Devin Townsend is well-regarded for his meticulous attention to details when writing, recording and performing. He was surely rankled when someone blasted the mixing of his Ocean Machine – Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv album on Youtube when it was released. Townsend immediately got down to the bottom of things and informed fans of the issue, discovering it was due to the music being incorrectly uploaded to Youtube. He made quick work of the problem, identifying that it was because when the album was uploaded, the 5.1 mix was used, then converted to stereo, leaving it with the bizarre sound that was heard online.

So listen: I've been confused why the drums are so loud on the youtube mixes as well. I was pretty sure I had just messed up, but it seems the youtube version was a print to stereo from the 5.1 mix. wow…

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

Anyways, someone very politely blasted it up on Youtube the day of release =/ but for the sake of my fragile ego, heres it sounding more like it should: https://t.co/JQ5wY18CZU

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

Townsend also sought to reassure fans who incorrectly assumed the same sound issues were present on the actual Blu-Ray release. He also set to work trying to fix the issue on Youtube, pointing out that it sounded fine to him on Spotify.

I'm going to try and get it re-done…I thought I was just going crazy, but I think thats what it is… the normal blu-ray sounds right, yeah?

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

When I listen on Spotify, it sounds right to me… but its screwy on youtube from what was posted …I think even on Truth and Regulator. argh…

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

Wow, thats super humiliating.

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

Welcome back Dev! =)

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

Taking it all in stride and keeping his cool (and owing it to meditation) in typical Townsend fashion, he kept fans in the loop as he explained what happened. In a series of tweets, he first hypothesized it had to do with the 5.1 to stereo conversion. Then, he seems to confirm his hunch, that the album was downmixed when it was

I'll try and get the Youtube versions re-done. I guess nows as good a time as any to say that if you haven't got the dvd yet, they don't sound like that. =/

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

What I think happened is instead of using the stereo mix, they used the 5.1 mix, converted to stereo, so its totally bizarre sounding.

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

Yes, its downmixed from 5.1. Glad i've been learning to meditate, otherwise this would have me rapidly bashing anxious tweets into the ether 😉

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) July 9, 2018

He then retweeted a fan of his, revealing the worst-case scenario when a mistake like this happens. The fan talks about being embarrassed about cancelling their order after hearing the online mix, assuming the Blu-Ray would sound the same. Luckily, he was able to re-order.

Kind of embarrassed to admit I cancelled my preorder a few days ago after seeing (or hearing, really) what had been put on YouTube. Should have known you wouldn't have let something that egregious actually happen, so ordering it again right now. Thanks for addressing this!

— A Human (@nicknavarre) July 9, 2018

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat