‘Order Of Magnitude – Empath Live Volume 1’ will be released by Devin Townsend 23 October 2020 and it marks a fascinating portrait of Townsend’s most ambitious tour to date.
Recorded on the penultimate night of the ‘Empath’ tour in London, December 2019, the tour saw Townsend present shows which had no backing tapes or click tracks, relying on the genius of the musicians on stage to bring the kaleidoscopic cacophony in Townsend’s head to life.
Devin told MetalTalk: “The whole objective was that I wanted to make that statement: This is by the seat our pants.”
“Because it’s important to me to represent this hyper anal-retentive music that I’ve made over the years, but in a human way. Rather than it just being, ‘Well, here it is, perfectly done.’
“I was overwhelmed by the fact that all these brilliant people that I have so much respect for were willing to come together and play this weird shit with me.
“I had these unique players and this interesting instrumentation that allowed us to interpret the music in different ways.
“It was clear to me that I could just have fun and be me and know that they would be effortlessly be able to follow that.”
That sense of fun and freedom was evident to anyone who was there on the night. Visually, it was an assault on the senses in the best possible way.
A digital screen projected vivid images throughout the show. A giant gleaming mirrorball hung from the ceiling. There were multiple costume changes and a tiki bar onstage!
‘Order Of Magnitude – Empath Live Volume 1’ will be released as a Limited Deluxe 2CD+Blu-Ray+DVD Artbook (including expanded artwork & photos), Limited 2CD+DVD Digipak, Standalone Blu-Ray, Gatefold 3LP+2CD vinyl box-set & as a Digital Album.
The Blu-Ray disc includes a bonus behind the scenes documentary, and both DVD & Blu-Ray feature a 5.1 surround sound mix.
The track-listing is as follows:
1. Borderlands
2. Evermore
3. War
4. Sprite
5. Gigpig Jam
6. Coast
7. Gato
8. Heavens End
9. Ain’t Never Gonna Win
10. Deadhead
11. Why?
12. Lucky Animals
13. Castaway/Genesis
14. Spirits Will Collide
15. Disco Inferno
16. Kingdom
