Devin Townsend will release his new live album Order of Magnitude – Empath Live Volume 1 on October 23. The album was recorded at Townsend's final show of his UK run in December 2019, and features the following lineup:
- Guitarists Mike Kenneally (ex-Dethklok, ex-Frank Zappa) and Markus Reuter
- Drummer Morgen Agren (Kaipa, Casualties of Cool)
- Bassist Nathan Navarro
- Keyboardist Diego Tejeida (Haken)
- Guitarist and vocalist Ché Aimee Dorval (Casualties of Cool)
- Vocalists Samantha and Anne Preis and Arabella Packford
"The whole objective was that I wanted to make that statement: This is by the seat our pants," said Townsend of the first of three volumes. "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."
The tracklist for the album runs as follows:
- Borderlands
- Evermore
- War
- Sprite
- Gigpig Jam
- Coast
- Gato
- Heavens End
- Ain't Never Gonna Win
- Deadhead
- Why?
- Lucky Animals
- Castaway/Genesis
- Spirits Will Collide
- Disco Inferno
- Kingdom
Townsend is also working on a new record called Lightwork and has so far released three ambient guitar albums this year. So yeah, dude has been busy.
I think I’m writing an album, unexpectedly…called ‘Lightwork’ that is abstract and stream of conscious. Still significantly far away from anything, but it’s determinedly taking shape. It’s been odd though, as every record is a reflection of the time it was conceived
…— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 4, 2020
…and this is clearly a weird time. It’s strange, abstract, meandering, and weird. If I try to curb it and write something more disciplined, it would be a dumb rehash of stuff I’m clearly bored of. So I follow this where it wants to go…
— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 4, 2020
Almost seems like it would make sense for it to be a continuous, shifting, colourful beast as opposed to a collection of songs, more like songs in a highly elaborate and sort of alien stream of conscious: no real beginning or end…
— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 4, 2020
But regardless: as much as I have tried to shift my motivations from this weird collection of work to something more ‘palatable’ it seems clear that this is what’s in my path now, so I’m going to finish it in the way that it insists
— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 4, 2020
I suppose considering the strange unique intensity of this period, it makes perfect sense when I hear it…
— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 4, 2020
Anyways: the next album, unexpectedly, will be called ‘Lightwork’ and though it’s still being discovered, it’s a weird, alien sounding, effervescent , sunny load of oddness…
— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 4, 2020
