Devin Townsend has revealed exclusively to Metal Hammer that he was very disillusioned by the general music industry reaction to his last album, 'Infinity'.

"It left me with utter disdain for the music business," explains the multi-talented Canadian. "They really do seem to put image over substance. It was in a way, a life-changing experience. 'Infinity' got a load of good reviews, but people seemed to be confused about the music, and kept going on about the lack of an image to carry it. That's why my next project, with Fizzicist, is gonna have a larger-than-life image, a cartoon reaction in effect, which will just mock the attitude of the music business."

Townsend, often regarded as a mad genius, also admits he's not sure what mental state he's actually in at the moment.

"I'm always referred to as being something of a lunatic, but I don't know if that's true. Reality is very frightening for me to face. Every time I go to a supermarket on my own, all I do is focus on what other people around me are saying. It is paranoia, I know, but I can't help it. I think I'm getting better at dealing with people, but maybe I'm just deluding myself, I dunno. Am I totally fucked, or just holding on to my sanity? I wish I could answer that. Sometimes I think that I'm a freedom fighter against intolerance. Then on other occasions I believe myself to be a self-deluding fruitcake!"

"I'm trying my best to get by in society as a law-abiding citizen, because it saves so much hassle. I could be like Ginger (The Wildhearts) and tell everyone to fuck off, but that's just not me."

Townsend is currently immersing himself in his home studio, a place where he feels most comfortable.

"I have everything I want down in my basement. If I get bored with recording, then I can go play video games. I've got an amazing amount of focus when it comes to things that interest me. But there are only a few things that do interest me, one of which is making music. I have my own label, Hevy Devy, and you know what, apart from working on my own material, I'd love to produce other bands. I know I'd be good at it. But every time I talk to a band about doing this, it turns out all they want me to do is engineer, which is not what interests me."

"Ultimately, I think my music's stellar and I'll stand by everything I've done. But if I have to give people a real simplified version of what I am in order to seduce them, then that's what I'll do on the Fizzicist project. Believe me, this is gonna fuck with people's minds!"