rdtprog
These four concerts contains a very different atmosphere each of them. KI had some mellow tracks that offers some up-tempo moments to keep the show interesting. Addicted is very intense and represent the typical Devin Townsend sound, with a melody slowly developed with raging guitar in a dense atmosphere. Ghost is very quiet, with flute, acoustic guitar and more restraint vocals by Devin. This last concert require more patience to get into, but when you get across the ambient passages, you can enjoy the melody again. Deconstruction is a progressive metal tour de force that shows complex playing, a symphonic approach with choir and classical arrangements. At times it remind me of Therion and Unexpect, the latter when multiple notes are played in a short time. This is the show where you have more animated videos with the character "Ziltoid" that could be cool for young metal heads, but for me it didn't seem to fit here. The encores offers another type of music, definitely punk oriented with simple and direct songs.
Also on each DVD, there a commentary tracks by Devin Townsend himself. Only interesting for the musicians out there, or those who want hear the stomach reaction of a guy while he drinks! For the picture and sound quality, it has been made on a low budget, so i won't be too critical about this issue, as long as the stereo sound is decent, which is the case here. My little criticism is about the excessive use of the red lights on each concerts, that give some unwatchable reflections on the face of the musicians.
Devin Townsend has all my respect for all the work he has put in this project (18 hours of material). It's not perfect but it's made with passion and dedication. It's a original concept that allows us to see and hear four different incarnations of Devin Townsend's music live. The Deconstruction DVD will appeal to progressive metal fans and the others to the converted Devin Townsend fans.
That's it! , oh no there is still the four cds to listen!. I assume that the contents will be the same, so I will give 3.7 stars, round up to 4 stars.