Devin Townsend will release “Empath – The Ultimate Edition” box set

Devin Townsend will release the Empath – The Ultimate Edition box set on June 5th. The set is loaded with special features and includes 2 CDs and 2 Blu-ray discs. The first blu-ray includes a new 5.1 surround sound mix by Devin himself and the second blu-ray includes “Acoustically Inclined – Live in Leeds”, a recording from his April 2019 acoustic tour, where he performed tracks including “Love?”, “Deadhead”, “Thing Beyond Things” and more. The blu-ray also has a “Genesis 5.1 Mixing Lesson” and Empath documentary. The frontman expressed his excitement for the release and commented on the urge to attempt a surround mix.

“On a technical level, I guess I have always been dissatisfied with the basic ‘stereo’ format in which the type of music I make gets presented in. Whether its headphones, computer speakers, stereos (or basically anything currently), I have had to figure out ways to get the work to function through TWO speakers. I hear things in a particularly orchestrated way, and with the amount of information that typically gets recorded per song, the result has been the dubious ‘wall of sound’ that I keep ending up with. But my intention has never been to make an oppressive experience, but rather something that is immersive and vast. Making it work in two speakers just simply doesn’t quite work for the vision.

Although I’ve managed to get the point across, (to varying degrees), things always have to compromise to make it all fit. Making the drums speak at the same time as orchestra, cymbals, guitars, choirs, synths etc.…all with my voice on top, ends up with every conceivable frequency fighting for breathing space between those two speakers. Therefore, I asked the powers that be in my business world, to tolerate one more ‘kick at the can’ when it came to ‘Empath’. I wanted to attempt a surround mix and follow the original vision of it being an immersive, multimedia experience for people in the ways I could best achieve at this stage. And although it’s still pretty ‘dense’, with four more sources for the sound to come from, I feel its significantly closer to the original vision here.”

You can pre-order the box set here and view the complete tracklisting below:

CD1:
01 – Castaway
02 – Genesis
03 – Spirits Will Collide
04 – Evermore
05 – Sprite
06 – Hear Me
07 – Why?
08 – Borderlands
09 – Requiem
10 – Singularity: Adrift
11 – Singularity: I Am I
12 – Singularity: There Be Monsters
13 – Singularity: Curious Gods
14 – Singularity: Silicone Scientists
15 – Singularity: Here Comes The Sun!

CD2:
01 – The Contrarian (Demo)
02 – King (Demo)
03 – The Waiting Kind (Demo)
04 – Empath (Demo)
05 – Methuselah (Demo)
06 – This Is Your Life (Demo)
07 – Gulag (Demo)
08 – Middle Aged Man (Demo)
09 – Total Collapse (Demo)
10 – Summer (Demo)

BluRay 1:
01 – Castaway (5.1 Surround Mix)
02 – Genesis (5.1 Surround Mix)
03 – Spirits Will Collide (5.1 Surround Mix)
04 – Evermore (5.1 Surround Mix)
05 – Sprite (5.1 Surround Mix)
06 – Hear Me (5.1 Surround Mix)
07 – Why? (5.1 Surround Mix)
08 – Borderlands (5.1 Surround Mix)
09 – Requiem (5.1 Surround Mix)
10 – Singularity: Adrift (5.1 Surround Mix)
11 – Singularity: I Am I (5.1 Surround Mix)
12 – Singularity: There Be Monsters (5.1 Surround Mix)
13 – Singularity: Curious Gods (5.1 Surround Mix)
14 – Singularity: Silicone Scientists (5.1 Surround Mix)
15 – Singularity: Here Comes The Sun! (5.1 Surround Mix)
16 – Castaway (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
17 – Genesis (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
18 – Spirits Will Collide (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
19 – Evermore (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
20 – Sprite (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
21 – Hear Me (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
22 – Borderlands (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
23 – Why? (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
24 – Requiem (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
25 – Singularity: Adrift (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
26 – Singularity: I Am I (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
27 – Singularity: There Be Monsters (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
28 – Singularity: Curious Gods (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
29 – Singularity: Silicone Scientists (Stereo Mix Visualizer)
30 – Singularity: Here Comes The Sun! (Stereo Mix Visualizer)

BluRay 2:
01 – Empath Documentary
02 – Empath Album Commentary
03 – Genesis 5.1 Mixing Lesson
04 – Acoustic Gear Tour
05 – Intro (Live in Leeds 2019)
06 – Let It Roll (Live in Leeds 2019)
07 – Funeral (Live in Leeds 2019)
08 – Ih-Ah (Live in Leeds 2019)
09 – Deadhead (Live in Leeds 2019)
10 – Love? (Live in Leeds 2019)
11 – Hyperdrive! (Live in Leeds 2019)
12 – Terminal (Live in Leeds 2019)
13 – Coast (Live in Leeds 2019)
14 – Solar Winds (Live in Leeds 2019)
15 – Thing Beyond Things (Live in Leeds 2019)
16 – King (Official Video)