A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean.^[1] A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs.^[2] Both the terms coast and coastal are often used to describe a geographic location or region; for example, New Zealand's West Coast, or the East and West Coasts of the United States.

A pelagic coast refers to a coast which fronts the open ocean, as opposed to a more sheltered coast in a gulf or bay. A shore, on the other hand, can refer to parts of the land which adjoin any large body of water, including oceans (sea shore) and lakes (lake shore). Similarly, the somewhat related term "bank" refers to the land alongside or sloping down to a river (riverbank) or to a body of water smaller than a lake. "Bank" is also used in some parts of the world to refer to an artificial ridge of earth intended to retain the water of a river or pond. In other places this may be called a levee.

While many scientific experts might agree on a common definition of the term "coast", the delineation of the extents of a coast differ according to jurisdiction, with many scientific and government authorities in various countries differing for economic and social policy reasons.

[edit] Formation

Atlantic rocky coastline, showing a surf area. Porto Covo, west coast of Portugal

Tides often determine the range over which sediment is deposited or eroded. Areas with high tidal ranges allow waves to reach farther up the shore, and areas with lower tidal ranges produce deposition at a smaller elevation interval. The tidal range is influenced by the size and shape of the coastline. Tides do not typically cause erosion by themselves; however, tidal bores can erode as the waves surge up river estuaries from the ocean.^[3]

Waves erode coastline as they break on shore releasing their energy; the larger the wave the more energy it releases and the more sediment it moves. Coastlines with longer shores have more room for the waves to disperse their energy, while coasts with cliffs and short shore faces give little room for the wave energy to be dispersed. In these areas the wave energy breaking against the cliffs is higher, and air and water are compressed into cracks in the rock, forcing the rock apart, breaking it down. Sediment deposited by waves comes from eroded cliff faces and is moved along the coastline by the waves. This forms an abrasion or cliffed coast.

Sediment deposited by rivers is the dominant influence on the amount of sediment located on a coastline.^[4] Today riverine deposition at the coast is often blocked by dams and other human regulatory devices, which remove the sediment from the stream by causing it to be deposited inland.

Like the ocean which shapes them, coasts are a dynamic environment with constant change. The Earth's natural processes, particularly sea level rises, waves and various weather phenomena, have resulted in the erosion, accretion and reshaping of coasts as well as flooding and creation of continental shelves and drowned river valleys (rias).

Environmental importance[link]

The coast and its adjacent areas on and off shore is an important part of a local ecosystem as the mixture of fresh water and salt water in estuaries provides many nutrients for marine life. Salt marshes and beaches also support a diversity of plants, animals, and insects crucial to the food chain.

The high level of biodiversity creates a high level of biological activity, which has attracted human activity for thousands of years.

Human impacts[link]

Human uses of coasts[link]

A settled coastline in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Once a fishing port, the harbor is now dedicated to tourism and pleasure boating. Observe that the sand and rocks have been darkened by oil slick up to the high-water line.

This stretch of coast in Tanzania's capital Dar es Salaam serves as a public waste dump.

Houses close to the coast, like these in Tiburon, California, may be especially desirable properties.

An increasing part the global population inhabits coastal regions.^[5] Many of the world's major cities have been built on or near good harbors and have port facilities. Jurisdictions that are landlocked have achieved port status by such measures such as building canals.

The coast is a crucial frontier that nations typically defended against military invaders, smugglers and illegal migrants. Fixed Coastal defenses have long been erected in many nations and coastal countries typically have a navy and some form of coast guard.

Coasts, especially those with beaches and warm water are an important draw for tourists. In many island nations such as those of the Mediterranean, South Pacific and Caribbean, tourism is central to the economy. Coasts are popular destinations because of recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, surfing, boating, and sunbathing. Growth management can be a challenge for coastal local authorities who often struggle to provide the infrastructure required by new residents.

Threats to a coast[link]

Coasts also face many environmental challenges relating to human-induced impacts. The human influence on climate change is thought to be a contributing factor of an accelerated trend in sea level rise which threatens coastal habitat.

Pollution can occur from a number of sources: garbage and industrial debris, the transportation of petroleum in tankers, increasing the probability of large oil spills, small oil spills created by large and small vessels, which flush bilge water into the ocean.

Fishing has diminished due to habitat degradation, overfishing, trawling, bycatch and climate change. Since the growth of global fishing enterprises after the 1950s, intensive fishing has gone from a few concentrated areas to encompass nearly all fisheries. The scraping of the ocean floor in bottom dragging is devastating to coral, sponges and other long-lived species that do not recover quickly. This destruction alters the functioning of the ecosystem and can permanently alter species composition and biodiversity. Bycatch, the capture of unintended species in the course of fishing, is typically returned the ocean only to die from injuries or exposure. Bycatch represents approximately ¼ of all marine catch. In the case of shrimp capture, the bycatch is five times larger than the shrimp caught.

Also, the melting arctic ice will cause sea rise which will flood costal areas.

Conservation[link]

Extraordinary population growth in the 20th century has placed stress on the planet’s ecosystems. For example, on Saint Lucia, harvesting mangrove for timber and clearing for fishing drove the mangrove forests to low levels, resulting in a loss of habitat and spawning ground for marine life that was unique to the area. These forests also helped to stabilize the coastline. Conservation efforts since the 1980s have partially restored the ecosystem.

Types of coast[link]

According to one principle of classification, an emergent coastline is a coastline which has experienced a fall in sea level, because of either a global sea level change, or local uplift. Emergent coastlines are identifiable by the coastal landforms, which are above the high tide mark, such as raised beaches. Alternatively, a submergent coastline is a coastline which has experienced a rise in sea level, due to a global sea level change, local subsidence, or isostatic rebound. Submergent coastlines are identifiable by their submerged, or "drowned" landforms, such as rias (drowned valleys) and fjords.

According to a second principle of classification, a concordant coastline is a coastline where bands of different rock types run parallel to the shore. These rock types are usually of alternating resistance, so the coastline forms distinctive landforms, such as coves. A discordant coastline is a type of coastline formed when rock types of alternating resistance run perpendicular to the shore. Discordant coastlines feature distinctive landforms because the rocks are eroded by ocean waves. The less resistant rocks erode faster, creating inlets or bays; the more resistant rocks erode more slowly, remaining as headlands or outcroppings.

Other coastal categories:

• A cliffed coast or abrasion coast is one where marine action has produced steep declivities known as cliffs.
• A flat coast is one where the land gradually descends into the sea.
• A graded shoreline is one where wind and water action has produced a flat and straight coastline.

Coastal landforms[link]

Coastal landforms. The feature shown here as a bay would, in certain (mainly southern) parts of Britain, be called a cove. That between the cuspate foreland and the tombolo is a British bay.

The following articles describe some coastal landforms:

Cliff erosion[link]

• Much of the sediment deposited along a coast is the result of erosion of a surrounding cliff, or bluff. Sea cliffs retreat landward because of the constant undercutting of slopes by waves. If the slope/cliff being undercut is made of unconsolidated sediment it will erode at a much faster rate then a cliff made of bedrock. (Easterbrook 1999).
• A Natural arch is formed when a sea stacks is eroded through by waves.
• Sea caves are made when certain rock beds are more susceptible to erosion than the surrounding rock beds because of different areas of weakness. These areas are eroded at a faster pace creating a hole or crevasse that, through time, by means of wave action and erosion, becomes a cave.
• A Stack is formed when a headland is eroded away by wave and wind action.
• A Stump is a shortened sea stack that has been eroded away or fallen because of instability.
• Wave-cut notches are caused by the undercutting of overhanging slopes which leads to increased stress on cliff material and a greater probability that the slope material will fall. The fallen debris accumulates at the bottom of the cliff and is eventually removed by waves.
• A wave-cut platform forms after erosion and retreat of a sea cliff has been occurring for a long time. Gently sloping wave-cut platforms develop early on in the first stages of cliff retreat. Later the length of the platform decreases because the waves lose their energy as they break further off shore (Easterbrook 1999).

Rivers on the coastline[link]

• Delta
• Estuary
• Lagoon

Coastal features formed by sediment[link]

Coastal features formed by another feature[link]

• Lagoon
• Salt marsh

Other features on the coast[link]

Coastal processes[link]

The following articles describe the various geologic processes that affect a coastal zone:

Wildlife[link]

Animals[link]

Animals living along the coast vary enormously, some live along coasts to nest like puffins, sea turtles and rockhopper penguins. Sea snails and various kinds of barnacles live on the coast and scavenge on food deposited by the sea. Most coastal animals are used to humans in developed areas, such as dolphins and seagulls who eat food thrown for them by tourists. Since the coastal areas are all part of the littoral zone, there is a profusion of marine life found just off-coast.

There are many kinds of seabirds on the coast. Pelicans and cormorants join up with terns and oystercatchers to forage for fish and shellfish on the coast. There are also sea lions on the coast of Wales and other countries.

Plants[link]

Coastal areas are famous for their kelp beds. Kelp is a fast growing seaweed that grows up to a metre a day. Corals and anemones are true animals, but live a similar lifestyle as plants do. Mangroves and salt marsh are important coastal vegetation types in topical and temperate environments respectively.

Coastline statistics[link]

Coastline problem[link]

At some time in the years immediately preceding 1951, Lewis Fry Richardson in researching the possible effect of border lengths on the probability of war noticed that the Portuguese reported their measured border with Spain to be 987 km, but the Spanish reported it to be 1214 km. This was the beginning of the coastline problem, which is how to arrive at an estimate of a boundary that is infinite.^[6]

The prevailing method of estimating a border (or coastline) was to lay off n equal straight-line segments of length ℓ with dividers on a map or aerial photograph. Each end of the segment must be on the boundary. Investigating the discrepancies in border estimation Richardson discovered what is now termed the Richardson Effect: the sum of the segments is inversely proportional to the common length of the segments. In effect, the shorter the ruler, the longer the measured border; thus, the Spanish and Portuguese geographers were using different-length rulers.

The result most astounding to Richardson is that, as ℓ approaches zero, the length of the coastline approaches infinity. Richardson had believed, based on Euclidean geometry, that a coastline would approach a fixed length, as do similar estimations of regular geometric figures. For example, the perimeter of a regular polygon inscribed in a circle approaches the circumference with increasing numbers of sides (and decrease in the length of one side). In Geometric measure theory such a smooth curve as the circle that can be approximated by small straight segments with a definite limit is termed a rectifiable curve.

Describing a coastline[link]

More than a decade after Richardson's work was finished, Benoît Mandelbrot invented a new branch of mathematics, fractal geometry, to describe just such non-rectifiable complexes in nature as the infinite coastline.^[7] His own definition of the new figure serving as the basis for his study is:^[8]

I coined fractal from the Latin adjective fractus. The corresponding Latin verb frangere means "to break:" to create irregular fragments. It is therefore sensible ... that, in addition to "fragmented" ... fractus should also mean "irregular."

A key property of the fractal is self-similarity; that is, at any scale the same general configuration appears. A coastline is perceived as bays alternating with promontories. No matter how greatly any one small section of coastline is magnified, a similar pattern of bays and promontories on bays and promontories appears, right down to the grains of sand. At that scale the coastline appears as a momentarily shifting, potentially infinitely long thread with a stochastic arrangement of bays and promontories formed from the small objects at hand. In such a real environment (as opposed to smooth curves) Mandelbrot asserts^[7] "coastline length turns out to be an elusive notion that slips between the fingers of those who want to grasp it."

A coastline is definitely to be represented by a fractal. However, there are different kinds of fractals. A coastline is in "a first category of fractals, namely curves whose fractal dimension is greater than 1." That last statement represents an extension by Mandelbrot of Richardson's thought. Mandelbrot's statement of the Richardson Effect is:^[9]

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): L(\epsilon)\sim F\epsilon^{1-D}\,

where L, coastline length, a function of the measurement unit, ε, is approximated by the expression. F is a constant and D is a parameter that Richardson found depended on the coastline approximated by L. He gave no theoretical explanation but Mandelbrot identified L with a non-integer form of the Hausdorff dimension, later the fractal dimension. Rearranging the right side of the expression obtains:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \frac {F} {\epsilon^{D}} \cdot \epsilon

where Fε^-D must be the number of units ε required to obtain L. The fractal dimension is the number of the dimensions of the figure being used to approximate the fractal: 0 for a dot, 1 for a line, 2 for a square. D in the expression is between 1 and 2, for coastlines typically less than 1.5. The broken line measuring the coast does not extend in one direction nor does it represent an area, but is intermediate. It can be interpreted as a thick line or band of width 2ε. More broken coastlines have greater D and therefore L is longer for the same ε. Mandelbrot showed that D is independent of ε.

Notes[link]

1. ^ "Coast". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. http://www.bartleby.com/61/43/C0434300.html. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
2. ^ Nelson, Stephen A. (2007). "Coastal Zones". http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol204/coastalzones.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
3. ^ Davidson (2002), p.421.
4. ^ Easterbrook (1999).
5. ^ Goudarzi, Sara (July 18, 2006). "Flocking to the Coast: World's Population Migrating into Danger". Live Science. http://www.livescience.com/environment/060718_map_settle.html. Retrieved 2008-12-14. 
6. ^ Drazin, P.G. (1993). "Fractals". In Ashford, Oliver M.; Charnock, H.; Drazin, P. G. et al.. The Collected Papers of Lewis Fry Richardson:. 1, Meteorology and numerical analysis. Cambridge University Press (CUP) Archive. pp. 45–46. ISBN 0-521-38297-1,. .
7. ^ ^{a b} Mandelbrot (1983) page 28.
8. ^ Mandelbrot (1983), page 1.
9. ^ Mandelbrot (1983), pages 29–31.

See also[link]

References[link]

• Burke, Lauretta A.; Kura, Yumiko; Kassem, Ken; Revenga, Carmen; Spalding, Mark; McAllister, Don (2001). "Coastal Ecosystems". In Hutter, Carolynne. Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems. World Resources Institute. ISBN 1-56973-458-5. http://pdf.wri.org/Page_coastal.pdf. 
• Davidson, Jon P.; Reed, Walter E.; Davis, Paul M. (2002). Exploring Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. ISBN 0-13-018372-5, ISBN 978-0-13-018372-9. 
• Easterbrook, Don J. (1999). Surface Processes and Landforms (2 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. ISBN 0-13-860958-6, ISBN 978-0-13-860958-0. 
• Haslett, Simon K. (2009). Coastal Systems (2nd Edition). introduction to environment. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-44060-8. 
• Mandelbrot, Benoit B.. "II.5 How long is the coast of Britain?". The Fractal Geometry of Nature. Macmillan. pp. 25–33. ISBN 0-7167-1186-9, ISBN 978-0-7167-1186-5. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coasts

• "Wild Coast USA". Sierra Club. http://www.wildcoast-usa.com/. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
• "Data Explorer". NOAA's National Ocean Service. http://nosdataexplorer.noaa.gov/nosdataexplorer/. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 

v t e Coastal geography Landforms Anchialine pool Avulsion Archipelago Atoll Ayre Barrier bar Barrier island Bay Baymouth bar Bight Brackish marsh Cape Channel Cliff Cliffed coast Cliff-top dune Coast Coastal plain Coastal waterfall Continental margin Continental shelf Coral reef Cove Dune Estuary Firth Fjard Fjord Flat coast Freshwater marsh Fundus Gat Geo Graded shoreline Gulf Headland Inlet Intertidal wetland Island Islet Isthmus Lagoon Marine terrace Mouth bar Raised shorelines Machair Mega delta Mudflat Natural arch Peninsula Reef Regressive delta Ria River delta Rocky shore Salt marsh Shore Sound Stack Steep coast Strait Strand plain Submarine canyon Tied island Tidal island Tidal marsh Tide pool Tombolo More... Beaches Beach cusps Beach evolution Beach ridge Beachrock Modern recession of beaches Pocket beach Raised beach Storm beach Shingle beach Processes Blowhole Coastal erosion Concordant coastline Current Cuspate foreland Discordant coastline Emergent coastline Feeder bluff Fetch Headlands and bays Large scale coastal behaviour Longshore drift Marine regression Marine transgression Rip current Sea cave Sea foam Shoal Spit Submergent coastline Surf break Surf zone Surge channel Swash Volcanic arc Wave-cut platform Wave shoaling Wind wave Wrack zone Management Coastal management Accretion Integrated coastal zone management Submersion Related Bulkhead line Coastline length Intertidal zone Littoral zone Particle size boulder shingle pebble sand silt clay Physical oceanography Region of freshwater influence Scree More...

Devin Townsend
Devin Townsend performing at Tuska Metal Festival, Finland (July 2010).
Background information
Birth name	Devin Garret Townsend[1]
Born	(1972-05-05) May 5, 1972 (age 40) New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Extreme metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, death metal, grindcore, progressive metal, progressive rock, ambient
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drum machine, sampler, banjo
Years active	1993–present
Associated acts	The Devin Townsend Band, The Devin Townsend Project, Strapping Young Lad, Steve Vai, Punky Brüster, IR8, Front Line Assembly, Grey Skies, Caustic Thought, Noisescapes, Ayreon, The Wildhearts, Bent Sea
Website	www.hevydevy.com
Notable instruments
Peavey, ESP, Fender, and Gibson

Devin Garret Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist.

After performing in a number of metal bands in high school, Townsend was discovered by a record label in 1993 and was asked to perform lead vocals on Steve Vai's album Sex & Religion. After recording and touring with Vai, Townsend was discouraged by what he found in the music industry, and vented his anger on a solo album released under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. He soon assembled a band under the name, and released the critically acclaimed City in 1997. Since then, he has released three more studio albums with Strapping Young Lad, along with solo material released under his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records. Townsend's solo albums, a diverse mix of hard rock and progressive metal, have featured a varying lineup of supporting musicians. In 2002 he formed The Devin Townsend Band, a dedicated lineup which recorded and toured for two of his solo releases.

In 2007, Townsend disbanded both Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend Band, taking a break from touring to spend more time with his family. After a two-year hiatus, he began work on a four-album series called The Devin Townsend Project, with each album written in a different style. The first two entries in the series, Ki and Addicted, were released in 2009. Townsend scheduled tours throughout Australia and North America in 2010 in support of the albums, and released the next two, Deconstruction and Ghost, in 2011.

Townsend's trademark production style, featuring a heavily multitracked wall of sound, has been compared to the styles of Phil Spector and Frank Zappa. His versatile vocal delivery ranges from screaming to an opera-esque singing, and his songwriting is similarly diverse. Townsend's musical style is rooted in metal, and his albums are written to express different aspects of his personality.

Biography[link]

Early musical career (1972–1994)[link]

Devin Townsend was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, on May 5, 1972.^[2] Townsend picked up the banjo when he was five, and began playing guitar when he was 12.^[3] He participated in several metal bands while he was in high school, and founded Grey Skies at the age of 19. Around the same time he joined a popular local group called Caustic Thought, replacing Jed Simon on guitar and playing alongside bassist Byron Stroud, both of whom would later become members of Townsend's flagship band, Strapping Young Lad.^[4] In 1993, Townsend began writing material under the name Noisescapes, a project he later described as "just as violent as Strapping Young Lad".^[5]

Townsend recorded a Noisescapes demo and sent copies to various record labels. Relativity Records responded to Townsend with a record deal and Townsend began work on what was to be the first Noisescapes album, Promise.^[6] Shortly afterward, the label introduced him to musician Steve Vai. Impressed with Townsend's vocal work, Vai offered him the role of the lead vocalist on his new album Sex and Religion. Townsend took the offer, unfamiliar with Vai's work and unaware of his acclaim in the music world. After recording Sex and Religion, Townsend accompanied Vai on a world tour in support of the album.^[6] Townsend soon landed a second touring gig, this time with the opening band of Vai's tour, The Wildhearts.^[7] He played live with the band throughout half of 1994 in Europe, and appeared as a guest musician on their single Urge. Ginger, the band's frontman, remained close friends with Townsend,^[8] later co-writing several songs on Infinity and the Christeen + 4 Demos EP.

While on tour with The Wildhearts, Townsend formed a short-lived thrash metal project with Metallica's then-bassist Jason Newsted. The band, known as IR8, featured Newsted on vocals and bass, Townsend on guitar, and Tom Hunting of Exodus on drums. The group recorded a few songs together, although Townsend says that they never intended to go further than that. "People heard about it and thought we wanted to put out a CD, which is absolutely not true," he explains. "People took this project way too seriously."^[5] A demo tape was put together, but the material was not released until 2002, when Newsted published the IR8 vs. Sexoturica compilation.

Though Townsend was proud of what he had accomplished so early in his career, he was discouraged by his experience with the music industry. "I was becoming a product of somebody else's imagination, and it was mixing with my own personality," he later reflected. "This combination was appalling."^[9] He pushed to get his own projects off the ground. Despite getting notable touring gigs with other musicians, however, Townsend continued to face rejection of his own music. Relativity Records dropped Noisescapes from their label shortly after Townsend accepted Vai's offer, seeing no commercial appeal in Townsend's music.^[10] "I have a hunch they only offered me a deal to get me to sing with Steve," he mused.^[5] While touring with The Wildhearts, Townsend received a phone call from an A&R representative for Roadrunner Records, expressing an interest in his demos and an intention to sign him. The offer was ultimately rescinded by the head of Roadrunner, who regarded Townsend's recordings as "just noise".^[11]

[edit] Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing through Infinity (1994–1998)

In 1994, Century Media Records offered Townsend a contract to make "some extreme albums".^[11] He agreed to a five-album deal with the record label^[12], and also provided much of the guitar work on the 1994 album Millennium and the 1995 album Hard Wired by Vancouver industrial band Front Line Assembly. Townsend began to record material under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. He avoided using his real name at this point in career, looking for a fresh start after his high-profile Vai gig. "At the beginning, I wanted to avoid at all cost to use my name because I was known as the singer for Steve Vai and it wasn't the best publicity to have," he later explained. "I was playing somebody else's music and I was judged in respect to that music."^[9] Townsend produced and performed nearly all the instruments on the debut studio album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing, which was released in April 1995.

Following the release of the record, Townsend and several other musician friends he knew in Vancouver recorded his first solo album in 1996 entitled Punky Brüster – Cooked on Phonics. Written and recorded in under a month, the album was produced as a parody of punk rock bands and documents the act of selling out for mainstream success. Townsend founded his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records, to release the album. Townsend assembled a permanent lineup of Strapping Young Lad to record City, including prolific metal drummer Gene Hoglan, along with Townsend's former bandmates Jed Simon on guitar and Byron Stroud on bass. The industrial-influenced^[13] album was released in 1997. To this day, the album is widely considered Strapping Young Lad's best work,^[14][15] with Metal Maniacs calling it "groundbreaking"^[16] and Revolver naming it "one of the greatest metal albums of all time".^[17] Townsend himself considers it the band's "ultimate" album.^[18] Later that year, Townsend released his second solo album, Ocean Machine: Biomech. The album featured a mix of hard rock, ambient, and progressive rock.^[16]

After the completion of City and 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: Biomech."^[19] 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 Ocean Machine: Biomech,^[19] with music influenced by Broadway.^[16] Townsend returned to the studio, accompanied by Hoglan, to work on the album, on which Townsend played most of the instruments. Infinity was released in October 1998. Later in his career, Townsend has cited Infinity as his favorite solo record.^[13]

With Infinity, Townsend began to label all albums outside of Strapping Young Lad under his own name, dropping the Ocean Machine moniker, to reduce confusion. He wanted to show that despite the highly varied nature of his projects, they are all simply aspects of his identity.^[9] The album Biomech was relabeled and redistributed as Ocean Machine: Biomech, under Townsend's name, to reflect the new arrangement. Townsend's bandmates began to play two sets at their shows, one as Strapping Young Lad, and one as The Devin Townsend Band, playing songs from Townsend's solo albums.^[2]

[edit] Physicist and Terria (1999–2001)

Townsend performing at the Wâldrock Festival, Netherlands (June 30, 2001).

Townsend's next project took several years to come to fruition. After the creation of the IR8 demo tape, Townsend and Jason Newsted had begun work on a new project called Fizzicist, which they described as "heavier than Strapping Young Lad". When the IR8 tape was leaked, Newsted's Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich learned of the project. Hetfield was "fucking pissed" that Newsted was playing outside the band, and Newsted was prevented by his bandmates from working on any more side projects.^[20] With the project stalled, Townsend instead wrote the album himself, entitling it Physicist. Townsend assembled his Strapping Young Lad bandmates to record it, the only time this lineup was featured on a Devin Townsend album.^[2] The thrash-influenced^[16] Physicist was released in June 2000, and is generally considered a low point in Townsend's career. Hoglan and the rest of the band were dissatisfied with the way the sound was mixed,^[21] and Townsend considers it his worst album to date.^[22]

Feeling he had "ostracized a bunch of fans" with Physicist, Townsend felt he had the chance to make a more personal and honest record.^[13] Townsend was inspired one morning while driving across Canada with his band, and looked to write an "introspective" album dedicated to his homeland.^[23] He produced and recorded Terria, a "highly illustrated stream-of-consciousness" album,^[13] with Gene Hoglan on drums, Craig McFarland on bass and Jamie Meyer on keyboards. Townsend cited Ween's White Pepper as an inspiration for the album.^[13] Terria was released in November 2001.

[edit] Strapping Young Lad through Synchestra (2003–2006)

Townsend's solo run lasted until 2002. After a five-year break from recording, Strapping Young Lad reunited to record a new album. Townsend credits the album, Strapping Young Lad, as an emotional response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States. "If the world's about to blow up," said Townsend, "let's write the soundtrack for it."^[21] The album's lyrics were based more around fear and insecurity than the "hostile" lyrics of City.^[13] Musically, Strapping Young Lad was less industrial than City,^[24] and more reminiscent of death metal,^[25] with a "larger-than-life" rock production style.^[13] Townsend cited Front Line Assembly, Grotus, and Samael's Passage as influences.^[13] The self-titled album was released in February 2003. It received lukewarm reviews, with critics finding it inferior to City,^[26][27] but it was the band's first charting album, entering at 97th place on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.^[28]

Townsend filming the music video for "Zen" with Strapping Young Lad (2005).

While Strapping Young Lad was being reunited, Townsend formed a new, permanent band "on par with Strapping" to record and tour for his solo releases.^[13] The Devin Townsend Band consisted of Brian Waddell on guitar, Mike Young on bass, Ryan Van Poederooyen on drums, and Dave Young on keyboards. Townsend performed guitar, vocals, and production, as he did in Strapping Young Lad. Townsend worked on the band's first album, Accelerated Evolution, at the same time he was working on Strapping Young Lad, spending half the week on one and half on the other.^[29] Accelerated Evolution, named for the pace of putting a new band together in under a year,^[13] was released a month after Strapping Young Lad. Mike G. of Metal Maniacs called it "the album of the year", praising it for "the hard-to-accomplish trick of being extreme yet accessible, simultaneously heavy 'n' rockin' yet majestic and beautiful."^[16] Prior to the formation of The Devin Townsend Band, Townsend had represented his solo releases live with the Strapping Young Lad lineup; the band would play one set of Strapping Young Lad songs and one set of Devin Townsend songs.^[30] After the release of Accelerated Evolution, Townsend's two bands toured separately for their separate albums.^[2]

Strapping Young Lad began working on their next album, Alien, in March 2004.^[31] Feeling that the band's previous album did not live up to expectations, Townsend decided to take his music to a new extreme.^[32] To prepare for the new album, Townsend stopped taking the medication prescribed to treat his bipolar disorder.^[33] "I think that as an artist, in order for me to get to the next plateau, I kind of feel the need to explore things and sometimes that exploration leads you to places that are a little crazy," he explains. "And Alien was no exception with that."^[34] Although Townsend considered the album an "impenetrable mass of technicality",^[35] it was well received on its release, selling 3,697 copies in its first week^[36] and appearing on several Billboard charts.^[37]

Shortly thereafter Townsend began putting together the next Devin Townsend Band record, with the working title Human.^[38] Townsend intended the album as the more "pleasant" counterpart to Alien. "It's basically a record about coming back down to earth after being in space with Alien for a while."^[34] The album ended up being renamed Synchestra and was released in January 2006. Townsend showcased a wide variety of musical styles in Synchestra, blending his trademark "pop metal" with influences from folk, polka, and Middle Eastern music.^[39]

[edit] Ziltoid the Omniscient and hiatus (2006–2008)

Townsend's wife, Tracy Turner, gave birth to their first son, Reyner Liam Johnstan Townsend, on October 4, 2006.^[40] Around this time, Townsend withdrew from touring to spend time with his family. From home, Townsend completed his second solo ambient album, The Hummer, releasing it exclusively on his website in November 2006.

In May 2007, Townsend released Ziltoid the Omniscient, a tongue-in-cheek rock opera about the eponymous fictional alien. This was truly a solo album; he programmed the drums using Drumkit from Hell,^[41] a software drum machine that uses MIDI samples recorded by Tomas Haake of Meshuggah^[42] and played all other instruments himself. Shortly after the album's release, Townsend announced that he no longer planned to tour or make albums with Strapping Young Lad or The Devin Townsend Band. He explained that he was "burnt out on travelling, touring, and self promotion" and wished to do production work, write albums, and spend time with his family without the stress of interviews or touring.^[43]

In 2008, Townsend lent his voice to characters in several episodes of the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse (see Musician cameos in Metalocalypse for more). The original character design for Pickles the Drummer, one of the series' main characters, bore a striking resemblance to Townsend. The series' co-creator Brendon Small acknowledged the similarity, and altered the design before the series began. "We made sure he didn't look like Devin Townsend. We gave him the goatee and the dreadover so he wouldn't look like that."^[44]

The Devin Townsend Project (2008–present)[link]

Devin Townsend performing with the Devin Townsend Project in Cleveland, Ohio (January 25th, 2010).

After removing himself from the music industry, Townsend cut his trademark hair off^[45] and gave up drinking and smoking.^[46] Townsend found it "disconcerting" that he had difficulty writing music without drugs, and that he had trouble identifying his purpose as a musician. He spent a year producing albums in absence of writing, but found it unrewarding and decided to "pick up the guitar and just write".^[45] This began a period of "self discovery"^[46] where he learned "how to create without drugs".^[47]

Over two years, Townsend wrote over 60 songs, and found that they fit into "four distinct styles".^[45] In March 2009, Townsend announced his plans for a four-album series called The Devin Townsend Project,^[47] with the goal of clarifying his musical identity and being "accountable" for the persona he projects to the public.^[45] The project's concept includes a different "theme" and a different group of musicians on each album.^[47]

Ki, the first album of The Devin Townsend Project, was written to "set the stage" for the subsequent albums.^[47] Townsend channeled his newfound control and sobriety into Ki, a "tense, quiet" album that contrasts with much of the music he had been known for.^[45] Ki was released in May 2009.^[48] The second entry, a "commercial, yet heavy" album called Addicted, was released in November 2009.

Townsend returned to the stage in January 2010, touring North America with headliner Between the Buried and Me as well as Cynic and Scale the Summit. This was followed by a headlining tour in Australia and a series of high-profile shows in Europe (for example co-headlining the Brutal Assault festival in Czech Republic). He headlined a North American tour with UK label mates TesseracT supporting, which began in October 2010, and toured in Europe with support from Aeon Zen and Anneke van Giersbergen.^[49]

The final albums in The Devin Townsend Project series, Deconstruction and Ghost, were released on June 21, 2011. Townsend performed all four of The Devin Townsend Project albums in the UK and recorded them for a DVD called By a Thread – Live in London 2011 that will be released in 2012. The first three shows were held at the University of London Union, November 10–12, 2011. Ki, Addicted, and Deconstruction were each performed on one night, respectively. The show for Ghost was held at the Union Chapel, Islington on November 13, 2011.^[50] These four shows were each entitled "An Evening with the Devin Townsend Project".^[51]

Since 2009, Townsend has discussed plans to expand the Ziltoid the Omniscient franchise. His ideas included a sequel album, a "full blown musical" with the title Z²,^[52] but the album appeared to have been scrapped, as Townsend stated in mid-June 2011, "I’m very rapidly realizing that humor and metal… it doesn’t really work." However, as of July 2011, he has stated on his Twitter account that the album was still in the works, but was "vying for pole-position" as he works on other projects.^[53] He has expressed possible plans to begin a series of online videos, a series titled ZTV, instead, in which a Ziltoid hand puppet conducts interviews with various bands.^[54] A graphic novel based on the Ziltoid character, and possibly performing the Ziltoid album as a staged musical, at least as a one-off, have also been considered.^[55]

Townsend has stated on his Twitter that he is working on a new album, entitled Epicloud. He described the album as "Big, heavy, romantic kind of melodic stuff. Pretty, ethereal and simple."^[56] Anneke Van Giersbergen will take part in the album. Townsend also announced on his Facebook that the album would be released under The Devin Townsend Project name. Townsend recently played bass on the debut Bent Sea album Noistalgia. He also produced the record.^[57]

As part of Australia's Soundwave Festival Devin announced on Soundwave TV that he will begin recording Epicloud in Perth Australia after the festival.^[58][59]

Musical style[link]

Projects[link]

Townsend (right) performing with Strapping Young Lad in Bologna, Italy (2006).

Townsend designed his two main projects, the aggressive Strapping Young Lad and his more melodic solo material, as counterparts.^[60] Strapping Young Lad's music was a diverse mix of extreme metal genres; death metal, thrash metal, black metal^[61] and industrial metal. Townsend's solo material blends many genres and influences,^[62] with elements of atmospheric ambient music,^[63] hard rock and progressive rock,^[16] along with pop metal and arena rock.^[62] Despite Strapping Young Lad's greater mainstream acceptance, Townsend identifies more with his solo material, and has never intended Strapping Young Lad to be the focus of his music.^[64]

Production style[link]

As a self-proclaimed "fan of multitracking",^[34] Townsend has developed a trademark production style featuring an atmospheric, layered "wall of sound".^[39] Townsend has drawn critical praise for his productions, which "are always marked by a sense of adventure, intrigue, chaotic atmospherics and overall aural pyrotechnics", according to Mike G. of Metal Maniacs.^[16] Townsend mainly uses Pro Tools to produce his music, alongside other software suites such as Steinberg Cubase, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro.^[34] Townsend's musical ideas and production style have drawn comparisons to Phil Spector^[39] and Frank Zappa.^[65] Townsend has carried out the mixing and mastering for most of his solo work himself. He has also mixed and remixed work for other artists such as Rammstein, August Burns Red and Misery Signals.

Playing style[link]

Townsend mainly uses Open C tuning for both six and seven string guitar. He now also uses Open B tuning and Open B flat tuning (Open C tuning tuned a half and a whole step down respectively) on his six string guitars. Townsend's technique varies from fingerpicking, power chords and polychords to sweep-picked arpeggios and tapping techniques. He is also known for his heavy use of reverb and delay effects. He has expressed that he has no taste for shred guitar, saying that "Musically it doesn't do anything for me" and that he only solos when he thinks that he can within the context of the song.^[66] Townsend himself has stated, "Yeah it's played on the...Fourth fret, E string, Eighth fret, A string...", and has remarked, "I have no idea what notes they are, I have people who do that".^{[citation needed]}

Townsend used ESP guitars from 1994 to 2009, when he switched to Peavey guitars. In 2011, Peavey introduced a Devin Townsend signature 7-string baritone guitar with an EMG 81-7 in the bridge position and a 7-string EMG SA in the neck position. Townsend is also known for his usage of the Fractal Audio AxeFX system.

Influences[link]

Townsend draws influence from a wide range of music genres, most prominently heavy metal. Townsend has cited, among others, Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Frank Zappa, Broadway musicals, Abba, new age music, Zoviet France, King's X, Morbid Angel, Barkmarket, Grotus, Jane's Addiction, Metallica, Cop Shoot Cop and Fear Factory as his influences,^[67] and has also expressed his admiration for Meshuggah on several occasions, calling them "the best metal band on the planet".^[68] City was influenced by bands such as Foetus and Cop Shoot Cop,^[11] and The New Black's influences were Meshuggah, and "more traditional metal" like Metallica.^[22] He is also influenced by classical composers such as Igor Stravinsky.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Townsend has released fourteen solo studio albums and five studio albums with Strapping Young Lad. He has also released numerous EPs, live albums, compilation albums, and collaborations under a variety of monikers, and has produced several albums for other artists.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Devin Townsend

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Devin Townsend

• HevyDevy Records
• Devin Townsend on Myspace
• Devin Townsend at Allmusic
• Strapping Young Lad on Myspace
• Devin Townsend at YouTube

King Creosote
Background information
Birth name	Kenneth Anderson[1]
Origin	Fife, Scotland
Labels	Fence Records, Domino Records, 679 Recordings, Double Six
Associated acts	The Burns Unit, Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra, Khartoum Heroes, Jon Hopkins, Kid Canaveral
Website	kingcreosote.com

Kenny Anderson, known primarily by his stage name King Creosote,^[2] is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest, Thrawn, released in 2011.^[3] Anderson is also a member of Scottish-Canadian band, The Burns Unit. In 2011, Anderson's collaborative album with Jon Hopkins, Diamond Mine, was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Anderson's brothers are also musicians: Ian Anderson (known as Pip Dylan) and Gordon Anderson (Lone Pigeon) - who is lead singer and main songwriter with The Aliens. The three frequently collaborate at live shows and on album releases.

Musical career[link]

In 1995, local Fife musician Kenny Anderson launched his own label, Fence, and began recording albums under the name King Creosote:

I had a band and we did all the things you know you do with a band and you trial it and take advice and do shows, then you lose money and the band gets hacked off then the band breaks up and it just got to a point where I just questioned why I was doing it in the first place. In a way, it seemed like the fun had gone out of it. A lot of the songs I was writing were written for the band & things became big things, I just got to a point where, I thought the band were hating every song I was writing for whatever reason, some people were like oh no I don't want to play that, that's too this or that's too that. It just got to a point where the band broke up and I thought, well, you know what I just want to get back into recording again and doing it on my own, I don't have to watch the clock I'm not in a studio anymore more, and at the time I got one of the really early stand alone CD Burners and that was like a revelation because it meant I could make CDs so I'd have a DAT tape as a master then burn albums one at a time and do artwork.^[4]

Today, Anderson runs Fence Records alongside Johnny Lynch, as well as Fence's annual Homegame Festival.^[5]

In recent years, Anderson has teamed up with Domino Records who have co-released some of his albums. He also spent some time on Warner subsidiary, 679, which gave him major label backing for the first time.

To this end, KC Rules OK was re-released in 2006 with different versions of some songs, and a version of the album called "Chorlton and the Wh'earlies" recorded with The Earlies was available with some purchases. Bombshell was released with an additional disc, a DVD film of King Creosote and friends on tour.

In a June 2008 interview on BBC 6 Music, mistakenly introduced as "King Creole", he told Tom Robinson that he'd like to play a festival every weekend this summer and then return home for the weekdays.

In the 2007 film Hallam Foe two of his songs, "The Someone Else" and "King Bubbles in Sand", were featured.^[6]

In late 2009, Anderson released a new studio album Flick the Vs, and crafted a performance only album, entitled My Nth Bit of Strange in Umpteen Years. Anderson also contributed to the Cold Seeds collaborative album along with Frances Donnelly of Animal Magic Tricks, and Neil Pennycook and Pete Harvey from Meursault; which was released on the Edinburgh-based indie label Song, By Toad Records. Anderson, Donnelly and Pennycook all wrote songs for the project, which all four performers then recorded together; each singer often taking the lead vocal role on a song written by another of the artists. The album was given a special limited release at the Fence Records Homegame Festival in Anstruther, Fife in March 2010, before a general release was announced for June 2010.