25 years on from its original release, the cover has changed in that Devin has had a new photo taken, and the album has been remastered and also now includes seven bonus tracks including the songs from the ‘Christeen’ EP. I vividly remember the impact this album had on me when it was released, as while I knew Devin from Strapping Young Lad, he had only released one album under his own name prior to this one and when I heard this I was absolutely blown away by the production and his approach to prog metal. It was recorded after Devin had checked himself into a mental hospital where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and while he played most of the instruments himself, he also brought in SYL bandmate Gene Hoglan on drums, Fear Factory bassist Christian Olde Wolbers plus Andy Codrington (trombone).
It was with this album that Devin really got to grips with his wall of sound approach to production: he later described this as “the parent project” of ‘City’ and ‘Biomech’, and anyone who knows those albums will agree this bastard offspring is far greater than what went before. This was the release which had me desperate to find out more about the mad Canuck and is still as fresh today as it was all those years ago. That he can go full on pronk on “Ants” is just wonderful but compare that to the anthemic bombast which is “War”, still one of my very favourite tracks of his, and it is interesting to note just how close the ‘Retinal Circus’ version is to this. This album is where Devin really came of age and found himself, and the learnings he took on that journey has been the foundation for what he has achieved since. These days Devin Townsend is a household name to anyone interested in progressive metal, but back then he was a musician who had toured with Steve Vai and The Wildhearts (one of the tracks on ‘Infinity’ is co-written with Ginger), then formed his own band which gained critical but little popular acclaim, Strapping Young Lad. This album changed all that, and I loved it 25 years ago, and my view has still not changed. Awesome. 10/10 Kev Rowland
As Devin announced earlier this year, he has been using the Covid downtime to work on new material for upcoming albums, and for a current lack of touring possibilities and encounters with fans on the road he decided to do a series of live albums, quarantine albums, and generally interesting projects that keep people entertained while he’s busy on his next larger releases. The series is called the “Devolution Series”.
Devin comments in this video
“So we bring to you the ‘Devolution Series’: a grouping of oddities and interesting material that I would like people to hear, but don’t necessarily want to present as a ‘major release’. The series will include all the quarantine songs and concerts, as well as various live shows from the past few years. I’m am currently deep in the writing of my new projects and am very excited to be doing so. Thanks for facilitating my ability to do that, and I hope you enjoy the ‘Devolution Series’.”
The second release under the “Devolution Series” moniker will be the “Devolution Series #2 – Galactic Quarantine” album, scheduled for June 25th 2021. It was recorded in 2020 in various places around the world as a replacement show for the COVID affected “Empath Vol 2 European Tour” and cancelled Summer festivals. It originally aired on September 5th 2020 on StageIt.com.
For a first impression of what to expect, here’s the video for “Aftermath.” Enjoy!
DEVIN TOWNSEND “Devolution Series #2 –Galactic Quarantine” track listing: 1. Velvet Kevorkian (Virtually Live 2020) – 2:28 2. All Hail The New Flesh (Virtually Live 2020) – 5:32 3. By Your Command (Virtually Live 2020) – 8:18 4. Almost Again (Virtually Live 2020) – 3:42 5. Juular (Virtually Live 2020) – 3:50 6. March Of The Poozers (Virtually Live 2020) – 5:25 7. Supercrush! (Virtually Live 2020) – 5:15 8. Hyperdrive (Virtually Live 2020) – 3:42 9. Stormbending (Virtually Live 2020) – 5:21 10. Deadhead (Virtually Live 2020) – 7:55 11. Aftermath (Virtually Live 2020) – 6:51 12. Love? (Virtually Live 2020) – 5:21 13. Spirits Will Collide (Virtually Live 2020) – 4:35 14. Kingdom (Virtually Live 2020) – 5:05 15. Detox (Virtually Live 2020) – 6:20
Devin Townsend is currently working on new material for upcoming albums, and for a current lack of touring possibilities and encounters with fans on the road he decided to do a series of live albums, quarantine albums, and generally interesting projects that keep people entertained while he’s busy on his next larger releases.
Devin comments: “So we bring to you the ‘Devolution Series’: a grouping of oddities and interesting material that I would like people to hear, but don’t necessarily want to present as a ‘major release’. The series will include all the quarantine songs and concerts, as well as various live shows from the past few years.
The first release is a remixed and remastered version of the ‘Live in Leeds’ show that was originally on the ‘Empath’ Ultimate Edition. It was a cool acoustic show that deserves to be heard I think, so we can use this as an introduction to the series.
I’m am currently deep in the writing of my new projects and am very excited to be doing so. Thanks for facilitating my ability to do that, and I hope you enjoy the ‘Devolution Series’.”
The ‘Live in Leeds’ show has previously only been released in video format, and “Devolution Series #1 – Acoustically Inclined, Live in Leeds” now marks the audio release of said show. It will be released on March 19th 2021.
As a warm-up to this release, check out the ‘Hyperdrive (Live in Leeds 2019)’ video here:
“Devolution Series #1 – Acoustically Inclined, Live in Leeds” will be available as Ltd. CD Digipak, 180g Gatefold 2LP (incl. the album on CD) and as Digital Album and as of now it is up for pre-order, so make sure to grab a copy here: https://devin-townsend.lnk.to/DevolutionSeriesOne-LiveInLeedsQR
DEVIN TOWNSEND “Devolution Series #1 – Acoustically Inclined, Live in Leeds” track listing: 1. Intro (06:30) 2. Let it Roll (03:48) 3. Funeral (08:17) 4. Deadhead (07:51) 5. Ih-Ah! (04:44) 6. Love? (08:06) 7. Hyperdrive (04:27) 8. Terminal (04:58) 9. Coast (04:37) 10. Solar Winds (03:25) 11. Thing Beyond Things (04:34)
Devin Townsend is pleased to announce the release of ‘Empath – The Ultimate Edition’ on June 5th, 2020. This comprehensive version of 2019’s acclaimed album contains the original record and bonus disc across 2 CD’s, plus 2 Blu-Ray discs. The first blu-ray contains the 5.1 Surround Sound mix by Devin, with visuals for the full record, plus a stereo visualiser. The second blu-ray contains a raft of bonus material, including ‘Acoustically Inclined – Live in Leeds’, a recording from his April 2019 acoustic tour where he performed tracks including ‘Love?’, ‘Deadhead’, ‘Thing Beyond Things’ & more.
It also features the full Empath Documentary, a ‘Genesis 5.1 Mixing Lesson’, a full album commentary & more. The four discs sit inside a beautiful art-book that contains new liner notes and images from the making of the album.
Devin comments of the new 5.1 surround sound mix: “On a technical level, I guess I have always been dissatisfied with the basic ‘stereo’ format in which the type of music I make gets presented in. Whether its headphones, computer speakers, stereos (or basically anything currently), I have had to figure out ways to get the work to function through TWO speakers. I hear things in a particularly orchestrated way, and with the amount of information that typically gets recorded per song, the result has been the dubious ‘wall of sound’ that I keep ending up with. But my intention has never been to make an oppressive experience, but rather something that is immersive and vast.
Making it work in two speakers just simply doesn’t quite work for the vision. Although I’ve managed to get the point across, (to varying degrees), things always have to compromise to make it all fit. Making the drums speak at the same time as orchestra, cymbals, guitars, choirs, synths etc.…all with my voice on top, ends up with every conceivable frequency fighting for breathing space between those two speakers.
Therefore, I asked the powers that be in my business world, to tolerate one more ‘kick at the can’ when it came to Empath. I wanted to attempt a surround mix and follow the original vision of it being an immersive, multimedia experience for people in the ways I could best achieve at this stage. And although it’s still pretty ‘dense’, with four more sources for the sound to come from, I feel its significantly closer to the original vision here.”
Tracklisting
CD1: 01 – Castaway 02 – Genesis 03 – Spirits Will Collide 04 – Evermore 05 – Sprite 06 – Hear Me 07 – Why? 08 – Borderlands 09 – Requiem 10 – Singularity: Adrift 11 – Singularity: I Am I 12 – Singularity: There Be Monsters 13 – Singularity: Curious Gods 14 – Singularity: Silicone Scientists 15 – Singularity: Here Comes The Sun!
CD2: 01 – The Contrarian (Demo) 02 – King (Demo) 03 – The Waiting Kind (Demo) 04 – Empath (Demo) 05 – Methuselah (Demo) 06 – This Is Your Life (Demo) 07 – Gulag (Demo) 08 – Middle Aged Man (Demo) 09 – Total Collapse (Demo) 10 – Summer (Demo)
Devin will head out on a Summer festival run mixed with club shows in Europe, which includes a headline appearance at Bloodstock Festival in the UK.
04.06.2020 Sweden Rock Festival – Solvesborg (SE) 05.-07.06.2020 Rock Im Park – Nürnberg (DE) 05.-07.06.2020 Rock Am Ring – Mendig (DE) 10.06.2020 Majestic Music Club – Bratislava (SVK) 10.06.2020 Mystic Festival – Krakow (PL) 11.06.2020 Nova Rock – Nickelsdorf, (AT) 13.06.2020 The Roman Arenas -Bucharest (ROU) 14.06.2020 Mixtape 5 -Sofia (BGR) 15.06.2020 A38 – Budapest (HU) 18.06.2020 Copenhell – Copenhagen (DK) 20.06.2020 Graspop Metal Meeting – Dessel (BE) 21.06.2020 Hellfest – Clisson (FR) 23.06.2020 Rockhal – Esch-sur-alzette (LUX) Co-Headline with Meshuggah 24.06.2020 Xtra – Zurich (CHE) Co-Headline with Meshuggah 26.06.2020 Rock The Night Festival – Rivas-Vaciamadrid (ES) – CANCELLED 28.06.2020 Tuska – Helsinki (FI) 29.07.2020 MetalDays, Tolmin (SLO) 30.07.2020 Wacken Open Air – Wacken (DE) 05.08.2020 Brutal Assault Festival – Jaromer (CZE) 07.08.2020 Bloodstock Open Air – Walton-On-Trent (UK) 09.08.2020 Into The Grave – Leeuwarden (NL) 12.08.2020 Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbuhl (DE)
Following a run of dates in Europe and the UK, Canadian heavy music artist Devin Townsend will bring his ‘Empath’ tour to North America in Feb 2020. Joining the tour are InsideOutMusic label mates Haken, who will be reprising their run as support on the European leg, along with American progressive metal band The Contortionist. The tour kicks off Feb 27th in Toronto and concludes March 25th in San Francisco. Haken and Contortionist will alternate as main support. Devin Townsend released his critically acclaimed album ‘EMPATH’ in March of this year.
27-Feb Phoenix Concert Theatre – Toronto, ON 28-Feb Corona Theatre – Montreal, QC 29-Feb Warsaw – Brooklyn, NY 01-Mar Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA 03-Mar Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA 05-Mar The Underground – Charlotte, NC 06-Mar Center Stage – Atlanta, GA 07-Mar The Plaza Live – Orlando, FL 09-Mar Warehouse Live – Houston, TX 10-Mar Granada Theater – Dallas, TX 12-Mar Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN 13-Mar The Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI 14-Mar Metro – Chicago, IL 15-Mar House of Blues – Cleveland, OH 16-Mar Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD 19-Mar First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN 20-Mar Granada Theater – Lawrence, KS 21-Mar The Oriental Theater – Denver, CO 23-Mar The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ 24-Mar The Mayan – Los Angeles, CA 25-Mar The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
‘EMPATH’ is out now on Limited 2 CD Digipak in O-Card (including an entire disc of bonus material), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180G 2LP Vinyl + CD + LP-booklet & as digital album. Order now here: https://devin-townsend.lnk.to/Empath
Devin recently released the animated video for the track “Why?” from ‘Empath’ which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/fT-uWOVP5q0
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