Devin Townsend Project

Ocean Machine – Live At The Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv

Classy metal Machine music.

Devin Townsend is known for his live shows, both for his showmanship and his love of the ludicrous. But this particular performance, as he notes, is a “classier” affair, as he tries to hold back on the jokes.

Shot in Bulgaria in 2017, this DVD/CD features a ‘by request’ set that sees the band play with the Orchestra and Choir of Plovdiv State Opera, followed by 1997’s Ocean Machine in full, plus a short documentary.

The ‘by request’ set is spine-tingling, the likes of the cinematic Om made all the more majestic by the orchestra. But the entire two-hour-plus show is breathtaking – the band’s atmospheric and technical prog-metal sounds stunning.

When Townsend sings the notes to The Death Of Music, with the camera closing in on his richly emotive delivery, it’s a highlight of a night that’s already bursting with them. He needn’t have worried – this show is 100 per cent “fucking classy”.