After taking time off from creating music, Devin Townsend began working on a four-album series dubbed The Devin Townsend Project in 2009. Recruiting pieces from the former The Devin Townsend Band as well as his network of local and veteran musicians, Townsend assembled a different group of musicians for each of the albums to create four albums with distinct styles. The Devin Townsend Project's first release the first album of the series Ki, in 2009 featuring jazz drummer Duris Maxwell for a quieter sound compared to the subsequent album, Addicted. Also released in 2009, the sophomore effort offers straightforward hard rock. The final two albums were both release in 2011. Created with a cast of veteran metal musicians, Destruction is unmistakably a heavy metal album while the final installment, Ghost has been described by Townsend as the mellowest and prettiest recording of his career. Joined by several different casts of musicians, Townsend has promoted The Devin Townsend Project on tour across North America and Europe.
