Who could have guessed in 1993 that the completely unknown 19-year-old Canadian who laid down the vocals for Steve Vai on the 'Sex & Religion' album would turn into one of the most amazing musicians in metal? He was special already back then, no doubt about it, but he could've gone any direction, couldn't he? I mean, f*ck, he was exactly my age (Townend's 24 days older than me) and he sang for Steve Vai!

Having played with Vai, The Wildhearts, Front Line Assembly and the ill-fated IR8 project with Jason Newsted, only to form the mighty Strapping Young Lad, Townsend has seen the music business from more angles than most, and he's sucked in influences from rock, industrial, ambience and metal in abundance along the way.

This new four-disc live DVD release, recorded over four nights in London, is a testimony of just how mad and brilliant this man is. A gifted musician, composer and producer surrounded by equally talented musicians form a circus not quite like anything I've seen and heard before during my almost 25 years as a metal fan.

To be honest, out of the four albums in the Devin Townsend Project series, I only have 'Addicted' which, by the way, I adore, but you know just as well as me how much music there is out there and you can't buy it all. I have a couple of SYL discs as well as the wonderful 'Terria' release, but I wouldn't call myself a professed fan. Until now.

Seriously, parts of this DVD have left me gobsmacked in front of the screen because of the sheer beauty, power, bombast, professionalism and, well, yeah, genius that has revealed itself to me.

Expect not so much of the video recording as such. It is nothing special, even if the visuals used during the concerts were probably if nothing else then entertaining if you were there. The Ziltoid puppet seems a little silly, if not a lot, but screw that, it's just part of the madness.

But the music, oh, yes, the music. From the simple beauty of 'KI' over the well-wrought, beautiful, yet heavy 'Addicted' material which is adorned by the presence of the lovely Anneke van Giersbergen to the chaotic, cathartic choir supported cabaret bombast of 'Deconstruction' and finally the mesmerizingly beautiful, folky acoustic ambience of 'Ghost'.

Townsend is in my opinion an artist in the true sense of the word. His agenda is certainly to entertain, however he does so by moving boundaries for what heavy music can be, and importantly with a self-ironic, tongue-in-cheek attitude which is so terribly sympathetic. I believe the proper word is 'unique'.
 
I know two things for certain:

1. My next music purchases will be the three Devin Townsend Project CD's that are missing from my collection.
2. I can't wait to see the Devin Townsend Project perform at the Aalborg Metal Festival in November.

Amazing DVD, amazing music, I'm in awe.