 While Strapping Young Lad was being reunited , Townsend formed a new , permanent band " on par with Strapping " to record and tour for his solo releases . The Devin Townsend Band consisted of Brian " Beav " Waddell on guitar , Mike Young on bass , Ryan Van <unk> on drums , and Dave Young on keyboards . Townsend performed guitar , vocals , and production , as he did in Strapping Young Lad . Townsend worked on the band 's first album , Accelerated Evolution , at the same time he was working on Strapping Young Lad , spending half the week on one and half on the other . Accelerated Evolution , named for the pace of putting a new band together in under a year , was released a month after Strapping Young Lad . Mike G. of Metal Maniacs called it " the album of the year " , praising it for " the hard @-@ to @-@ accomplish trick of being extreme yet accessible , simultaneously heavy ' n ' <unk> ' yet <unk> and beautiful . " Prior to the formation of the Devin Townsend Band , Townsend had represented his solo releases live with the Strapping Young Lad lineup ; the band would play one set of Strapping Young Lad songs and one set of Devin Townsend songs . After the release of Accelerated Evolution , Townsend 's two bands toured separately for their separate albums . 
