Devin Townsend Project – ‘Ocean Machine Live At The Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv’ (Live Album Review)
Few musicians manage to spoil their fans as thoroughly as Devin Townsend does. Since this guy’s generosity is backed up by consistently prolific creativity, his discography represents a treasure trove of tracks spanning multiple genres, from extreme metal and prog to more chilled out styles. There is nothing Devin Townsend can’t do, and he never fails to put an emphatically idiosyncratic stamp on anything he puts out.
The first half of Ocean Machine Live is dedicated to a fan-picked setlist, one third of which comes from 2016’s Transcendence, with the Devin Townsend Project backed up by the Orchestra and Choir of Plovdiv State Opera. Cranking up the volume is essential particularly for this portion of the show; despite the presence of synths, the orchestra fills out the mix and contributes massively to the trademark Devin Townsend “wall of sound” effect. This experience demands to be made as overwhelming as possible, coming as it does in second place to actually being there to witness the whole thing in person.
Completely unsurprising statement ahead: As far as musicianship, tightness, technique, and emotional expression go, the Devin Townsend Project are true virtuosos, and the same goes of course for their orchestra of choice. Even after swapping said orchestra for a stripped-back band setup in order to play Ocean Machine itself, Vancouver-based bassist John “Squid” Harder joining on four strings, the DTP remain on point as usual. There are no highlights, unless you just count the whole thing – thus rendering the very concept of highlights pointless.
This audio/video set represents a fitting end to an era, the point at which the Devin Townsend Project take a (most likely temporary) break, so their head honcho can turn his attention to his most pressing artistic concerns. At the end of the day, artists of all kinds need to evolve and push themselves into the future – but when they do pause and look back at the past, this is how to do it right.
LTK RATING: 100% (Essential Listening / Viewing!)
Pre-order Ocean Machine Live (out July 6) here.
Follow me on Twitter for updates!
Click below to start reading Why Do Good Bands Break Up? for free!