Townsend draw influence from a wide range of music genres , most prominently heavy metal . Townsend have cited , among others , Judas Priest , W.A.S.P. , Frank Zappa , Broadway musicals , ABBA , new @-@ age music , Zoviet France , King 's X , Morbid Angel , Barkmarket , Grotus , Jane 's Addiction , Metallica , Cop Shoot Cop and Fear Factory as his influences , and have 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 Addiction . City was influenced by bands such as Foetus and Cop Shoot Cop , and The New Black 's influences was 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 .