''The Retinal Circus'' is a live album by Canadian musician
Devin Townsend
Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...
. It was released on September 30, 2013, in Europe,
[The Retinal Circus CD details](_blank)
''Omerch''. August 2013. and on October 29, 2013, in North America. The audio and video material were recorded at
Roundhouse, London, on October 27, 2012, when Townsend performed a special one-night-only concert celebrating and covering his 20-year musical career.
[Harris, Chris (November 17, 2011). . ''Gun Shy Assassin''.]
Concert
In November 2011, after performing a series of
special Devin Townsend Project shows, Devin Townsend revealed his plan to perform a one-off concert in London, England, that would cover his musical career from mid-1990s up to that point.
Townsend stated that he wanted to create a "more than musical" show which included a storyline, multiple performers and special effects.
Later he said that the concert would be recorded for future release.
The concert lasted approximately two and a half hours, and it was divided into two parts, with an intermission in between. The band consisted of the same personnel as the recent years' Devin Townsend Project line-up, and the special guests were
Anneke van Giersbergen
Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen (born 8 March 1973) is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project wa ...
and
Jed Simon
Jedson Louis Simon (born February 27, 1964) is a Canadian musician. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET. He is ...
, with
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
hosting the show via pre-recorded video projected onto screens. The setlist was focused heavily on material from ''
Epicloud
''Epicloud'' is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the fifth album in the Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released on September 18, 2012, in North America, and September 24, 2012, in Europe, through h ...
'' and a few other albums from Townsend's catalogue; the setlist included no songs from ''
Terria'', ''
Accelerated Evolution
''Accelerated Evolution'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, released in 2003. The album, written and produced by Townsend, was a mix of musical styles from alternative rock to hard rock to progressive metal. Townsend, ...
'', ''
Ki'' and ''
Ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
''. Townsend also performed, against his then-current principles, two
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, ''Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing' ...
songs. He later stated that this was because of the career-spanning nature of the concert, and playing those two songs was a "closure for him and Strapping Young Lad". He also wanted to "respect the legacy of the band" and to reconnect and perform again with
Jed Simon
Jedson Louis Simon (born February 27, 1964) is a Canadian musician. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET. He is ...
.
The concert was one of the most prepared Devin Townsend shows ever, with over a year of pre-production, and it was recorded in
high definition with a higher budget and a more professional approach to production than the previous live release, ''
By a Thread''.
5000 people saw the sold out performance, and the concert was also streamed live through Livemusicstage.com.
Release
''The Retinal Circus'' was released as six different versions. The standard editions feature either a double-CD, double-DVD or a Blu-ray. The Blu-ray version includes the whole concert on a single disc. The
digipak
Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage.
Jewel case
A ...
edition features both the CDs and the DVDs. Two limited edition box sets were also released: a "clown box" featuring all five discs of the standard editions, limited to 5000 copies worldwide, and a "monkey box" featuring all five discs with a 40-page book, signed
lithography
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
print and fan merchandise, housed in a
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
sized box with a
pop-up of the Retinal Circus stage. The "monkey box" edition is limited to 2500 hand-numbered copies worldwide. The album was a chart success in some countries, with the double-DVD version peaking at No. 1 in Finland.
IFPI Musiikkituottajat – ''The Retinal Circus''
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Track listing
All track lengths taken from the CD release.
Personnel
*Devin Townsend
Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...
– vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming
* Dave Young – guitars
*Brian Waddell – bass
*Ryan Van Poederooyen
Ryan Joost Van Poederooyen (; born November 13, 1972), often referred to by his initials RVP, is a Canadian drummer. He gained international recognitionSharpe-Young, Garry (2005). ''New Wave of American Heavy Metal''. p. 157. New Plymouth: Zonda ...
– drums
Guest musicians
*Anneke van Giersbergen
Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen (born 8 March 1973) is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project wa ...
– vocals
*Jed Simon
Jedson Louis Simon (born February 27, 1964) is a Canadian musician. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous metal bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, and TENET. He is ...
– guitars
*Dom Lawson – vocals ("Planet Smasher")
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Retinal Circus
Devin Townsend albums
2013 live albums
2013 video albums
Live video albums
Albums produced by Devin Townsend