Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian musician and record… Read Full Bio ↴Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian musician and record producer from New Westminster, British Columbia. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist, in which his work usually leans more towards a progressive metal style.

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.

Victim
Devin Townsend Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

How many times is it happening?
Everything is happening
It happens right now
How many lives is it threatening?
Every life is deep within
It threatens right now

I'm ready to go, I feel it

I'm ready to go, I feel it

I'm a spaceship superstar

How many times is it violent
Everything is so violent
It's violent right now
I feel no pain!

I'm ready to go, I feel it
I'm ready to go, I feel it

I'm a spaceship superstar

Overall Meaning

Devin Townsend's song "Victim" is a reflection on the inherent violence and danger in the world around us. The opening verse presents the idea that violence and threats exist constantly, happening all the time, and posing a danger to every life in some way. The repetition of "how many times" emphasizes both the frequency and the severity of these threats.

Through the repeated phrase "I'm ready to go, I feel it," the song takes on a sense of urgency and fatalism. The persona in the song appears to have come to terms with the fact that violence and danger are constant in the world, and that death could come at any moment. The refrain "I'm a spaceship superstar" adds an otherworldly element to this sense of being on the brink, as if the persona is beyond the fray of earthly violence.

The closing lines of the song, "I feel no pain," suggest a kind of acceptance or even detachment from the violence of the world. It's as if the persona has reached a point where pain and suffering no longer phase them.

Line by Line Meaning

How many times is it happening?
How often is this situation occurring?

Everything is happening
This has become an all-encompassing phenomenon

It happens right now
This is currently taking place

How many lives is it threatening?
How many people are in danger because of this?

Every life is deep within
Every person is intimately affected by this

It threatens right now
This danger looms over us at this very moment

I'm ready to go, I feel it
I am prepared to face the danger head-on

I'm a spaceship superstar
I am confident and powerful, able to handle whatever comes my way

How many times is it violent
Just how much violence is happening?

Everything is so violent
The level of violence is overwhelming, consuming everything

It's violent right now
Violence is happening at this very moment