THE RETINAL CIRCUS

Devin Townsend takes us for a ride through his back catalogue (as of 2013), including his Ocean Machine and Strapping Young Lad days through loosely connected songs all following a theme of togetherness.

There is so much good on this live release. Every song flows into the other seamlessly, or at least with a loose segue from Steve Vai, the narrator of the evening. In typical Dev style he turns up the cheese just enough to make you happy to be alive and experience his music, while still hitting you hard with his guitar playing and headbanging composition ability.

The only downside I can think of is just how long it goes for. While 2 hours is the average length of a movie (said only to convey the fact this tells a story) or a live performance, there is a lot to digest and while I love listening to parts of this at a time, listening at full pelt can get a little tiresome.

Absolute highlights for me are Effervescent!/True North, Planet Smasher through to Addicted! and Hyperdrive through to Bend It Like Bender.

4 stars out of 5. Recommended for those needing a bit of perking up or already happy while not losing that metal feel.