| Infinity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 21, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | November 1997 – July 1998 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:41 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | Devin Townsend | |||
| Devin Townsend chronology | ||||
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| Devin Townsend overall chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Chronicles of Chaos | 6/10 [1] |
Infinity is the third solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first released under his real name. The album was released in October 1998 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
After the completion of Strapping Young Lad's extreme metal album City and his solo progressive rock release Ocean Machine: Biomech , Townsend began to approach a mental breakdown. "I started to see human beings as little lonesome, water based, pink meat," he explained, "life forms pushing air through themselves and making noises that the other little pieces of meat seemed to understand." In 1997, he checked himself into a mental-health hospital, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The diagnosis helped him understand where the two sides of his music were coming from; he felt his disorder "gave birth to the two extremes that are Strapping's City record and Ocean Machine's Biomech." [2]
After being discharged from the hospital, Townsend found that "everything just clicked" and he was able to write his third solo album, Infinity, which he described as "the parent project" of City and Biomech. [2] Townsend returned to the studio, accompanied by drummer Gene Hoglan, to work on the album, on which Townsend played most of the instruments. During the recording sessions, Devin slept on the studio floor. [3] Devin has claimed Infinity was partly inspired by experimentation with LSD and other psychedelic drugs. [4]
A music video was made for the song "Christeen". [5]
The first two minutes of the track "OM" have occasionally been played live as an intro of sorts to other songs, and were demoed for inclusion on Addicted (later appearing on Contain Us ). The "Infinite Waltz" section of "Processional" was later used as the outro to "The Mighty Masturbator" from Deconstruction . The track "Truth" was re-recorded for Transcendence, the seventh studio album by the Devin Townsend Project. "OM" was played live in its entirety in 2017 at the Ancient Roman Theater in Plovdiv. The entirety of the album was played in sequence, along with outtakes Om, Sit in the Mountain, and Processional, in a ticketed live stream concert on February 5, 2022 as part of the Quarantine Concert Series. [6]
Infinity was released in October 1998 on Townsend's independent label, HevyDevy Records. It was distributed in Canada by HevyDevy, in Japan by Sony, and in Europe initially by USG Records and later on by InsideOut and with three bonus tracks.
The InsideOut release of Infinity had different titles for several tracks; these are listed in parentheses. The InsideOut release of Infinity also contained three bonus tracks.
All tracks are written by Devin Townsend, except "Christeen" by Townsend and Ginger
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Truth" | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Christeen" | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Bad Devil" | 4:52 |
| 4. | "War" | 6:29 |
| 5. | "Soul Driven" ("Soul Driven Cadillac") | 5:14 |
| 6. | "Ants" | 2:01 |
| 7. | "Colonial Boy" ("Wild Colonial Boy") | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Dynamics" ("Life Is All Dynamics") | 5:08 |
| 9. | "Unity" | 6:07 |
| 10. | "Noisy Pink Bubbles" | 5:22 |
| Total length: | 46:41 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Sister" (Live acoustic version) | 2:15 |
| 12. | "Hide Nowhere" (Live acoustic version) | 5:03 |
| 13. | "Man" ('96 Demo) | 5:12 |
| Total length: | 59:11 | |
The original track listing intended for Infinity was different from its final release. Due to the record label's time restraints, Townsend could not finish some of the tracks. These were later included on the Christeen + Four Demos EP. The original track list was: [7]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Truth" | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Processional"
| 11:42 |
| 3. | "Christeen" | 3:41 |
| 4. | "War" | 6:29 |
| 5. | "Soul Driven" | 5:14 |
| 6. | "Om" | 6:18 |
| 7. | "Dynamics" | 5:08 |
| 8. | "Unity" | 6:07 |
| Total length: | 48:37 | |
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Oricon (Japan) [8] | 29 |
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [9] | 19 |
Devin Garrett Townsend is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also had an extensive solo career and has released a total of 28 albums across all of his projects as of 2022.
Strapping Young Lad (SYL) was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution.
Eugene Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his playing style is very technically demanding, he retains high accuracy at extreme tempos, earning him the nicknames "The Atomic Clock" and "Human Drum Machine".
Accelerated Evolution is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative rock to hard rock to progressive metal. Townsend, the lead vocalist and guitarist, assembled a group of Vancouver musicians to perform with him on the album: guitarist Brian Waddell, drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, bassist Mike Young, and keyboardist Dave Young. This lineup, the Devin Townsend Band, was Townsend's first dedicated lineup for his solo material, and was created as a counterpart to Townsend's extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad.
Zimmers Hole is a Canadian heavy metal band from Vancouver. The band formed in 1991, and features former Strapping Young Lad members Byron Stroud, Jed Simon and Gene Hoglan, along with vocalist Chris Valagao.
Terria is the fifth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album was released in 2001 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
City is the second studio album by Canadian extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad, released on February 11, 1997. Frontman Devin Townsend assembled a permanent lineup of Strapping Young Lad to record the album, including prolific drummer Gene Hoglan, and Townsend's former bandmates Jed Simon on guitar and Byron Stroud on bass. The album was critically acclaimed, with Revolver naming it one of "the greatest metal albums of all time", and it is widely considered Strapping Young Lad's best work. The album was re-released in 2007 with several bonus tracks and altered cover art.
Strapping Young Lad is the eponymous third album by Canadian heavy metal band Strapping Young Lad. It was released on February 11, 2003.
Physicist is the fourth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album was released on June 26, 2000, on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Synchestra is the eighth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second and final album he recorded with The Devin Townsend Band. The album was released in January 2006 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Ocean Machine: Biomech is the second studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, originally released as Biomech under the name Ocean Machine. The album was released in July 1997 via Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
Jedson Louis Simon is a Canadian guitarist. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, Tenet, and Vimic.
The Hummer is the ninth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and his second ambient album. It was released on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records, on November 15, 2006.
Ziltoid the Omniscient is the tenth studio album by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records in May 2007, and distributed in America and Europe by InsideOut Music.
Devin Townsend is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and record producer.
Music for Them Asses is the first and only album released by the heavy metal band The Almighty Punchdrunk featuring Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad and Cam Kroetsch of Savannah. The album was produced by Devin Townsend in 2001 and was never released commercially; it is only available from Hevy Devy Records' eBay store and HevyDevy.com.
Ki is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on May 25, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records.
Addicted is the twelfth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on November 17, 2009, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records. The album was written and produced by Townsend, and features Ryan Van Poederooyen, Brian Waddell, Mark Cimino, and Anneke van Giersbergen.
Deconstruction is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the third album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on June 20, 2011, simultaneously with the fourth Devin Townsend Project album Ghost, on Townsend's independent record label HevyDevy Records. The album features two drummers, Dirk Verbeuren and Ryan Van Poederooyen, as well as a number of guest vocalists. The album's choral and orchestral parts were written and arranged by Townsend using Pro Tools software. The parts were later transcribed into conventional musical notation for the orchestra.
Transcendence is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. It is the seventh and final album in the Devin Townsend Project series. It was released on September 9, 2016, via HevyDevy Records.
