Devin Townsend has shared the first new music from his upcoming album PowerNerd, and you can watch a video for the title track below.
At the same time he has revealed the album, which Metal Hammer broke the news of back in March, will be released through InsideOut Music on October 25. It will be the first part of a trilogy of releases from the prolific Townsend which will be followed by The Moth – self-described as “orchestral, over-the-top, dark and uncomfortable” – and the “alien weirdness” of finale Axolotl.
“I would say that a powernerd would be somebody that has a tendency that society has deemed weak or not valuable, whether that’s empathy or being an insular person or an introvert, and turns that into a type of personal power,” Townsend explains. “It’s like, ‘OK, yeah, I’m sensitive to this, that and the other thing, but man, I am going to pull through! I am going to do things with that sensitivity that are rooted in strength.”
Amazingly, Townsend wrote all the music for his latest album in just 11 days!
“It was a conscious thing,” he says. “I thought, ‘I’ve spent so much time overthinking every aspect of my work – what would happen if I didn’t?’ Maybe I would have the opportunity to be a bit more direct with what it is that I’m trying to do. I really wanted to see if I could cut through some of the meandering.”
PowerNerd will be available on several different formats, including a limited edition 2CD+Blu-ray artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin’s first ever Dolby Atmos mix), a limited edition 2CD digipak in O-card, standard CD, gatefold 2LP and as a digital album.
Devin Townsend: PowerNerd
1. PowerNerd
2. Falling Apart
3. Knuckledragger
4. Gratitude
5. Dreams of Light
6. Ubelia
7. Jainism
8. Younger Lover
9. Glacier
10. Goodbye
11. Ruby Quaker