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Canadian metal maverick Devin Townsend is set to release his ambitious, orchestral-metal opus ‘The Moth’, on the 29th May 2026 via InsideOutMusic.
An album over a decade in the making, it existed in the back of Devin Townsend’s mind as his “life’s work”. Then, about six years ago, after an acoustic show in Amsterdam, Townsend was approached by the head of the North Netherlands’ Orchestra and Choir with an offer; and with that moment The Moth stopped being an idea and began to become a reality.
Today, he is pleased to reveal another part of The Moth narrative in the shape of the visceral and heavy double-single ‘Prepare For War / The Big Snit’. Watch the video, directed by Studio Sparks, above.
Devin comments: “This is a track that essentially acts as a ‘soundtrack for an unmade movie’ …if you think of it as a ‘song’ it’s not really going to work, but if you think of it as a cinematic ‘experience’ that is representative of the final moments before a ‘fundamental change’, it’s a cool adventure.
Either viewed from the lens of the ‘war’ being that of two warring factions whose actions have culminated in a ‘final battle’, or the same thing being essentially a metaphor for an internal struggle, it works in the same light. The battle itself can be representative of a decision, loss, change, or whatever. But sitting with the difficulty of life and our natures can often be violent work, so ‘the fastest way out is through’ and this piece of music represents that process. The ending is meant to be a representation of a sort of personal awakening.
The name ‘The Big Snit’ was taken from a short cartoon from the Canadian national film board by the same name I grew up with. If you get a chance, look it up on YouTube … I guess my version here is simply a kind of heavy metal version of that :)”
Stream the single here: https://dvn.lnk.to/PrepareForWarTheBigSnit
The Moth constitutes 3 distinct parts across its release. In addition to the main album, The Moth – The Afterlife highlights the grandeur of the orchestra & choir, in what might be considered a more pure version of The Moth experience. The Moth – The War is a recording of the live musical debut that took place in March 2025 in The Netherlands, showcasing the raw emotion of performing The Moth for the very first time. Pre-order now here: https://dvn.lnk.to/TheMoth
The full track-listing is as follows:
1. Semi-prologue
2. War Beyond Words
3. The Moth
4. Ode To My Eye
5. Enter The City
6. Covered By Causes
7. Lexin
8. Runaways
9. A Proxy For God
10. The Mothers
11. Orion
12. Stay There
13. Home At Night
14. Intermission
15. Lexin Returns
16. The Clergy
17. Prepare For War
18. The Big Snit
19. Silver Princess
20. A Life in Review
21. Metamorphosis
22. Stained Hearts
23. Let Go
24. We Don’t Deserve Dogs
Devin also recently announced his return to touring, with the 23-date UK & Europe ‘Metamorphosis’ solo tour. Tickets are on sale now. Full list of dates below:
Tue 1 Sep – BIRMINGHAM – GLEE CLUB
Wed 2 Sept – BATH – KOMEDIA
Thu 3 Sep – SOUTHAMPTON – 1865
Fri 4 Sep – EXETER – PHOENIX
Sun 6 Sep – LONDON – UNION CHAPEL
Mon 7 Sep – OSLO – SENTRUM SCENE
Wed 9 Sep – GOTHENBURG – PUSTERVIK
Thu 10 Sep – STOCKHOLM – NYA CIRKUS
Sat 12 Sep – HELSINKI – FINLANDIA TALO
Tue 15 Sep – HAMBURG – MARKTHALLE
Wed 16 Sep – WARSAW – STODOLA
Fri 18 Sep – VIENNA – SIMM CITY
Sun 20 Sep – ZURICH – VOLKHAUS
Tue 22 Sep – PARIS – LE BATACLAN
Wed 23 Sep – MARSEILLE – LE SILO
Sat 26 Sep – MUNICH – WERK 7 THEATRE
Mon 28 Sep – COLOGNE – STADTHALLE
Tue 29 Sep – UTRECHT – TIVOLI GZ
Thu 1 Oct – BRIGHTON – OLD MARKET
Fri 2 Oct – CARDIFF – THE GATE
Sun 4 Oct – GLASGOW – ORAN MOR
Mon 5 Oct – MANCHESTER – RNCM
Tue 6 Oct – LEEDS – HOWARD ASSEMBLY ROOMS
If The Moth has a central gravitational theme, Townsend names it plainly: true self-acceptance. Something sturdier than slogans, closer to a practiced willingness to face what is uncomfortable without turning away. As Devin explains: “The most obvious metaphor for change within the concept of this project was a moth: from caterpillar to an entirely different creature—one so drawn to the light that it burns itself away. What remains is immutable—only the spirit.”
At the hardest moments, when abandoning the project might have seemed rational, Townsend points to the team as the decisive factor. A host of incredible musicians and contributors participated throughout the course of this process, as well as the North Netherlands Orchestra & Choir and orchestrators Joseph Stevenson & Niels Bye Nielsen. Long time band members Darby Todd, Mike Keneally, James Leach played a huge part, as well as guests including the Steve Vai, Anneke van Giersbergen, Lynn Wu (Ou), and artists Travis Smith & Eliran Kantor, plus key creative consultation from Mike St-Jean. The technical teams that worked tirelessly included co-mixer Chris Edrich, recording engineers Ben Searles & Jacob Hermann, Atmos mixer Ron Searles, Mastering engineer Troy Glessner, choirs in various countries throughout the world, and peripheral individuals that helped land this behemoth of a plane.
DEVIN TOWNSEND online:
http://www.facebook.com/dvntownsend
https://www.patreon.com/cw/DevinTownsend
https://twitter.com/dvntownsend
https://www.instagram.com/dvntownsend/
https://www.youtube.com/user/poopynuggeteer/featured
http://twitch.tv/devin_townsend
INSIDEOUTMUSIC online:
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic
Photo credit – Tom Hawkins
