Band: Devin Townsend Project
Release Title: ‘The Retinal Circus’ (Live Album)
Release Date: 30/09/2013
So, to celebrate his twenty year musical career, Canadian musician, songwriter, producer and former Strapping Young Lad vocalist Devin Townsend decided to perform a an extremely special, one-night-only show at the Roundhouse in London. The audio from said night was compiled into a double album that now awaits our baited ears.’The Retinal Circus‘ is heavily focused around the 2012 release ‘Epicloud‘ with Steve Vai hosting the show via pre-recorded video, so I guess we shall start where most would, the beginning…
Introduced as not just a musical show, there is an undercutting storyline, a story about a young man who falls asleep and through various performers and sequences realises that life is all about relationships as the glorious, rejoicing ‘Effervescent!‘ kicks in before ‘True North‘ begins, a powerful, bodacious love song with an almost gothic, blackened undercurrent, it seems. The female vocals compliment perfectly in the live setting as it does on record.
The oddball macabre, procession ‘Animals‘ marches into ‘Planet Of The Apes‘, an intense, orchestral piece complimented by the gruff, growled vocals of Townsend, a real treat for the fans at the show as the airy, astral ‘Truth‘ kicks in.
Tearing through tracks including the chug-heavy ‘War‘ and the evil, exactly what it says on the tin, ‘Planet Smasher‘, we head towards the end of the first half of this bulky double album, and as we finish on the hugeness of ‘The Greys‘, a coffee and a cigarette are definitely in order before any sort of continuation…
Countdown complete, following a few words from Townsend, we are greeted with ‘Hyperdrive‘, floating in the ‘effervescent boy’ as quoted by the man himself, a welcome break from the savage down-tuned heaviness of the former sounds, hypnotic, an almost ‘epic’ piece brings us back to the dimensions of Townsend in a subtle, friendly manner of sorts.
‘Ih-Ah!‘ takes a beautiful, folk-esque form as the soaring ‘Where We Belong‘ blows brains all over the arena, this song could easily have made the Lion King soundtrack, not even one ounce of sarcasm or exaggeration exists within the former statement, it’s fucking huge!
We’re then surprisingly met with not one, but two Strapping Young Lad tracks ‘Detox’ and ‘Love?’, heavy, galloping bangers that are more than enough to get the loyal crowd shouting the lyrics back, powerful, tight and crushing in all senses, there has been no let up whatsoever here!
‘Little Pig‘ brings us to the end of what has been not just a live show, a live record or even just a live video, it’s been a full-blown performance and celebration. A strange, confusing rejoicing journey most definitely but this does not at all take away from the quality and the genius of songwriting that Townsend displays. I really do need to see this live show on Blu-Ray, I think it may be time to may a purchase!
8/10
Reviewer: Luke Davis
