Short Reviews [Devin Townsend - 2023 - "Devolution Series #3. Empath Live In America"]

I have been a huge fan of Devin since the good old days of Strapping Young Lad, and there was a time 20 years ago when if you had the misfortune to take a trip in my car you would be blasted into submission by a combination of the latest of his solo albums and me raving about how he was a genius. The mad Canuck has certainly maintained my faith in him, and while his studio albums may not hit the mark quite as much as they used to, his live releases are always significant. I am sure I am not the only person who still regularly plays ‘The Retinal Circus’, as that for me was Devin at his most outrageous and over the top. These days he never rests, and it is not unusual for him to totally switch his band between tours, and for this one he was with Mike Keneally (guitars), Nathan Navarro (bass), Diego Tejeida (keyboards), Morgan Agren (drums) and Che Aimee Dorval (vocals, guitars). I always feel Townsend sounds so much better when he has a female singer to pitch against as his music is so bass heavy, and Dorval is an absolute delight – while I admit I love Anneke Van Giersbergen, Dorval is a wonderful substitute. Her vocals combined with the keyboards, placed against the rhythm section and guitars work incredibly well. Devin is always determined to have fun onstage, which is the only reason to include “Why” in a set, as it sounds as if it belongs in a Disney musical as opposed to a heavy gig, and he loves getting the crowd to join in with their best death metal growls. After they complete “Hyperdrive”, Devin announces he heard someone shout for “Earth Day”, but the band don’t know it. So he starts playing the riff, and the rest of the band just follow – it may not be perfect but it sure is a lot of fun and one can just hear the smiles. One can imagine the band wanting to go onto the stage every night as they have no idea what is going to happen, and I am sure Devin does not know either. What on earth is the semi-acoustic “Ih-Ah!” doing in a live set? Because it is a blast, that’s why, and the whole gig is a mish mash of styles so why not go from the sublime to the ridiculous and play “Love?” from my favourite SYL album, ‘Alien’? Exactly my thoughts as well, even though Morgan is admittedly not a metal drummer. Townsend says this was one of his favourite tours, and although he has released a load of live albums over the years, and this is this is the third in the Devolution Series alone, once can hear how much fun both the bad and audience were having on this one as it blasts, it rocks, and everyone smiles.