The Puzzle / Snuggles Explained
| The Puzzle / Snuggles |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Devin Townsend |
| Cover: | Devin Townsend - The Puzzle.png |
| Caption: | The Puzzle cover |
| Recorded: | 2020–2021 |
| Studio: | The Armoury Studios, The Farm, Devlab, and The Armory, Vancouver, Canada |
| Genre: | Ambient, experimental[1] |
| Length: | (The Puzzle)
(Snuggles) |
| Label: | HevyDevy |
| Producer: | Devin Townsend |
| Prev Title: | Empath |
| Prev Year: | 2019 |
| Next Title: | Lightwork |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
The Puzzle and Snuggles are the nineteenth and the twentieth studio albums by Canadian metal musician Devin Townsend, released on his own label HevyDevy Records on December 3, 2021.
Production
Devin Townsend has explained that The Puzzle is "an elaborate and much more chilled out" version of his 2004 album Devlab[2] and "more a collaborative, multimedia art project that acts as a stopgap between Empath and the next record" that "gave me a chance to purge and be completely creatively free", whereas Snuggles is "meant to be something you listen to in order to feel better... Puzzle is chaos, Snuggles is calm. The whole project is meant to express that I think there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel we’ve been through."[3] The two albums serve as a prelude to a "more traditional album", Lightwork, produced by Garth Richardson (Rage Against the Machine, Mudvayne, Nickelback) and released in November 2022, and "an ambitious project he’s been teasing for years called The Moth".[4]
Personnel
Credits adapted from the albums' liner notes.[5] [6]
The Puzzle
- Devin Townsend – bass, guitar, vocals, keyboards and synths
- Morgan Ågren — drums and percussion, vocals
- Fazal – drums and percussion
- Anup Sastry — drums and percussion
- Chris Kelly — drums and percussion, vocals
- Kat Epple — drums and percussion, keyboards and synths, strings, wind instruments, and horns
- Nathan Navarro – bass
- Jonas Hellborg – bass
- Jean Savoie – bass
- Mike Keneally – guitar
- Aman Khosla – guitar, vocals
- Steve Vai – guitar
- Plini – guitar
- Mark Cimino – guitar, vocals, keyboards and synths
- Matt Picone – guitar
- Andy McKee – guitar
- Jed Simon – guitar
- Chrys Johnson – guitar
- Yotam Afik – guitar
- Buckley Kelly – guitar
- Ana Patan – guitar, vocals
- John Bertsche – guitar, vocals
- Tina Ågren – vocals
- Echo Picone – vocals
- Tanya Ghosh – vocals
- Gitai Barak – vocals
- Ché Aimee Dorval – vocals
- Anneke van Giersbergen - vocals
- Samantha Preis – vocals
- Anne Preis – vocals
- Arabella Packford – vocals
- Blindboy Boatclub – vocals
- Shiraz Afik – vocals
- Korina Savoie – vocals
- Chris Johnson – vocals
- Mom Alvarado – vocals
- Pete Mark – vocals
- Amy Wong – vocals
- Mattias Eklundh – keyboards and synths, strings, wind instruments, and horns
- Diego Tejeida – keyboards and synths
- Ben Searles – keyboards and synths
- Mike St-Jean – keyboards and synths
- Phillip Peterson – strings, wind instruments, and horns
- Neyveli Radhakrishna – strings, wind instruments, and horns
- Jørgen Munkeby – strings, wind instruments, and horns
Snuggles
- Devin Townsend – drums and percussion, bass, guitar, vocals, keyboards and synths
- Morgan Ågren – drums and percussion
- Chris Kelly – drums and percussion
- Paul Soroski – drums and percussion
- Jake VanDerGinst – drums and percussion
- Kat Epple – drums and percussion, keyboards and synths, strings, wind instruments, and horns
- Andy McKee – drums and percussion, guitar
- Nathan Navarro – bass
- Jean Savoie – bass
- Andy Timmons – guitar
- Markus Reuter – guitar
- Chrys Johnson – guitar
- Buckley Kelly – guitar
- Ana Patan – guitar, vocals
- Tina Ahlin – vocals
- Aman Khosla – vocals
- Tanya Ghosh – vocals
- Omer Cordell – vocals
- Ché Aimee Dorval – vocals
- Ash Pearson – vocals
- Chika Buston – vocals
- Samantha Preis – vocals
- Anne Preis – vocals
- Arabella Packford – vocals
- Adrian Mottram – vocals
- Katrina Natale – vocals
- Mattias Eklund – keyboards and synths, strings, wind instruments, and horns
- Diego Tejeida – keyboards and synths
- Phillip Peterson – strings, wind instruments, and horns
- Neyveli Radhakrishna – strings, wind instruments, and horns
Technical
- Devin Townsend – production, engineering, editing, mixing
- Leonardo Delgado – additional editing
- Troy Glessner – mastering
- Levi Seitz – lacquer cut
- Travis Smith – artwork, packaging design
Notes and References
- Web site: THE WEEKLY INJECTION: New Releases From DEVIN TOWNSEND, VOLBEAT, and More Out Today - 12/3. 2021-12-03. Metal Injection. 2021-12-05.
- Web site: Devin Townsend: Empath. March 29, 2019. Exclaim!.
- Web site: Devin Townsend Explains Two New Albums, The Puzzle and Snuggles, in New Documentary Series. August 9, 2021. MetalSucks.
- Web site: Devin Townsend Outlines Plans for Next Several Albums (Including The Moth!). August 25, 2021. MetalSucks.
- The Puzzle. 2021. Devin Townsend. HevyDevy Records. liner notes. HDR0001007.
- Snuggles. 2021. Devin Townsend. HevyDevy Records. liner notes. HDR0001008.
