DEVIN TOWNSEND Releases Double-Single "Prepare For War / The Big Snit"

Taken from ambitious, orchestral-metal opus The Moth

Photo Credit: Tom Hawkins

Canadian metal maverick Devin Townsend recently announced the long-awaited release of his ambitious, orchestral-metal opus ‘The Moth’, out 29^th 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, here: https://youtu.be/wdhwXKtVBR0

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.

The Moth will be available on several formats including Ltd Deluxe 3CD+Blu-ray Artbook that includes the album on CD1, ‘The Moth – The Afterlife’ on CD2 & ‘The Moth – The War (Live)’ on CD3. The Blu-ray includes the full ‘The Moth – The War’ live film, as well as Dolby Atmos & High Resolution Stereo Mixes of the ‘The Moth’ and ‘The Moth – The Afterlife’. It will also be available as Limited 2CD Edition (including ‘The Moth-The Afterlife’ on CD2), Standard CD Jewelcase and as Gatefold Triple-Gatefold 180g 2LP & Fold-Out LP-booklet, as well as digitally. 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, Sep 1 BIRMINGHAM   GLEE CLUB
• Wed, Sep 2       BATH                 KOMEDIA
• Thu, Sep 3        SOUTHAMPTON            1865
• Fri, Sep 4          EXETER             PHOENIX
• Sun, Sep 6       LONDON           UNION CHAPEL
• Mon, Sep 7        OSLO                SENTRUM SCENE
• Wed, Sep 9       GOTHENBURG  PUSTERVIK
• Thu, Sep 10       STOCKHOLM     NYA CIRKUS
• Sat, Sep 12        HELSINKI           FINLANDIA TALO
• Tue, Sep 15       HAMBURG        MARKTHALLE
• Wed, Sep 16      WARSAW          STODOLA
• Fri, Sep 18         VIENNA            SIMM CITY
• Sun, Sep 20        ZURICH             VOLKHAUS
• Tue, Sep 22        PARIS               LE BATACLAN
• Wed, Sep 23       MARSEILLE       LE SILO
• Sat, Sep 26         MUNICH           WERK 7 THEATRE
• Mon, Sep 28       COLOGNE         STADTHALLE
• Tue, Sep 29        UTRECHT          TIVOLI GZ
• Thu, Oct 1           BRIGHTON        OLD MARKET
• Fri, Oct 2             CARDIFF           THE GATE
• Sun, Oct 4           GLASGOW        ORAN MOR
• Mon, Oct 5          MANCHESTER   RNCM
• Tue, Oct 6           LEEDS               HOWARD ASSEMBLY ROOMS