EmpathReleased March 29, 2019
Tracklisting:
1. Castaway
2. Genesis
3. Spirits Will Collide
4. Evermore
5. Sprite
6. Hear Me
7. Why?
8. Borderlands
9. Requiem
10. Singularity
a. Adrift
b. I Am I
c. There Be Monsters
d. Curious Gods
e. Silicon Scientists
f. Here Comes the Sun!Personnel:
Devin Townsend - Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards
Mike Keneally - Guitar, Keyboards
Nathan Navarro - Bass
Morgan Εgren - Drums (Genesis, Sprite, Why?, Borderlands, Curious Gods, Empath, Summer)
Anup Sastry - Drums (Genesis, Spirits Will Collide, Evermore, Borderlands, I Am I, Silicon Scientists, Here Comes the Sun!, King, The Waiting Kind)
Samus Paulicelli - Drums (Genesis, Hear Me, There Be Monsters, Gulag, Middle Aged Man, Total Collapse)
Additional Personnel:
Elektra Womens Choir, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Chι Aimee Dorval, Chad Kroeger, Reyne Townsend, Josefa Torres, Elliot Degagnιs - Additional Vocals
Steve Vai - Guitar Solo (Here Comes the Sun)
Sean Verault - Pedal Steel
Ron Getgood - Spoken word (Sprite)
The Lords of Sound - Orchestra
Along with announcing the end of the DTP in early 2018, Dev announced he was working on 4 albums. The first of those albums is Empath. Empath was first mentioned in 2017, and was intended to be the next DTP album after Transcendence. Dev had written over 30 demos of various styles, and was struggling to find a cohesive vision for the next album. While on vacation after completing Transcendence, he had a dream of an island where horrible monsters and beautiful creatures coexisted. This vision served as the inspiration for Empath; All of the aspects of his music coexisting in one album. Empath, while not a concept album, is an album about confronting and overcoming uncertainty and learning from it. Dev calls Empath his midlife crisis album, and he invested $170,000 of his own money into it.
How to describe the sound of Empath
Its a mixed bag, kinda like Epicloud was, but not as poppy or accessible. Its got a variety of sounds. Proggy, heavy, soft, poppy, theatrical, jazzy, etc. Its a dense record with so much going on at any time, but rarely to the point where its overwhelming. Theres plenty of chaos, but also plenty of breathing room.
Dev met Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, etc.) at a Joe Satriani show and asked him to be the second guitarist and co-producer on the album. Nathan Navarro, a session musician/YouTuber, plays bass on the album. Dev hired 3 different drummers for Empath, each with their own strengths:
- Morgan Εgren (Casualties of Cool, Kaipa), for the lighter/jazzier/improvy stuff.
- Anup Sastry (Monuments, Skyharbor, Intervals), for the heavy/proggy/straightforward stuff.
- Samus Paulicelli (YouTube, Decrepit Birth), for the blast-beaty stuff.
The songs feature different combinations of the drummers. Sometimes having just one or two, or all three.
Empath was recorded at a few different studios, mainly Monnow Valley Studios in Wales, The Armoury in Vancouver, and Devs home studio. Adam Nolly Getgood once again co-produced/engineered/mixed the album with Dev. Anneke Van Giersbergen and Chι Aimee Dorval both sing on the album, along with the Elektra Womens Choir, from Vancouver.
The Making of Empath Documentary:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpA5ThqzxTYVRhlbd-cpv2hXtO90u6yQUSamus Recording Drums:
https://youtu.be/qbxkid3yjfs Music videos were made for several songs
Castaway / Genesis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n7uvokARQ4 Spirits Will Collide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdHJurX0yVA Evermore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zIxPUPWVq8 Sprite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cw0agwyPbg Why?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT-uWOVP5q0 Genesis acts as a kind of Overture for the album. It doesnt contain themes from the rest of the album, but it does showcase some of the same musical styles present on the album.
Nate Navarro bass playthrough of Genesis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pHtkbfCIO0 Spirits Will Collide is a more straightforward song that wouldnt sound out of place on any the last few DTP albums. The point of this song at this point in the tracklisting was to assure the audience that, while things are gonna get weird from here on out, everythings gonna be Ok. The song is very much inspired by the Enya song Only Time.
Anup Sastry drum playthrough of Evermore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACVfETpeE1UNate Navarro bass playthrough of Evermore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWIsw_EOgugThe story in the intro to Sprite is spoken by Nollys father Ron Getgood. This story has shown up in 2 other Dev songs: In the Rainy Season, from HAARHT, and Fluke, from Terria.
Morgan Εgren drum playthrough of Sprite:
https://youtu.be/GjlDDNDQbCcHear Me is the most chaotic thing Dev has written since Deconstruction, and features backup vocals from Chad Kroeger, from Nickelback. I remember people making a big fuss over this back when it was first announced, because its cool to hate Nickelback. Lets just remember that this is a Dev album featuring Chad Kroeger. Not the other way around. Chads voice isnt that prevalent anyway, and it blends in with the choir. You can kinda hear him during the Ill keep mourning
section.
Samus Paulicelli drum playthrough of Hear Me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQaETtF_dzQ Hear Me is rather appropriately followed by Why?, a very light and theatrical, almost Disney-esque song featuring orchestration.
Requiem serves as a prelude to Singularity, and has a callback to Stormbending, from Transcendence.
After poking fun at the idea of Progressive Metal epics with The Mighty Masturbator, Dev finally gives us one in earnest with the 23-minute Singularity. This song, IMO, might be Devs magnum opus.
Anup Sastry playthrough of the final section of Singularity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb935JynuhQPeople often compare Dev to Frank Zappa. Im not much of a Zappa guy, but to me that bit at 13:56 of Singularity is the closest Dev has ever come to sounding like Zappa.
The only song that comes close to being a clunker is Spirits Will Collide. Its not a bad song, its just weaker than everything else here.
Track by Track breakdown by Dev:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_AGVF5YuSPIV6SqlUgrO0lINRlEbizuL Look at this photograph. This list from the studio shows some songs that didnt make it onto the record.
King, Total Collapse, Gulag, Empath, and Summer appear on the bonus disc, Tests of Manhood.
Coffee might be
this little snippet, from the Creative Academy songwriting course he taught
https://music-business-college.teachable.com/p/dt-creative-academy Call of the Void and Children of God would end up on Lightwork.
Starchasm would end up on Nightwork, the bonus disc for Lightwork.
Empath was released March 29, 2019. I love this album a lot. Transcendence was great, but it and Z2 showed that the DTP was running out of things to say and was holding Dev back. Devs music had ceased to surprise me. Empath is the creative return to form I wanted from Dev. Its up to you whether ending the DTP was the right call or not. Given that this was originally going to be the next DTP album, I have to wonder what it would have sounded like with that lineup. All due respect to the guys in the DTP, but I imagine that version would have been a lot more simplified and not nearly as gratifying. Regardless, I think Dev got the perfect people for this album, and made one of the best albums of his career.
Tests of ManhoodTracklisting:
1. The Contrarian
2. King
3. The Waiting Kind
4. Empath
5. Methuselah
6. This Is Your Life
7. Gulag
8. Middle Aged Man
9. Total Collapse
10. SummerWell would look at that, ANOTHER bonus disc of songs that didnt make it on the album. As with all of Devs bonus discs, the songs are fleshed out and well-produced, and these songs feature some of the musicians from the main disc. I dont have much to say about this. All of these songs are solid. Summer in particular is one of my favorites.
This is Your Life reminds me of Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon.
King features vocals from Dev's son, Reyne.
Anup Sastry drum playthrough of The Waiting Kind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ2fXb_vlYYSamus Paulicelli drum playthrough of Gulag:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y3v1YGoQfY Total Collapse was written during the Transcendence sessions. has a callback to the chorus of Ziltoid Goes Home. This is the third song to use that chorus.
The Empath Tour meant to be at least 4 Volumes with different themes and lineups, all with the eventual goal of playing Empath in its entirety.
Volume 1 - First an acoustic solo tour, followed by a full band tour playing a variety of music.
Volume 2 - Would have had a rotating cast of musicians, and focused more on his heavier music.
Volume 3 - Not metal, featuring some Ghost material. - Dev
Volume 4 - Empath in full, presumably.
Unfortunately due to the Pandemic, only the first volume of the tour happened.
There are three separate live albums from the first Volume of the Empath Tour. Like I said way back in the beginning, my goal is to present Devs music in chronological order. One of these albums isnt even 2 weeks old yet, but were talking about it now.
Acoustically Inclined: Live in LeedsRecorded April 27, 2019
Released March 19, 2021
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Let it Roll
3. Funeral
4. Deadhead
5. Ih-Ah
6. Love?
7. Hyperdrive
8. Terminal
9. Coast
10. Solar Winds
11. Thing Beyond ThingsThe first part of the Empath tour was a solo acoustic tour of Europe, North America, and Australia. Dev would play some songs and answer questions from the audience.
Acoustically Inclined was filmed and recorded in Leeds, and the video was originally included as part of the Ultimate Edition of Empath, released in 2020. A CD release came out in 2021 as the first installment of the Devolution series (More on that later). This album features most of the acoustic set, and the songs are the usual suspects from Devs acoustic shows. Deadhead features part of Stand, from Deconstruction (Or maybe its the Stand reprise from Watch You. Take your pick).
Order of Magnitude: Empath Live, Volume 1Recorded December 12, 2019 at the Roundhouse in London
Released October 23, 2020
Tracklisting:
1. Borderlands
2. Evermore
3. War
4. Sprite
5. Gigpig Jam
6. Coast
7. Gato
8. Heavens End
9. Aint Never Gonna Win
10. Deadhead
11. Why?
12. Lucky Animals
13. Castaway / Genesis
14. Spirits Will Collide
15. Disco Inferno
16. KingdomPersonnel:
Devin Townsend - Guitar, Vocals
Mike Keneally - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Chι Aimee Dorval - Vocals, Guitar
Nathan Navarro - Bass
Morgan Εgren - Drums
Marcus Reuter - Touch Guitar
Diego Tejeida - Keyboards, Bartender
Arabella Packford, Samantha Preis, Anne Preis - Backing Vocals
Dev put together a completely new live band for the first Volume of the Empath Tour. This lineup features Mike Keneally, Nate Navarro, Chι, and Morgan Εgren, all of whom played on Empath, as well as Marcus Reuter (Stick Men, The Crimson ProjeKct), Diego Tejeida (ex-Haken, Temic), and a three-piece female choir. Part of the goal in using such a big band was to limit the use of backing tracks. Im just gonna say it, this the best live band Dev has ever had. The DTP was great, but its nice to hear some fresh new takes on some of these songs.
Order of Magnitude was recorded at the next to last stop of the 2019 European tour at the Roundhouse in London. It has the same setlist as every other show from the tour, which includes a block of songs from Ki, possibly because this was the albums 10th anniversary. Ki is my second favorite Dev album, and I think the versions here are the best versions of these songs. The "Gigpig" is a small trap drum set Morgan plays during Coast and the preceding jam. The Empath songs all sounds great. This version of Spirits Will Collide is stripped down, featuring just Dev, Chι, and the backup singers. The band also played a very fun cover of Disco Inferno by The Trammps.
Behind the Scenes Documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87OiifFuyX4
Empath: Live in AmericaIntro / Evermore recorded February 26, 2020
Everything else recorded March 1, 2020
Released August 4, 2023
Tracklisting:
1. Intro / Evermore
2. Supercrush
3. March of the Poozers
4. Why?
5. Hyperdrive
6. Fuck Around Section
7. Ih-Ah
8. Gigpig Jam
9. Forgive Me
10. Love?
11. KingdomPersonnel:
Devin Townsend - Guitar, Vocals
Mike Keneally - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Chι Aimee Dorval - Vocals, Guitar
Nathan Navarro - Bass
Morgan Εgren - Drums
Diego Tejeida - Keyboards
Empath: Live in America was recorded during the ill-fated 2020 North American Leg of the Empath Tour. It was released in 2023 as the 3rd installment in the Devolution series. It features most of the band from Order of Magnitude. Dev unfortunately couldnt afford to bring the full band on this leg of the tour, so Marcus Reuter and the 3 backup singers were left out. Live in America is a great showcase of how laid back these shows were. Even if a lot of these songs have been played countless times, the new lineup breathes new life into them. These shows were the first time Dev played setlists that truly spanned his whole career. Youve got his solo work, DTP, DTB, SYL, and CoC all in one show. Fuck Around Section has teases of Earth Day and Sprite, two songs that the band hadnt fully learned.
I saw Dev at the Atlanta show on this tour, and also did the VIP meet and greet. I gave him my old ZILTOID license plate.
Full show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWbKjZYrCh4 My footage:
https://youtu.be/uozAkkrhrjY They gave out signed setlists as part of the VIP, but this was NOT the setlist the band played that night. Dev signed mine twice for some reason
This has been hanging on my wall for 3 years now and I just now noticed that Supercrush is on there twice.
The NA Leg was cancelled halfway through due to the pandemic. The remaining shows were first rescheduled and eventually cancelled altogether. Dev has moved on with his career since then, and it's unlikely he'll resurrect the Empath Tour.
Taking a another break before the final stretch of this thread. Thanks for reading, hopefully you read the whole thing, and be good to each other.