Devin Townsend recently announced the 3rd release
in his Devolution series – ‘Empath Live In America’, will be launched on the 4th August
2023. The Devolution series so far has comprised some unique live performances,
and this one is no different. ‘Empath Live In America’ is a document of the
tour that was cut short in early 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic.
As Devin explains:
“Hello everyone :) continuing in the ‘Devolution’
series of albums (which has been an avenue for us to release cool little
curiosities on the side of regular releases) we bring you ‘Devolution #3 -
Empath Live In America’.
This was a very unique tour for me, and one that was
regrettably cut short by the pandemic. It was a stripped back version of the
‘Order of Magnitude’ band (without choir and a few other members…), but as i
try to do with each tour, the goal was to make this a unique and special night.
Therefore, this tour marked a ‘free form’ version of the material. There were
no backing tracks, click tracks, or even a setlist, so every night was unique
and different. The audience yelled out requests and we just rolled with it. The
material was therefore interpreted in unique ways and the experience was a very
special ‘fly by the seat of our pants’ musical night.
It’s a raw and off kilter performance and I’m thrilled
to have documented it. Until the next ‘real’ release, I hope you enjoy this
rarity from a special, albeit ill-fated tour.”
Featuring a stripped back version of the ‘Order of
Magnitude’ band, this release captures a raw and off-kilter performance. You
can hear the band run through the Casualties Of Cool track ‘Forgive Me’
here: https://youtu.be/lmiNW7McnHs
Listen to the previously released ‘Evermore’
here: https://youtu.be/bcZ1Yp70kG0
The line-up for this album saw Devin joined by Mike
Keneally, Nathan Navarro, Diego Tejeida,
Morgan Ågren & Ché Aimee Dorval. ‘Devolution #3 –
Empath Live In America’ will be available as a limited CD digipak, Gatefold
180g 2LP & as digital album. Pre-order here: https://devin-townsend.lnk.to/DevolutionSeries3-Empath-LiveInAmerica
Devin is currently playing live as part of this
Summer’s hottest progressive metal ticket in North America, the DreamSonic tour
headlined by Dream Theater & also including Animals As Leaders. Find the
full list of dates at the official DreamSonic site: https://dreamsonic.com/
He also recently announced Australian headline dates
for November 2023. For the full list of upcoming dates visit: https://hevydevy.com/tourdates/
Devin Townsend released his most recent studio album
‘Lightwork’ in late 2022, with Metal Injection calling it a “superb
addition to his one-of-a-kind catalogue”. Listen here: https://devin-townsend.lnk.to/Lightwork
For Lightwork, Devin decided to see what would happen
if he included a producer (an experiment he has been excited to attempt for
some time) to help guide this selection of material.
He chose long-time friend GGGarth (Richardson) to help
bring this idea to fruition, and through a difficult (but wonderful) process,
the next Devin album have been delivered.
The name ‘Lightwork’ represents the music, as well as
the act of creating music, as a kind of ‘light in the dark’ while trying to
navigate the seemingly endless challenges that life can often present.
When things seem like there’s no way out’ or that a
situation becomes seemingly insurmountable, the connection to music, family,
and creativity became a light in the dark that ended up in this wonderful
album.
DEVIN TOWNSEND online:
http://www.facebook.com/dvntownsend
https://twitter.com/dvntownsend
https://www.instagram.com/dvntownsend/
https://www.youtube.com/user/poopynuggeteer/featured http://twitch.tv/devin_townsend
https://www.cameo.com/devintownsend
INSIDEOUTMUSIC online:
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic