Devin Townsend has announced his self-described “life’s work” The Moth, almost 10 years after he first teased it as a “symphony of cocks and vaginas and death”.
The prog metal polymath – known for his work in Strapping Young Lad, The Devin Townsend Project, Casualties Of Cool and more – has finally officially confirmed the new album, which contains 24 songs as well as lots of symphonic elements and choirs. It’s set to drop on May 29 via Inside Out. See the artwork and tracklisting below, and listen to the newly-released lead single Enter The City.
Townsend calls The Moth “a loose story following someone who realises that old patterns of behaviour are no longer serving them. By digging in and sitting with themselves, an internal conflict is revealed, one they may have been resisting or unconsciously rationalizing for years.”
The 53-year-old, no stranger to making larger-than-life concept albums, first hinted at The Moth’s existence in 2016, saying that it was “much different” than his then-latest release, Transcendence by The Devin Townsend Project. He elaborated in a 2017 interview with Vice, saying he needed 10 million dollars to get the concept, then envisioned as a live show, off of the ground.
“The whole show is a metaphor for sex and power, and the idea of it all being related to some sort of God who’s ultimately futile,” he said. “But it’s this symphony with all these cocks and vaginas and death and it’s gotta be so over-the-top, with symphonies and choirs and it’s got to include the best of the best and it’s so fucking expensive!
“I’d like to not think about money, but what I want to do is just get so much money, absurd amounts of money, and just put it all into this thing that’s a fundamentally unsellable spectacle, but make it so palatable that halfway through you’ll just be like, ‘The fuck are we watching here?’”
Townsend kept working on The Moth behind-the-scenes, while continuing to release solo albums and tour. He indicated that the concept had switched from a show to an album in 2024, when he announced his record Powernerd and said that it would be part of a trilogy featuring The Moth. He said The Moth would be “orchestral, over-the-top, dark and uncomfortable”.
Townsend performed material from The Moth with an orchestra and choir last March, playing two exclusive shows in the Netherlands, the second of which was live-streamed around the world. Despite the global attention, he said that these concerts would be the only time The Moth would be performed in such a way.
Townsend has no live plans following the release of The Moth, as he announced in April that he was taking a hiatus from the road. He said in a statement: “Booking tours now means planning up to two years in advance. With fewer venues, fewer crews, and a saturated touring circuit, it’s become more challenging than ever to line things up.
“And beyond the logistics, life has simply caught up with me: my parents need help, my dogs are on their last legs, the kids have moved out, The Moth is nearly complete, and truthfully, I need some time to breathe and recalibrate.”
Devin Townsend – The Moth:
01. Semi-prologue
02. War Beyond Words
03. The Moth
04. Ode To My Eye
05. Enter The City
06. Covered By Causes
07. Lexin
08. Runaways
09. A Proxy For God
10. The Mothers
11. Orion
12. Stay There
13. Home At Night
14. Intermission
15. Lexin Returns
16. The Clergy
17. Prepare For War
18. The Big Snit
19. Silver Princess
20. A Life In Review
21. Metamorphosis
22. Stained Hearts
23. Let Go
24. We Don’t Deserve Dogs
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
