You know exactly who this man is and what this man can do, there is no need for a long winded introduction. The mastermind behind the chaotic and insanely heavy Strapping Young Lad, the voice of Steve Vai’s Sex & Religion release and the creator of Ziltoid the Omniscient, intergalactic alien lord and coffee enthusiast, Devin Townsend is one of the forerunners of the modern progressive metal scene who does not let himself be constrained by genres, releasing records which have ranged from industrial tinted metal to pop-friendly alternative rock but for his latest offering, he brings us a musical – a full live stage show of Z2’s Dark Matters disc and a lengthy ‘by request’ set to follow.
Before we get into the meat of this triple disc beast, to get the full experience of this live recording, being able to view it is essential. Many people I know who went to the concert in question said it was very dynamic and the visual aspect of the performance helped to significantly augment the musical aspect. Having seen some footage on YouTube, I can agree with them on that so this will mainly focus on the sound aspect.
Disc One is the live rendition of Z2’s Dark Matters disc, the 2014 release which was the follow up to the wonderful Ziltoid The Omniscient and it continues the story about a quest for intergalactic supremacy with some new faces, familiar faces, tales of coffee and a giant screaming ballbag running across the Royal Albert Hall’s stage. I haven’t heard much of this album, it’s on my ‘get round to it’ list, but the initial exposure to it, it has that trademark insanity which only Devin can bring to the table. The catchy, cleverly arranged and phrased songs draw from styles across his back catalogue, taking some of the heavier and more metallic elements from his earlier days but keeping the more melodic aspect of his later work. There is no denying just how dynamic a frontman Townsend is and how much of a real powerhouse he is live and this recording proves that as he effortlessly switches between clean singing, goofing around and full on metallic harshness with little fuss at all whilst vividly telling the story of the album with the stage show to match. It is a good listening experience, but with all full album live sets, you have to be familiar with the album or really enjoy it to get the most out of it.
Discs 2 and 3 though for me are where this album really shines. This was the ‘by request’ portion of the set and well, just a glance down the track-list says it all. With plenty of material from his solo works to choose from, Townsend plays tracks from a good portion of his releases. Physicist’s frantic opening track “Namaste” opens up the more varied life setting and from there he makes a stop at Ocean Machine’s “Night” into the spine chilling “Deadhead” off of Accelerated Evolution which if you have ever experienced it live, you know just how emotionally powerful this song is. Other live favourites like “Earth Day”, “Christeen” and “Kingdom” pop up, but Addicted’s “Supercrush!” really brings the crowd into full form.
As with Any Devin show, there’s always one track which is more party like and surprisingly, Bad Devil isn’t played here which is the usual signal for all kinds of metal boogie and jazz hand displays to make themselves known. Instead, ‘Lucky Animals’ fills this role with how infectiously catchy it really is but the real stand out moment of the entire triple disc affair to me was the triple offering from Ocean Machine with “Funeral”,” Bastard” and “The Death Of Music” all one after the other, giving near thirty minutes of musical excellence and bliss to everyone who was lucky enough to attend and everyone who gets to listen to it. “Heatwave” closed the set off and rounded off what was quite an experience.
As live albums go, some of them are better when watched on DVD so you get the full experience whilst others just sound great with no visual assistance. This one definitely falls in the first category given how a Devin Townsend concert is a visual and audio experience. Musically it was spot on, it had a massive feel given the venue and the occasion and from a listener’s perspective, it was great. In all, the best way to enjoy this would be watching it on DVD or actually being there when it was recorded. It’s an album of two parts for certain and you’ll either prefer the first part or the second part and for me, the second part wins.
(8.5/10 Fraggle)
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