LIVE REVIEW: Devin Townsend @ Royal Albert Hall, London

How do you sum up one of, if not the most storied career in progressive metal? The genre’s resident mad scientist, DEVIN TOWNSEND, has spent the past thirty years breaking down, rebuilding and redefining progressive music. From the hyper-aggressive STRAPPING YOUNG LAD to the almost genrephobic DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, along with a slew of other releases under either his name, he’s practically done it all. That makes this current run, including two nights at the storied Royal Albert Hall, a Herculean undertaking as he culls personal and fan favourites, rarities and more into an evening of celebration. The venue itself is perhaps even more storied, steeped in 150 years of history; it seems only right that Devin‘s own celebration be held here.

First on however, are Norwegian progressive metal powerhouse LEPROUS. Picked for the second night of the RAH run (with VOLA opening last night), they’re coming off the back of critically acclaimed latest album Aphelion. Opening with Out Of Here, the band are on top form appropriately suited and booted for the occasion. The magnitude of a show at the Royal Albert Hall can’t be understated; even drummer Baard Kolstad is wearing a shirt (though this doesn’t last their full set) and they regularly glance round the venue as if to take in its majesty and the scale of the show. With the venue not typically used to hosting concerts like this, the stage itself is sparse, putting the focus squarely on their performance – a good job then, that they sound as tremendous as they do.

A mid-set Running Low puts the spotlight even more on vocalist Einar Solberg‘s prodigious vocal ability and the cello solo – also performed live with them switching between keys and cello – draws huge applause. Kolstad is mesmerising too; deceptively simple patterns and fills belie the incredible talent the man has at his disposal and he’s just as much an anchor as Solberg‘s soaring tones. As their set draws to a close with a combo of Nighttime Disguise and Slave, alongside their admission that this is a bit of change from their first ever London show at The Underworld, they’ve made a seriously compelling argument for belonging on stages just like the Royal Albert Hall. 

Rating: 9/10

Before long it’s time for this evening’s main event; casually striding on stage to cheers that reverberate round the iconic venue, DEVIN TOWNSEND launches straight into Seventh Wave, following it immediately with Stormbending. Higher does exactly that, taking an already fantastic opening and lifting it even further, with the crowd belting back “heys” during the song being just one of many incredible moments throughout the evening. He pulls from his entire catalogue with some real deep dives including Bad Devil and War from 1998’s Infinity. It doesn’t end there, either. Following the pair is Life Is All Dynamics, which he confesses they worked on until 3am as he’s never played it live before tonight. Certainly to draw so many rarities into a set is indulgent but Devin never advertised this run of shows as anything but, and where else but at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, celebrating its 150th anniversary, do you celebrate such a consistently brilliant man?

It wouldn’t be a DEVIN TOWNSEND show though, without his effervescence or sense of humour and offhand comments (“I like your Ziltoid”, he remarks at one point of a punter who has the coffee-addled alien, itself a caricature of Devin, on his head. At another, he manages to source a stuffed octopus that sits onstage for the majority of the evening). He darts and dances round the stage, especially during the tracks culled from the ultra-heavy STRAPPING YOUNG LAD days as if to underscore the inherent ridiculousness of metal and such aggro posturing. A DEVIN TOWNSEND show with all the bells and whistles of a full stage production is a sight to behold but the stripped back setting of tonight should cement beyond any doubt – if any was left – that he’s not just a spectacle but his body of work is near peerless in its creativity and sheer life-affirming splendour.

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Karolina Janikunaite here: 

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