Devin Townsend was recently asked if there was any chance his old band Strapping Young Lad would make a comeback. Townsend said his current happiness in life is "not worth sacrificing to go back to a time when I wasn't happy" and that "it's not a part of my life in a way that I can relate to [anymore]." To which some fans essentially responded "alright great, but could a Strapping Young Lad reunion happen?"
In a new interview with Andrew Haug Radio, Townsend makes it explicitly and abundantly clear that Strapping Young Lad isn't coming back. Townsend said he's touched on the topic multiple times over the years as well, yet some folks out there aren't getting the message despite it being stated in no uncertain circumstances.
"That's confusing. I can explain it until I'm blue in the face, and people are, like, 'Yeah, cool. Anyway, can you do it?'" said Townsend. "I think it's good for me having to try and work on my patience, because there's a part of that's, like, 'Really? You think that it's that easy?' I know why they want it. I love it too — I love it — but I can't do it.
"I said the other day in an interview, and this was an analogy I thought was really cool… So you go to a smorgasbord, you go to an all-you-can-eat buffet, and you go to that place because they have this type of shrimp, or whatever, that's, like, the shit — it's deep fried, it's got a spicy sauce. And you know that that's the place, and you go there and you get a big plate of it and eat it. And you're, like, 'That is my favorite thing in the world.'
"And you go back and it's out; the restaurant's out. And you say, 'When are you bringing more shrimp out?' And they're, like, 'We ran out of shrimp. The ingredients that we had that created that dish, we don't have those anymore.' And as opposed to going, like, 'Oh, I understand. It's a bummer. Okay. Cool. See ya,' it's, like, they're yelling at the bowl of shrimp or they're yelling at the restaurant. They're, like, 'Ah, I want shrimp. More. I want more shrimp.' And [the restaurant says], 'But, dude, I don't have any more shrimp.' It's, like, 'But shrimp…'
"The well runs dry. There's no more water in the well. It seems absurd to me to yell at the well. It's, like, 'Dude, there's no more water in there. I know you like it.' But the thing that made it authentic, the process that made it important solved what it was that made that so vital. So to say, 'Oh, you can do it again…'"
Townsend later said he doesn't blame people for wanting more Strapping Young Lad, and has made peace with the fact that he's always going to get asked about if it'll happen. When Haug noted that Townsend was making no apologies for the lack of Strapping Young Lad after their final breakup, Townsend responded "What am I gonna apologize for? It's, like, 'Dude, I ran out of shrimp. Sorry.'"
So there you have it. Shut up about a Strapping Young Lad, reunion.
