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Saturday, July 20, 2013

DEVIN TOWNSEND: 'Grace' Performance Clip From 'The Retinal Circus' DVD



 
Renowned multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer and now ringleader Devin Townsend played a special concert October 27, 2012 at the Roundhouse venue in London, England as part of a one-night-only event, dubbed "The Retinal Circus", that was recorded for both DVD and Blu-ray, to be released later this year via InsideOut Music.

The official promo video for the song "Grace", taken from the forthcoming DVD, can be seen below. The clip was produced, directed and edited by Paul M. Green for Cybertech Productions.

"The Retinal Circus" will be released on several formats, including a lavish and bonkers
limited edition befitting of the man himself, and which took months of
hard work to put together. The complete list of formats is below:

* Standard 2-disc DVD
* Standard 1-disc Blu-ray
* Standard 2-CD audio
* Special edition (2 DVDs/1 Blu-ray/2 CDs) box set
* Diehard deluxe fan box including 2 DVDs, 1 Blu-ray, 2 CDs (full details of contents to be revealed soon)

Says Devin: "So closing in on eight months of work, we're almost finished with 'The Retinal Circus'!

"It's
been a huge amount of work for everyone, from the show, down to DVD and
Blu-ray authoring, artwork, logistics (not to mention the show
itself!), but we're almost there, and when watched in its entirety, it's
really a heck of an experience!

"To tie you over until it's out, here's a clip of the song 'Grace'. t's out of context, obviously, but hopefully gives you a vague idea of what's about to come out.

"It's
been a ton of work for everybody and we're really quite proud of it...
When the final products have been produced, we'll let you know!"

Devin previously described "The Retinal Circus" as "a retrospective of my career in music to date, with the central
theme being a metaphor of how life and the adventures therein are a
'circus' of sorts. The show involves a cast of characters and guests
that support this theme through carnival type performances. A story
about how a troubled young man dreams of fantastic scenarios,
(illustrated through the music of my back catalogue), which ultimately
crests in the characters realization that life is all about the
relationships we have with each other. This is the first opportunity I
have been given to make theatrical representations of my music."

This three-hour performance included:

* A retrospective of Devin Townsend's entire career
* Full choir and theatrical cast
* Visual and aural enhancements unlike any show Devin has done to date
* Several special guests
* Circus and carnival performances and cast
* Art exhibit of Devin's albums, including explanations of each album

In an interview with Metal Insider, Townsend stated about "The Retinal Circus": "It's like such a clusterfuck on stage. Whether or not people who're
new to it understand what I'm trying to do, I like the idea that it's
like… When I watch it, I'm, like, 'That's pretty much how I feel it
should look like.' For better or for worse, it's like this crazy chaos."

Regarding what inspired the setlist for "The Retinal Circus", Townsend said: "I tried to get a bit of everything, but at the end of it, it was most important to include the songs that we could illustrate the best.
The show itself had this peculiar story and so that story arc required
me to choose songs that would contribute to that, rather than just elbow it in there. So we missed some stuff. 'Terria' wasn't in there, and whatever, but it leaves room for the next thing."

Friday, July 19, 2013

SIRENIA: 'Perils Of The Deep Blue' First-Week Sales Revealed


"Perils Of The Deep Blue", the sixth studio album from Norwegian/Spanish symphonic gothic metallers SIRENIA, sold around 900 copies in the United States in its first week of
release. The CD landed at position No. 20 on the Top New Artist Albums
(Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and
developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top
100 of The Billboard 200.

"Perils Of The Deep Blue" entered the official German chart at position No. 50 — the band's
highest German chart entry ever — and the Swiss chart at No. 43.

Says SIRENIA mastermind Morten Veland: "We would like to thank all our loyal fans for their support. We're
very happy to see that you enjoy our new album as much as we do. Thanks
for keeping the music alive. See you on tour!"

"Perils Of The Deep Blue" was released on June 28 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was produced by Morten Veland, while the mixing and mastering was handled by Endre Kirkesola at Dub Studios in Oslo.

"Perils Of The Deep Blue" track listing:

01. Ducere Me In Lucem
02. Seven Widows Weep
03. My Destiny Coming To Pass
04. Ditt Endelikt
05. Cold Caress
06. Darkling
07. Decadence
08. Stille Kom Døden
09. The Funeral March
10. Profound Scars
11. A Blizzard Is Storming

Limited-edition-digipak bonus tracks:

12. Chains
13. Blue Colleen

"The writing process has been going on for about two years," stated Veland. "I always have ideas for new stuff, so I started writing even before we had released our previous album, 'The Enigma Of Life'. Most of it has been recorded in my own studio. I love to work there as I always feel inspired — plus we can take our time with whatever we do,
for there is no time pressure. Just like for all of our previous albums, we also dropped by Sound Suite Studios in France — a great place that feels like home, too. This time we recorded the Marseille choir
there that one can always hear on our records, as well as some of my
acoustic guitar parts."

The album artwork was originally painted by Anne Stokes — though it wasn't intentionally created to be used as such, as Morten explained: "came across the artwork on the Internet and immediately
fell in love with it for obvious reasons — it's no secret that I've
always been fascinated by Greek mythology and sirens. So we got in touch with Anne and luckily she granted us the permits to use it for the record. I actually drew the inspiration for the album title, 'Perils Of The Deep Blue', from the artwork. In my opinion, it's the perfect SIRENIA cover — there was no way we could have let that opportunity slip away!"

In 2008, SIRENIA recruited singer Ailyn (born: Pilar Giménez García) as the replacement for Monika Pedersen, who left the group a year earlier after only one album due to "musical differences."

Ailyn was best known as a former contestant on the Spanish version of "The X Factor", the biggest television talent competition in Europe.