Devin Townsend Isn’t Reforming Strapping Young Lad but Is Honored by the Fan Interest

Devin Townsend performed several Strapping Young Lad songs live during his recent 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise back in January, however the performer does not have any plans to reform the beloved metal group, according to recent Q&A session shared by Metal Hammer. Although Townsend stated that he will not reform the extreme metal outfit, he said he was “honored” by the fan interest in reviving the project.

“I’m not reforming Strapping, but the fact that people are so into that band and keep wanting me to do it is a huge honour for me, that’s the biggest possible comment anybody could give to me,” Townsend explained. “I like to think I’ll keep making projects that people will pine for, so thank you so much for caring about it.”

During the Q&A session a fan also asked which Strapping Young Lad album he was most and least proud of. He stated that he was least proud of their self-titled album, while Alien was the one he was most proud of. He also explained that the album City ” defines Strapping in my mind as it was the best one for me.”

Townsend performed the Strapping Young Lad songs “Aftermath,”“Velvet Kevorkian,” “All Hail The New Flesh,”“Detox,” “Almost Again” and “Love” for the first time in several years during the recent cruise performance, which took place from place from Jan 7 – Jan 11. Some of these tracks have not been performed live for over 14 years, although “Love?” and “Detox” were both featured on his 2013 live album, The Retinal Circus.

Strapping Young Lad disbanded in 2007, and Townsend stopped performing these songs live for several years due to the emotional distress it had caused him when they were written. Townsend stated that the songs were written during a dark period in his life, when he had stropped taking medication.

Townsend’s latest studio album release Empath topped out list for the 50 best albums of 2019, while its track“Genesis,”was rated as our second best song of the year. The metal performer is currently touring and will record a new album in 2021.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat