Physicist Enhanced CD

This page contains text and photos from the Enhanced CD portion of *Physicist*.

## FAQ

### 1) Why doesn't the band tour more often?

The band do plan to tour mare than they have in the past. The main hindrance before was a lack of distribution in some areas that made it not economical to tour there. Other problems were label difficulties that have since been resolved.

### 2) In my Infinity booklet, it lists a song called "Om" that is not on the disk. Was it a bonus track that wasn't released here?

It was a typo in the booklet that is included in all regions."om", along with 3 other songs, appears on the Christeen (Plus Four Demos) EP. There were too many songs for the record and not enough time, so Devin decided to divide it up.

### 3) What does the SYL symbol mean?

It's just the letters "S", "Y", and "L" made to look like a Japanese character. It doesn't have any other meaning.

### 4) What kind of gear does Devin use and what are his settings?

ESP guitars (Dev uses an Explorer, and a Telecaster), EMG 81 pick-ups, 10-52 gauge strings tuned to C, 1 Peavy5150 head, 1 Marshall 50watt head, 1 Roland GP 100. They also tune to C, ie. C G C G C E.

### 5) What is the truth behind your side-project with Jason Newsted and Ginger?

"My ideas were bigger than my follow-through. It couldn't and didn't work." - Devin

### 6) Will there be follow-ups to the Ocean Machine or Infinity albums, or were they 'one-off' records?

Infinity was definitely a one-off (except for the EP that followed, but that was really a group of songs that didn't make the cut) but there may be another Ocean Machine. There is no way to tell. The records are never planned, they just happen. It depends on the direction Devin's moods take him.

### 7) What other projects/CDs has Devin made appearances on?

IR8 - A project with Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and Exodus drummer Tom Hunting. A 4 song tape was all that came of it. This was basically just a weekend jam session and nothing spectacular. If you're really insistent on finding it, it is rumoured to have been released on a 3 cd Metallica bootleg, and possibly some others as well in that case. Keep an eye out.

Front Line Assembly - Devin played guitar on these tracks from the album "Millennium:" Vigilante, Division of Mind, and Sex Offender. These guys are one of the very prestiged industrial esque bands out there, always a good word on their music.

Tree of the Sun - Along with Jason Newsted (Metallica), Scott Reeder (Kyuss), and Dale Crover (Melvins) produced a four song tape as the IR8 project did. This was apparently another metal fuelled project devised from Jason Newsted. NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE

Front Line Assembly - Devin appeared on the album "Hard Wired," doing guitar work on the tracks "Circuitry," "Modus Operandi," "Transparent Specis," "Barcode," and "Condemned."

James Murphy - Well known for his work in Testament, James Murphy had Devin guest on two tracks for the album "Convergence." Devin provides vocals for "Since Forgotten" and vocals and keys on "The Last One." The disc is not a typical guitar solo album, and is full of crunching riffs, and blistering guitar work in a tasteful manner.

Working Man - Devin did vocals for the song "Natural Science" on this Rush tribute album, joined by James Murphy from above on guitar. If you hate Rush, this track still kicks all ass, as it has that Devin quality to it. Most Rush fans I've talked to hate this track more than any other. Way to go Dev! In stores.

Legends of Metal - The Judas Priest tribute from Century Media, Devin, along with John Harder, Marty Chapman, and Jed Simon ripped up a cover of Judas Priest's "The Sinner" for the lovely disc. Some other great bands as well.

Stuck Mojo - Devin took the role of producer/programmer on the Stuck Mojo disc, "Pigwalk." Information on both Stuck Mojo and the Judas Priest disc.

Zimmers Hole - This is Jed and Byron's side project, filled with raunchy death guitar and in your face downright nasty cessful humour. This is another example of Dev's producing work. Purchasing info is available on the HevyDevy website.

The Wildhearts - Anarchic Airwaves: The Wildhearts at the BBC. Devin plays on Suckerpunch and Drinking About Life. Recorded live at the Reading Festival, August 28, 1994

### 8) What bonus tracks are available on Japanese/European releases of Strapping Young Lad discs?

Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing - Exciter - Judas Priest cover Japan (Now available on Strapping Young Lad - No Sleep 'till Bedtime)

City - Centipede (Now available on Strapping Young Lad - No Sleep Till Bedtime)

Ocean Machine/Infinity - none, despite what import dealers tell you.

Vai - Sex & Religion - Just Cartilage (Co-written by Devin)

Strapping Young Lad - No Sleep Till Bedtime
The Japanese version has demos from the recording of City and excerpts from a drunken recording session in Sweden called GUNT.

### 9) Has Devin had any vocal training?

During Sex and Religion Devin had a few lessons with vocal trainer Roger Love (who is known for his work with Wilson-Phillips, quite a dynamic) to beef his voice up for the tour. No extensive training was undertaken, all vocal advancements are through practice and touring.

### 10) What other projects have SYL members done?

Unit:187 - This consisted of Jed, Byron and John Morgan, former SYL keyboardist. Simply a techno-industrial project. Yep, techno-industrial, they cant decide what it is, so don't bother too much with the label, techno-industrial says enough to give you an idea, now go check it out.

Zimmers Hole - Jed and Byron's project full of all out death metal subjected to toilet mouth humour. Devin did the production on this one, you know what that means. Totally a load of fun.

Gene Hoglan - has The Almighty Punchdrunk which is pure, unadulterated metal. Also available from HevyDevy.