Devin Townsend was forced to cut his Empath Vol. 1 North American Tour short due to the Coronavirus pandemic, putting him in a financial tailspin like so many of his peers that have been forced to do cancel tours, gigs and events. He set up a GoFundMe campaign earlier this week in an attempt to cover the lost revenue and had surpassed his $50,000 goal as of this writing.

Townsend has checked in with the following update, which includes new music.

"Hello all, welcome to the first installment of my Quarantine Project.

I want to be able to provide some relief during these coming times in the ways that I am able. People have been supportive of me in my time of need with the GoFundMe campaign, as we lost a lot of revenue due to the current and foreseeable touring cycle, and want to make sure I can provide something that in some way begins to say 'thank you.' In the ways I'm able, I will provide as much content as I can during this period as it's what I feel I can offer. 

My company has a lot of people involved, and your support has saved us in so many ways. I know we are all affected by this and yes, I could look for another job during this period like so many others will have to, but I figure that the best thing I can do is focus on my work and hopefully provide some sort of relief doing what Im best at. I want to give back as much as I can over the next while, and I hope that some of the work I can manage here will provide a bit of comfort during these troubled times for those who enjoy what I do.

This first song, is just a melancholy sort of thing called ‘Quarantine’ to start the proceedings. The idea with this is that it may be many different styles, Twitch streams, concerts, perhaps a podcast... I have been kept afloat by the audience and wish to help in any way I can (I am just learning how to do video and I will try to get more proficient at it as the time goes by). 

I will do everything I can to help in the ways that I'm able. On behalf of myself, Northern Music, HevyDevy Records, and the entire team that makes up my professional world, Thanks for supporting (saving) our business during this downturn. We realize the amount of people that are suffering and dont take this lightly. I figure the best way I can express this is to simply get to work. I will make sure I provide for the people who donated especially. 

I am working on lots of ideas to provide during this hard period. I truly cant express my gratitude enough. 

Thank you."

Drums: Morgan Agren
Violguitar: Mattias Eklundh