 Townsend draws influence from a wide range of music genres , most prominently heavy metal . Townsend has cited , among others , Judas Priest , <unk> , Frank Zappa , Broadway musicals , <unk> , new @-@ age music , <unk> France , King 's X , <unk> Angel , <unk> , <unk> , Jane 's <unk> , Metallica , Cop Shoot Cop and Fear Factory as his influences , and has also expressed his admiration for Meshuggah on several occasions , calling them " the best metal band on the planet " . Townsend lists Paul Horn and Ravi Shankar as the " two most important musicians in his life " . The two songs that Townsend credits with changing the way he thought about music are " The Burning Down " by King 's X , and " Up the Beach " by Jane 's <unk> . City was influenced by bands such as <unk> and Cop Shoot Cop , and The New Black 's influences were Meshuggah , and " more traditional metal " like Metallica . He is also influenced by orchestral and classical composers such as John Williams , Trevor Jones and Igor Stravinsky . 
