Canadian musical genius Devin Townsend launches brand new track “Genesis” from his upcoming record Empath. The album will be released on March 29th through InsideOut Records. On Facebook, Devin expressed his excitement about the record and talks about how the track was chosen as the first single. He also delves deeper into the meaning of the song and lyrics.
“Hey all,
It’s with great pride (and a healthy dose of trepidation) that I can finally present to you a song from the Empath record. In each album cycle there is the dilemma over which track we ‘lead’ with, not only to get people excited, but also to give an accurate overview of the project.
As the musical nature of Empath shifts from track to track, (from musical theater, death metal, prog free jazz and more commercial things) it was a hard decision. Some people wanted the relatively straightforward song ‘Spirits Will Collide’ while others wanted a more cinematic banging track like ‘Evermore’. We ultimately chose to go with the opening track ‘Genesis’ as it not only features around 5 different stylistic shifts (some quite jarring, to be fair 🙂 but also includes all three drummers, the choir, the orchestra, and basically the kitchen sink as well.
This song is ultimately about facing fear, as well as analysing ones relationship with ones past in order to progress. The record has an overarching theme of what I like to view as ‘hope’ in chaotic times. I have been working on this record for more than a year, and it represents a kind of shift for me in my personal and professional world that I am quite proud of. It’s the first time in quite a few years I have made an album like this, and I think if nothing else, Genesis represents the chaotic nature of the project (and the world at large currently) in the most accurate way I can do at this stage of life.
I’d like to thank the entire team of wonderful musicians and artists who helped me actualize this material, as well as Inside Out records and Northern Music for their help and support.
Mid-life-crisis-core!
Devin :)”
Recently, Devin has been posting in-depth documentary episodes about Empath and explains the formation of the record. You can find those episodes here. Not too long ago, Devin announced that he would be touring Europe with a new band and will also be hitting the road with Avatar on a North American trek.
Check out the video for “Genesis” below:
