Devin Townsend has blessed fans with two exceptional releases. Today, the Canadian heavy music genius has unveiled his latest music video for “Spirits Will Collide,” which supports the same-day release of his newest album, Empath. Townsend’s latest and much-anticipated 10-track record is now available via InsideOut Records.
“Spirits Will Collide” is an expansion of classic Townsend music. According to the Strapping Young Lad founder, the track is characterized to be mid-tempo yet big, and is “meant to be melodic and straightforward”. The track is anthemic, as it opens with some beautiful choir-like vocals before Townsend’s powerful voice chimes in to establish to song’s heavy and powerfully grand atmosphere. Commenting on the song’s sound, Townsend describes it to be “romantic heavy music” and he expresses,
I would love to do a full album in this style somewhere down the line, and it’s the only one of its kind on the Empath record.
The scale of the “Spirits Will Collide” music video is just as grand as the song’s sound. It features Townsend performing live to a mass of people gathered in some unknown, galactic venue that is floating above earth in outer space. The video also features a Gorilla playing bass, and Elephants behind the drums.
Speaking on the video, Townsend adds that the excessiveness and over-the-top direction is an acknowledgement of the fantasies and dreams that children and teenagers have about playing crazy shows as aspiring performers:
The story of the video is about a kid that has a fantasy about playing at a massive concert with thousands of people as a choir, animals etc…just the biggest concert he can imagine, and the strength of the sound and the intention of a bunch of people singing together is such that the sound blows away the darkness.
At its core, “Spirits Will Collide” is an “anti-suicide” statement that is something that kids and teens can cling on to “when they feel depression or suicidal thoughts.”
Empath is Townsend’s first solo album since 2014’s Dark Matters, which was the second part of the double album Z². In a series of tweets, the multi-talented artist revealed that he had actually sold his entire back catalog for $150,000, to produce the record that cost approximately $170,000. The release of the video for “Spirits Will Collide” features classic Townsend outlandishness, and it follows the craziness of his two previous releases for “Genesis” and “Evermore,” which are both equally as loud and out of this world.
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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