Devin Townsend Names the Guitarist Who Made Him Give Up Shredding

Devin Townsend has evolved as a musician over the years, but in a recent chat with Ultimate-Guitar.com, the singer and guitarist revealed that he actually has a very prominent guitarist and his revealed that it influenced his decision to abandon the more technical elements of shredding in music. playing. That guitarist would be Steve Vai.

It wasn’t what Vai told him, it came from working with great guitars and realizing what he wanted to do himself. When asked why he stopped pursuing shredding, Townshend simply sums it up: “I sang at a gig for Steve Vai.”

Then he said, “I’m watching him play and I’m like, ‘No, I’m fine. I play the rhythm. [laughs] In short, my style has improved and I really like the way I play now. It’s like a combination of fingers and a pick, with lots of echoes and chords. And I really like it. ”

“But I remember learning sweeps and taps and stuff like that when I was a kid. I was very lucky, and I was watching him play, and it was like I was in a wrestling match and I had to tap out.I’m going to write my own song. I think he can be a guitar god because he. “

Townsend adds: And it took me to be with him to realize it. When I was a kid it was all I wanted to do. I wanted to be at Shrapnel Records and play like Vinnie Moore, Tony McAlpine, Yngwie, Steve, Van Halen. But as I grew older, I began to realize that the way I wrote, adapting to the weather and surroundings, was more in line with my truth than writing faster than anyone else in the woodshed. rice field. ”

The singer/guitarist says he would have been impressed by some of today’s players if he had watched them when he was younger, but his current as a player doesn’t necessarily interest him musically. “Some of it is, but musically, it doesn’t speak to me. I think I have some capacity in technique and I’m good at guitar. But my style is.” I’m happy to say that is like me, and I think that’s what I needed to learn through all these experiences,” Townsend revealed.

The change in playing has certainly not held back Townshend over the years, as he remains one of metal’s most prolific artists since appearing on Vai’s 1993 album. bottom. sex and religionHe has continued to perform with Strapping Young Lad, fronted a self-titled band project and is now settling into a solo career. his latest album light work, came out last November. The singer and guitarist is currently touring Europe, with dates booked for his early April.