Devin Townsend has two distinct projects-Strapping Young Lad, which focuses on aggression, heaviness, and anger, and his solo work, which is more melodic, and often times atmospheric. While his solo work can be divided into several different projects(Ocean Machine, Devin Townsend, The Devin Townsend Band, and The Devin Townsend Project) they are all effectivley solo projects, with a somewhat similar style, and are grouped together in the poll. Which one do you prefer? I myself prefer Strapping Young Lad, quite simply because I enjoy heavy, technical music. A fair amount of his solo work comes across as dull to me.

His solo work. Although I do enjoy SYL's over-the-top, sharp, metal aggression, it comes off as a little one dimensional to me when compared to his solo work. His solo work also shows a bit more character, a bit more personal and honest if you will. I'm also really into atmospheric and experimental music, so there's that too. Also, I think he has carved his own signature sound and style, starting with SYL, and then really giving it a detailed finish with his solo work, which makes him a pretty important musician in the long run. I imagine his solo musical legacy will inspire plenty of folk for years to come. ^-^

Hard to choose.I love them both but I vote for his solo project "Devin Townsend".

I only enjoyed some of his songs from Deconstruction, and Ziltoid so obvious my vote goes for his solo.

I voted SYL. I do also like his solowork, but sometimes it's a bit boring.

I couldn't decide if i tried. They're both so different but both so good.

It was his Strapping Young Lad stuff that got me into him, so that's where my vote went. Of course his solo stuff is also great.

Voted Solo.
None of his other work beats Terria, Ki and Ghost for me.

This is a really tough decision for me. Devin has said that his solo work is meant to express a different side of his personality, eg something other than SYL's aggresive, industrial-thrash feel. Yet at the same time, Devin is a genius who brings a great variety to whatever project he may take up, and I believe there's a great amount of diversity to be found among both his SYL and solo work. But at the end of the day, I think I have to vote for his solo work, because I can tell that with each solo record, Devin devotes a great deal of both time and energy in making it different than its predecessor, while still retaining some of its core "Devin Townsendy" qualities. So yeah, there's my two cents

I find his solo work to be pretty aimless noodling, most of the time. Ghost puts me to sleep, Ziltoid and Deconstruction have their moments but they're incredibly cheesy and pompous, and some of the hazier stuff just has nothing to hold onto. Then again, SYL was pretty much a one-hit wonder with City. The rest of their albums are very mediocre compared to that masterpiece.

It's frustrating, because when Devin hits, he hits really hard. I love few albums as much as I love City, and both Addicted! and Terria are really great. But over 50% the time, Devin just repeats himself and masturbates all over his would-be-Phil-Spector Wall Of Sound.

Still, City is too good to be beat by his solo work, even when it hits.

Very tough one to choose, but in the end i had to go with his 'solo' work which is absolutly amazing. Syl still makes my top 5 bands though.

Devin=God

Its hard to choose, both projects are different.
You can ask, which solo projects we do prefer?

Written by Fat & Sassy! on 17.07.2011 at 05:38

His solo work. Although I do enjoy SYL's over-the-top, sharp, metal aggression, it comes off as a little one dimensional to me when compared to his solo work. His solo work also shows a bit more character, a bit more personal and honest if you will. I'm also really into atmospheric and experimental music, so there's that too. Also, I think he has carved his own signature sound and style, starting with SYL, and then really giving it a detailed finish with his solo work, which makes him a pretty important musician in the long run. I imagine his solo musical legacy will inspire plenty of folk for years to come. ^-^

I couldnt have said it better my self.

I Love HEVY DEVY'S SOLO STUFF! Only the solo output of an artist is an extension of their own persona.It's like getting to know devin himself!!!!!

Such a hard choice, seriously. But, anything that Devin takes a part in is pretty much top notch in my book. Strapping Young Lad is really awesome, but like Fat & Sassy said, his solo work expresses much more variety, and it's simply excellent.

Strapping Young Lad, to me, is just another extension of Devin's excellence. And I do enjoy it so.

The solo work spans so many various genres, feelings, and ideas that it's hard to compare such a vast array of work with Strapping Young Lad, which only really covered Devin's cracked out angry phase. I'd say the vast array of work that Devin puts out in his solo career really outdoes what he did in SYL. While I still like what he did in SYL, a lot of the stuff he did in his solo career (Ziltoid, Ocean Machine, Deconstruction), is a little more interesting to me.

Out of skill and all that jazz I know very little about, I think his Solo Projects would get the vote, but out of preference I voted SYL. His solo projects, like everyone says, is practically just him, trying extend his feelings/history/stories to us in a manner we can understand - whether it be loud, boastful and epic (Deconstruction, Infinity?, Addicted?) to something more calming and relaxed (Ki, Ghost, Ocean Machine?). I think its a matter of him hitting the right notes, and when he does its beautiful.

That being said, I like aggressive stuff, and City is enough for me to take everything I just said and throw it out the window. FUCK that's a powerful album...

Townsend for sure

I like Townsend music but enjoy Strapping Young Lad lyrics. Hard to choose so if considering music, Townsend get voted.

Strapping Young Lad is Amazing BUT his Solo project is very very creative and more progressive with albums like Deconstruction and Addicted and Epicloud its like he started expanding his music taste more and more that made albums like Casualties Of Cool

Solo work, while SYL is fun, it can get rather monotonous, while the solo work is much more melodic and diverse, and I love the atmosphere.

I've enjoyed a lot of solo works like Ocean Machine, Addicted, Deconstruction and even the latest Casualities of Cool record but none of it comes close to how good he did more straight forward metal in his SYL days. That I admire more than any of his other projects and SYL also had Gene Hoglan so thats where my vote goes.