from the 16th-century cycle Lagrime di San Pietro by Orlande de Lassus. Many of the songs on Ocean Machine: Biomech have become live staples during Townsend's career; however, "The Death of Music" did not make its live debut until April 2015. The album is specifically referenced in the demo "Ocean Machines" from Ass-Sordid Demos and "Resolve" from Addicted. "Sister" is sampled in the ambience ending "Traveller" on Accelerated Evolution. "Voices in the Fan" is recalled in "Colour Your World" on Ziltoid the Omniscient. A riff in "Regulator" forms the basis of "Om" from the Infinity/Christeen + 4 Demos EP. "Bastard" is referenced in "Rain City" on Sky Blue. "The Death of Music" reuses the chorus of bonus track "Japan" from the first SYL album Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing (also released as a bonus on No Sleep 'till Bedtime). The snare drum used on the recording was sampled from Metallica's self titled album Metallica (album). Release Ocean Machine: Biomech was released in July 1997. When Townsend was unable to get the album picked up by a record label, he founded his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records, to release his solo material. On its original Japanese release, the album was entitled Biomech and "Ocean Machine" was listed as the artist name; the album was later reissued worldwide with a compound title under Townsend's name. The album was distributed in Canada by HevyDevy, in Europe and America by Inside Out Music, and in Japan by Sony. The album sold 12,000 copies in Japan in its first week of release. Although musically straying from Townsend's extreme metal work in Strapping Young Lad, Ocean Machine: Biomech was met with favorable reviews. Metal Hammer praised it as a "concept album akin to the sensuality and escapism of Pink Floyd, [as] Devin lyrically and musically explores real and not particularly uplifting topics such as death, isolation, and depression." Noise Level Critical wrote that "anyone who heard the [Steve] Vai album Sex & Religion will know that Townsend's voice is top-notch, with the ability to go from aggressive bark, to high-pitched wail, to soft emotional whisper in the space of one song." On 17 March 2017 a complete live playthrough was made at Hammersmith Apollo, followed on September 22, 2017, by a live performance in the Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, recorded and featured on the band's third live album, released on July 6,