Devin Townsend's music is designed to have a polarising effect on the listener, with some regarding it highly while others dismiss as noise; the more hardcore side of Townsend's compositions are not written with a view to being accessible easy listening. The enigmatic Canadian producer, singer-songwriter and guitarist born in New Westminster (British Columbia), on May 5, 1972, has a well-publicised bipolar disorder which Townsend himself has identified as the reason for the remarkably different musical styles which appear across the broad spectrum of projects with which he is involved. On one side Townsend's band Strapping Young Lad generates highly aggressive heavy metal whilst his other ensemble, Devin Townsend Project, produces an altogether more introvert, almost ambient sound. It's an intriguing mix from an artist who has been totally immersed in music ever since his early days working with his band Noisescapes whilst simultaneously recording and appearing as a vocalist with rock legend Steve Vai. He continues to keep busy writing and performing in numerous guises as well as releasing a steady output of solo albums including Infinity (1998), Physicist (2000), Devlab (2004) and Ziltoid the Omniscient (2007). Albums with Devin Townsend Project include Addicted (2009), Ghost (2011) Epicloud (2012) and Transcendence (2016) with an announcement in 2018 that he was taking a break to pursue other projects. In 2019, Townsend returned with a solo acoustic tour before the release of his album Empath, before staying home during the Covid-19 pandemic. He spends his time composing the material for his next solo albums The Puzzle and Snuggles, released in 2021 and followed by Lightwork (2022) and PowerNerd (2024).