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.
promise
Devin Townsend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Awake
...sweat lights fly by outside,
Damn it, it's hot in here...
It's so hot...
...too hot to sleep
Black on black,
The red burns
3:15 AM
...rises, beside, behind...
It's easier to sleep,
It happened,
...there's nothing I can do about it.
All I need I am finished now,
I am full,
I am ugly,
I am your promise.
The opening lyrics of Devin Townsend's song Promise paint a vivid picture of someone who is awake in the middle of the night, unable to sleep because of the heat. The mention of sweat and the sound of rushing cars outside add to the sense of discomfort and restlessness. However, the lyrics hint at something deeper going on beneath the surface. The lines "black on black, the red burns" suggest a contrast between darkness and pain, while the repeated phrase "all I need" could be interpreted as a cry for help or salvation.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become more fragmented and surreal, with references to things rising and happening without explanation. It's clear that something traumatic has occurred, something that the singer feels powerless to change. The final lines of the song are particularly haunting: "I am finished now, I am full, I am ugly, I am your promise." These lyrics suggest a deep sense of resignation and despair, as though the singer is trapped in a cycle of pain and suffering.
Overall, Promise is a deeply introspective and emotional song that delves into themes of trauma, powerlessness, and despair. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but they offer a powerful reflection on the human experience of suffering and the struggle to find meaning in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
3:15 AM
The time of day in which the singer is awake and unable to sleep
Awake
The singer is unable to sleep despite the time of night
...sweat lights fly by outside,
There is visible movement outside and sweat is likely present due to the heat
Damn it, it's hot in here...
The heat inside the building is causing discomfort for the artist
It's so hot...
The heat is causing extreme discomfort for the artist
...too hot to sleep
The level of heat inside the room is preventing the singer from being able to sleep
All I need...
The singer is about to make a statement about what they need
Black on black,
The artist's state of mind is negative or dark
The red burns
The artist is experiencing intense emotions
3:15 AM
The time of day is mentioned again to indicate the continued inability to sleep
...rises, beside, behind...
It is unclear what specific thing is rising, but it is near and behind the singer
It's easier to sleep,
The artist is unable to sleep and the statement made is sarcastic
It happened,
Something occurred that the singer cannot change or correct
...there's nothing I can do about it.
The singer acknowledges their inability to affect or change what has occurred
All I need I am finished now,
The singer has finished what they needed to do or accomplish
I am full,
The artist feels satisfied, possibly referring to emotional or physical fulfillment
I am ugly,
The artist may have a negative self-image or feel unattractive in some way
I am your promise.
The singer may feel like their identity or sense of self is tied to a promise made to someone else
Contributed by Alexis B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Scutshakes
REAL old comment but this interests me because Devin recently tweeted a progress chart for the making of "Ocean Machines, 1995" he found, I assume finding some junk to put up for his online garage sale. Tracks listed, in order:
Voices in the Fan
Ocean Machines
Promise (this one! never thought of it as a candidate for OM)
Come to the Edge
Tomorrow's Flesh
Funeral in the Rain
The Death of Music
Man
and separated at the bottom of the chart were three more,
Old
Visitor at Sea
My Girl
The "Ancient" cassette that was released with his autobiography has a more ambient/slower demo of Voices in the Fan, as well as Come to the Edge. Ocean Machines, Man, and My Girl are available from the Ass-Sordid demos as well. Unsure what became of Tomorrow's Flesh, Old, or Visitor at Sea, if anything
As to whether this "Ocean Machines" was going to be a Noisescapes record, or this was for Biomech, I do not know, but it is interesting to think that the album could've turned out a lot more of a somber industrial/ambient record than it already was, going by what songs we have heard from the early draft.
Also interesting to note, the end of the song "Ocean Machines" leads into "Man". But not Man from ASD, it actually goes into the 1995 demo of Man that was a bonus track on Infinity!
late edit: It's actually the end of "Man (1995 demo)" that leads into the beginning of Ocean Machines, not the other way around.
kylereece1979
Going to see him tomorrow night in Dublin! Its going to be a brilliant night. Im only hearing these old demos first time out lately. Fucking amazing- Love the SOARING, SINGING, SUSTAIN that gracefully lifts those guitar harmonies at the 2 minute mark. Wonderful.
Petr Holusa
This is fucking gold. 1990. Give that guy a medal for this sound!
xkickx
Jari Maenpaa and Devin Townsend need to make a band together and call it "The best experience ever made."
Superterrestrial
The picture at 1:20 is awesome.
Jack
whenever halford left priest devin was originally tapped as his replacement dare i say Devin is God of Music
Frank R
Devin Is Good...HALFORD IS GOD ! THE METAL GOD ! THERE IS ONLY ONE...
Ricky Johnson
13 years later, are you still this cringy?
atombebi
it' s really sad because he hasn' t deliberated with hthe SYL and other waiting albums. HE SHOULD KNOW THAT WE NEED HIM FUCKINLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Frank R
Kool I didnt Know That... Devin Is Truely Talented
John Appleseed
This song is Noisescapes, imagine if Dev didn't go with Vai and went with Noisescapes releasing the planned album "Promise"