Heavy metal performer Devin Townsend has stayed true to his word, and played a set of Strapping Young Lad songs such as “Love?,” “Detox” and “Aftermath” for the first time in several years. Townsend first announced that he will be performing these songs last year, and these performances took place during the 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise which took place from place from Jan 7 – Jan 11.
The songs he played include “Aftermath,”“Velvet Kevorkian,” “All Hail The New Flesh,”“Detox,” “Almost Again” and “Love.” Each of these songs were performed on two separate nights, January 7th, the opening night of the cruise and January 11th. Some of these tracks have not been performed for over 14 years, however “Detox,” and “Love?” appeared on his 2013 live album, The Retinal Circus. Townsend also performed “Love?” during an acoustic set for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in May of 2019.
The performer stopped playing Strapping Young Lad songs due to the emotional distress it had caused him, as they were originally written during a darker period of his life, after he had stropped taking medication. “After Alien, I knew I was finished with SYL(Strapping Young Lad),” Townsend explained. “After Alien, I knew I needed to change my lifestyle. The events leading up to this album, as well as the circumstances surrounding were disruptive to the point where I truly thought I had destroyed my mind.”
Townsend has been extremely prolific setting off on two separate tour volumes within the last couple of years, and dropping numerous types of material that have ranged variety of styles. The performer has recently premiered several songs from his recent album release Empath during this latest tour.
Empath topped out list for the 50 best albums of 2019, and had track titled “Genesis,” which was rated as our second best song of the year. “With variation from opera-esque signing to low groggy vocals and interesting yet deliberate background noises, people will want to take note of all the album is offering,” mxdwn reviewer Erin Winans explained. “While sometimes too many things going on can cause something to crumble, Townsend has put in the time and thoughtfulness that each song deserves.”
Townsend is currently touring and will record new album in 2021.
Setlists:
January 07th, 2020:
“Aftermath” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“Velvet Kevorkian” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“All Hail The New Flesh” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“March Of The Poozers”
“Kingdom”
“Juular”
“Poltergeist”
“Detox” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“By Your Command”
“Almost Again” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“Love?” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
January 09th, 2020:
“Aftermath” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“Kingdom”
“Detox” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“Love?” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“Almost Again” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“Velvet Kevorkian” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“All Hail The New Flesh” (Strapping Young Lad cover)
“Juular” (feat. Ihsahn)
“March Of The Poozers
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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