Devin Townsend Project & Fear Factory - HMV Ritz, Manchester - 15th December 2012 (Live Review)
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Thursday, 20 December 2012 |
Written by Ben Bland
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Devin Townsend seemingly can’t stop touring. Every time another mammoth trek around the world is done, the man just heads straight back out on the road again but maybe that’s just the price he has to pay for the newfound success of the Devin Townsend Project. As someone who keenly remembers the release of 'Ki' and 'Addicted!' back in 2009, to a polite ripple of applause and interest, the launching of 'Epicloud' this year as one of the biggest metal albums of 2012 felt a bit strange to say the least. The fact that Townsend is now on tour heading a bill that includes industrial death metal legends Fear Factory as a support act speaks volumes of this increased presence in the metal world. Whether the Strapping Young Lad fans at the back of the room like it or not, Devin Townsend is a bona fide metal superstar now.
 Eighteen months or so ago and TesseracT looked like they may be stars of the future. They were supposedly a cut above the ‘djent’ masses, but now it is all starting to feel like the band has missed the boat. When debut album singer Dan Tompkins departed he was replaced by US-based Eliot Coleman and, unsurprisingly, that match lasted less than a year and the new boy, Ashe O’Hara, must feel like he has just stepped into the managerial position at Chelsea. Opening slots like this, then, are important for TesseracT if they are to regain lost momentum. Certainly the last twenty seconds of their set this evening are well received by a Manchester crowd hungry for a bit of festive metal cheer. Sadly I can’t comment on the preceding twenty-nine minutes or so as First TransPennine were doing their best to make my train journey across the Pennines to Manchester slower than walking. I’ll have to just give TesseracT the benefit of the doubt.
Fear Factory carry no such doubt as a live act. Although some may be disappointed that their ‘failed weightwatchers’ look has been rather diminished by the departures of Gene Hoglan and Byron Stroud from the band, it’s Burton C. Bell and Dino Cazares that have always made this band what they are. Forgetting the dodgy mid-career period, Fear Factory remain one of the most blatantly brutal metal bands of all time, and classics from 'Demanufacture' in particular sound razor sharp tonight. Certainly Bell’s voice has seen better days but it’s the sheer power of Dino’s guitar that gives Fear Factory the live sound of world beaters. A mid-set divergence into some best forgotten nu-metal inspiring material aside, this is just over an hour of heavy music as it should be, and the massive pits that threaten to capsize the Ritz’s dancefloor speak volumes of the way the crowd receive the likes of 'Edgecrusher' and 'Replica'.
By comparison, the Devin Townsend Project cannot help but almost feel a little lightweight. Sure, Devin may have an immensely talented backing band and a video screen but he has fully embraced the wacky side of his musical personality in recent times to the extent that 'Epicloud' occasionally gave off a faint whiff of self-parody. Unfortunately the sound quality also takes a massive dip as soon as the man walks on the stage, meaning that his vocals veer alarmingly in and out of the mix whilst the guitars lack the furious punch that benefited Fear Factory earlier in the evening. Cuts from the back catalogue are well received but it is the likes of 'Lucky Animals' from the new record that gets Manchester moving and, with its irresistible grooves who can blame an audience for feeling a bit festive? Sadly though, such enthusiasm from the crowd, and from Devin himself, scarcely hides the slightly hollow feeling that the Devin Townsend Project are starting to project. This is almost clinically fun rather than genuinely exciting and, although he puts in his all (despite sneezing snot all over himself at regular intervals), Townsend could clearly do with a bit of a rest for a change. The silliness is now almost carrying the music rather than being merely a supporting quality, a worrying sign. Let’s hope a bit of recuperation in the New Year will see the Devin Townsend Project scaling the heights of true excellence once more rather than merely being a good laugh.
'Epicloud' is out now via HevyDevy.
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