their meanings are vastly different.
Sun it shifts, and brittleness subsides
The sun's movement causes a change in the environment and can make things less fragile.
To sleep... sleep away
The desire to fall asleep and escape the current state of being.
One comes, the rain will always be
Rainfall is a consistent and inevitable occurrence.
And things I am
Are things that should not be
I believe that my thoughts and actions are unacceptable or wrong in some way.
They laughed at me but we never bothered
I've been ridiculed, but my friends and I didn't let it bother us.
My friends and I
There were no others
I only had my close friends around, and no one else.
Bolt across the blue...
A sudden movement through the sky or water.
Shadows dance over the land...
The shapes formed by light and dark create an animated effect over the earth's surface.
Walls high, water deep
A place that is enclosed and surrounded by deep water.
Brick and steel gathering speed
An object made up of brick and steel is picking up momentum.
Guess it's just a feeling
I am unsure if what I am feeling is a real emotion or not.
Rain may come
The rain may never be
There is a possibility of rain, but it may not happen.
In things you are
Are things I need to be
I aspire to be like you in some ways.
Now there's you and I
And there are no others
It's just me and you, and no one else.
It's like when death becomes musical
It's musical
Death can be expressed and experienced as a musical event.
To make sure that he will never rise
I want to prevent someone from ever succeeding or gaining power.
And the groans from the bellies
Have never cried this hard
The suffering and pain is overwhelming and intense.
And the eyes of the wicked ones
Have never been full of dust
The evil doers are experiencing punishment and being humbled.
In the middle of the sea it waits...
...Closer...
Something ominous and unknown is waiting out in the middle of the sea, and it's getting closer.
Home, nor anywhere on Earth on that final day will anyone be apart
...one...schooled...together...
On the final day, everyone will be united and gathered together no matter where they come from.
Towards the sea...
And we may drown, fly, fall from faith
Heading towards the sea may be risky and could result in a loss of life or spiritual turmoil.
...but the pain won't be realized
Because the emotions will hit as god should
Although the physical sensations of pain may not be noticed, the emotional aspects will be keenly felt.
And the mountains will offer no shelter
And the clouds will be no cover...
The natural features that we normally depend on for protection may not be reliable or provide any assistance in this situation.
No matter where we run...
Trying to escape from this problem or situation will be futile.
Don't die on me
Don't go away
When I need you here
In my need
I am relying on you to be there for me when I need you the most.
The rain will come
The rain will always be
Rain is a constant occurrence and is bound to happen.
In things I am
Are things that have to be
I cannot change who I am or the things that make me who I am.
My friends have come and I never bothered
Myself and I
There is no other
Although my friends have been present, I have not paid them much attention, and I am alone with just myself now.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shady Haleem
Question
Leapt like dog from man
Terminate high thinking
Known in your prophecy
Sun... Son...
Sun it shifts, and brittleness subsides
To sleep... sleep away
One comes, the rain will always be
And things I am
Are things that should not be
They laughed at me but we never bothered
My friends and I
There were no others
Now it comes
Bolt across the blue
Shadows dance over the land
Walls high, water deep
Brick and steel gathering speed
Guess it's just a feeling
Guess it's just a feeling
Rain may come
The rain may never be
In things you are
Are things I need to be
My friends were there but they never bothered
Now there's you and I an
There are no others
It's like when death becomes musical
It's musical
It's like a death becomes musical
Musical
And it comes
To make sure that he will never rise
And the groans from the bellies
Have never cried this hard
And the eyes of the wicked ones
Have never been full of dust
In the middle of the sea it waits
Closer...
Home, nor anywhere on Earth on that final day will anyone be apart
One... schooled... together...
Towards the sea...
And we may drown, fly, fall from faith
But the pain won't be realized
Because the emotions will hit as god should
And the mountains will offer no shelter
And the clouds will be no cover
No matter where we run
Don't die on me
Don't go away
When I need you here
In my need
The rain will come
The rain will always be
In things I am
Are things that have to be
My friends have come and I never bothered
Myself and I
There is no other
It's like a death becomes musical
It's musical 0:30 0:31
Sim Quicky
The single greatest live vocal performance ever recorded! I can’t count how many times I’ve watched this and got goosebumps (like Devy) every bloody time!
Natalija Smirnova
I've seen him live, in a tiny Glasgow club. While this is great to watch, his live performance was just wow from start to finish. And IMHO the way he sang Deadhead there just beats this whole Royal Albert Hall performance.
Jordan Stuck
Sammeee
RoisinT2
Agreed.
GMR
Yep, right now!
Brodie
You can literally see the hairs on his arm standing up. Incredible.
Yousef Rashid
Insane vocals we will never get another Devin townsend
Shiloh Lay
we are lucky
Affecting Mandela
And he was just getting over a near month long illness, and for this concert hadn't yet recovered, which is probably why he pushed himself so hard for this performance, arguably his greatest.
Richard Andrews
I was at this show. I love this song, this version made my tear up.