Review DEVIN TOWNSEND ‘Devolution #3 – Empath Live In America’

Devin Townsend is one of the most creative minds in contemporary metal. His latest release ‘Lighthouse’ showcased the full scale of his unstoppable musical force. After having put out this excellently crafted album, it is the right time to add to the ‘Devolution’-series.

During the pandemic, Townsend started this series with an acoustic album called ‘Devolution Series #1 – Acoustically Inclined, Live in Leeds’. The next album was the ‘Galactic Quarantine’ release from 2021, while chapter three is waiting to be released.

Early August this year, the wait will finally end with Townsend unveiling ‘Devolution #3 – Empath Live In America’. As with the previous two albums, the third part of the series contains a few little curiosities outside his regular sets.

‘Devolution #3 – Empath Live In America’ takes us back to the pre-pandemic era when Devin Townsend embarked on the ‘Empath – Vol. 1’ tour, featuring numerous scheduled shows in North America. The album serves as a documentation to this tour, specifically the shows that occurred before unforeseen circumstances forced a halt.

Devin Townsend is always trying to do something special when it comes to playing live. This time, it was a stripped-down version of the ‘Order of Magnitude’ band that embarked with him on a round trip through North America. This means no choir and other features. It was solely Mike Keneally, Nathan Navarro, Diego Tejeida, Morgan Ågren, and Ché Aimee Dorval who joined the Canadian on the road and shows, as well as the live album is a unique moment in Townsend’s impressive career. It’s a set of raw and unconventional shows that have been recorded, featuring furious metal songs like ‘Love?’ originally by Strapping Young Lad, as well as the dramatic moments, represented by the very atmospheric ‘Why?’. With ‘Ih-Ah!’ and ‘Supercrush!’, songs from The Devin Townsend Project are a part of the album while ‘Forgive Me’ is a song from the Casualties Of Cool project that provides a special moment full of emotions.

‚Devolution #3 – Empath Live In America‘ as well as the entire Devolution-series is a documentation of special moments of a special artist. It is a set of releases that don’t follow the regular release, tour, release,… pattern and hereby reflects a time, in which nothing is for granted.