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Devin Townsend Project, Between the Buried and Me, Leprous - 8 February 2017

Last Wednesday evening, the Z7 in Pratteln may have sunk several inches deeper into the ground as three bands displayed their prowess of some very heavy music indeed. From Leprous' operatic Scandinavian metal swells to Between the Buried and Me's mix of technical death metal (yes, that is a genre - see footnote 1) and Faith No More antics to Devin Townsend Project's wall of sound and comedic flair, various flavours of metal and hardcore music were on full show.

Another Way to Lose a Limb

The night started with Leprous from Norway, with their own Matt-Bellamy-esque falsetto singer and keyboardist taking the crowd by the hand into the darker parts of music-town. The black-shirt-clad crew brought driving rhythms and bass-lines to the eager crowd as lead vocalist Einar Solberg combined signature 80s bass synths and a surprisingly delicate voice for a great on-ramp to the scale of the music to come.

Citing Pink Floyd and King Crimson as influences to their progressive metal style, Leprous inject their own weight and severe guitars to their sprawling sound.

Fans of the heavier side of Muse's Black Holes and Revelations (think the opening of Assassin but down a few octaves) should find something of great interest in their music, not to mention the two bands' shared interest in... the laws of thermodynamics? Where Muse have their 2012 album The 2nd Law, Leprous take it one further with one of their latest tracks, Third Law, which was certainly a highlight of the band's set at the Z7.

Those seeking the melodies and hooks found in Muse’s music may want to look elsewhere, however, which could be a reason why Leprous aren't better known on the global stage.

For those who hadn't already lost a limb from all the head-banging, an even heavier appetiser was up next.

Metal Patton

From Norway to North Carolina now, with Between the Buried and Me's eclectic take on progressive metal, with some real variety taking the Z7 by storm. It's not clear if the crowd knew what to make of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr.'s frantic style-hopping, which ranged from pulsing Soundgarden-esque riffs to some undeniably impressive technical death metal (later, Mr. Townsend himself would express his admiration and disbelief with what they managed to pull out of their long hair). All of which was punctuated by a mix of some very Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) inspired quirky organ-keyboard work, with signature American-childlike singing and the obligatory unhinged screaming that is a part of so much metallic music.

The standout performance was a tie between two songs - firstly that of the band's signature track The Coma Machine from the rather prog-rock inspired 2015 album Coma Ecliptic. 7 minutes and 35 seconds in the studio seemed to translate to an endless sprawling live performance that encompassed a dynamic range that contrasted with Leprous' rather more consistent intensity. It took the crowd for a real head-spinning ride with some almost math-level rhythm changes and lead guitar work reminiscent of Avenged Sevenfold, later returning to the classic bass guitar stabs and clean keyboards to wrap it in a neat 70s bow (fashioned from Rick Wakeman's white cape).

Secondly, the most Bungle-y of the lot, we had Fossil Genera - A Feed from Cloud Mountain - another excursion of epic proportion, moving from a bizarre saloon-piano and whistling cross between Mr. Bungle's Sweet Charity and the original Donkey Kong theme tune into the realms of extreme technicality (with both growling guitars and growling vocals).

Finally, the band traversed that whirling space between the buried and the crowd to return to that alternate universe where a Chris Cornell-fronted King Crimson released Red in 1994.

Pure Canadian Wank

“As a metrosexual, you can be sensitive... but there's also a time and a place... for the metal crush!”

With an eclectic on-stage persona and a surprisingly cheery and emotive disposition, Devin Townsend paints himself as something of a heavy-metal antihero and uses his comedic inter-track antics to effectively keep the mood light and in strong contrast to the gloom and aggression of his music.

“This is the heaviest metal of all time - nah, probably not; we're old and prog-y…”

A self-described case of low self-esteem and feeding off of audience validation, what sets Devin apart is the character with which he imbues his vast musical repertoire and his stage performance. A hearty serving of entertainment value makes his live performances absolutely worth experiencing, even if the genres that his music explores are not set to a universal taste.

“I know that my inflection makes me sound like I'm always a jackass, but it's just a defence mechanism.”

The Devin Townsend Project (his current moniker and group identity since 2009) immediately upped the sheer scale of sound on offer, filling the Z7 Konzertfabrik with an anticipatory pulse to announce his arrival to the stage. The drum kit having moved to a platform near the back of the stage, there was ample space for the three DTP guitarists to strut their stuff and weave the vast wall of sound that has earned Devin comparisons to Phil Spector and Frank Zappa for his production standards; and thus the journey began.

The opening number, Rejoice, took the building by storm as the wall of sound was masterfully woven by Devin and his co-constructors Brian "Beav" Waddell and Dave Young, with Ryan Van Poederooyen tying it all together on drums. The song was taken from the 2014 album Z², the sequel to a 2007 comedic-metal concept album concerning an alien who is appalled by the taste of Earth's coffee (the main character Ziltoid is a feature of various satirical and off-beat multimedia works by Devin Townsend, some of which were played in the break before the band arrived).

Returning to his 1997 industrial prog work Ocean Machine: Biomech, Devin's project played Night next - something of a more melodic offering, with a very 90s tinge coming through the vocals.

DTP's latest album Transcendence (2016) was represented by the grand combination of Stormbending and Failure back-to-back, the former a return to that subtle 70s flavour present throughout the more progressive aspects of the evening's music. The latter featured soaring operatic singing and vast synthesiser soundscapes. The band never left that oh-so-heavy beat behind and always brought things together with deep and textured guitar work - with an ending to end any otherworldly sound.

In another show of Devin Townsend's endless dramatic flair, he claimed that the time for sensitivity was over (after Where We Belong) and that his current guitar was driving him crazy - he needed something more metallic. Opening his arms in a wide embrace, an assistant bestowed upon him the most absurdly large black Flying-V style guitar for the next song, Planet of the Apes (Deconstruction, 2011). Throughout the song he became a one-man smoke machine as his guitar started billowing an ominous cloud, almost consuming the man who was working on burying the stage with the weight of his sound.

Having described his early extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad as something of a parody project, it's no surprise that Townsend - whose struggles with bipolar disorder inform much of his music - rides a curious line between indulging and parodying heavy metal music. It's clear that he loves the music he plays and the performances he gives, and he is constantly aware of even his own double-standards as an almost satirical comedian whose lyrics are often fittingly bleak and gloomy for the music.

Later, after a performance of Suicide, he quipped about the nature of the lyrics and imitated a potential listener who is shocked about the dark content, before claiming that "all life is inherently beautiful - nah, that's not true but we're here and that's something, right?" giving away his ultimate existentialist view on life.

“Everything has kind of gone to shit, right? Wrong! We still have ourselves and our low self-esteem…”

After March of the Poozers (a return to Ziltoid antics) and Kingdom (a deceptive return to a more sensitive mood, at least lyric-wise), the show was almost over. Once again breaking convention and attempting to subvert expectation, Townsend explained how he wasn't imaginative enough to come up with a unique ending to the show and instead would let the audience in on the obvious "not coming back for an encore" gag to get it over with. With a cheeky grin, he ducked off stage for nary a moment before returning with an acoustic guitar.

“Nothing is more terrifying to a crowd of metal-heads than a middle-aged man with an acoustic guitar.”

What followed was a unifying and surprisingly emotional rendition of 2009's Ih-Ah, as an 80s landscape of lighters were slowly waved in the air among the audience members; Devin once again showed off his "sensitive side".

To really finish the night on a bang, his band members returned for an epic finale of Higher - cementing the job the Z7 staff now have of re-attaching the roof that was well and truly blown off the Konzertfabrik in Pratteln.

Devin Garrett Townsend may only be familiar to some, or be on the periphery of a larger audience, but his unique take on the attitudes of heavy metal, his vast progressive production techniques and his inimitable character make him more than worthwhile even for the metal-curious of us to experience. A true creative and an honest entertainer, here's hoping for (in his own words) "another 25 [years], maybe?"