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The amazing music of Devin Townsend! Unwind and discover a new musician.

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Altazor

Member
Thanx. Will give that a listen.

Ghost is his "softest" album, his most different. Has some ambient and new age (!) influences. I really like it, especially when you consider that the "previous" (actually released on the same package) is heavy as fuck.

The other two "cleanest" albums are Ki (which started the Devin Townsend Project), which still has a bit of heaviness but the production is the complete opposite of wall-of-sound. Feels tight, intimate, contained, almost like a very professional pub band; and Casualties of Cool (which isn't a DTP album, but a different "band") is a collaboration with a female singer called Ché Aimee Dorval, who worked with Dev on some songs off Ki - the sound here is like a nighttime country-lounge-Johnny Cash thingie with a couple of acoustic ballads. Ché Aimee's voice really shines on some songs.
 

Metalmarc

Member
Oh it comes out today and somehow i managed to avoid/restrain myself from the full leak for maybe the first time ever (i did listen to one or two leaks on youtuube, but not the full cd) it should arrive in the post later, just hoping Amazon give a CD rip for this one if not i'll listen to it on spotify on the way to work.
 
Why did he redo "Truth"? It sounds shittier.

Honestly I don't like this album. It's the most generic neutral sound from all his albums imo. Truth remake seems to be played at a slightly slower pace and the guitar didn't sound as massive.

disappointing, but it's my first disappointment with Dev. I hope he produces and mixes all of his stuff again. Nolly might be good, but it didn't fit Devin's style imo.

edit: After listening to it a few times more, I changed my mind. I really like it, but my main issues are still how it's produced. I prefer a Devin produced/mixed album, but the music is still quite good.
 

Altazor

Member
Having listened to half the album so far, I'd say Secret Sciences and Higher are definitely my favorite songs from that first half. Agree about Truth sounding shittier - plus, it feels weird not listening to Christeen right after it

EDIT: Finished it. I liked it, nothing really mindblowing or particularly new coming from Dev (it's like Sky Blue 2, and SB was Epiclouder-est, and Epicloud was Addicted! on Steroids (heh) and passed through an arena-metal filter) but I kinda hope this is the last "catchy metal, HUGE SOUND" album from DTP. The formula is well worn at this point, I think, and this seems like a culmination. Also, I'm pretty sure I've heard before (on an earlier Dev song) one of Anneke's vocal melodies on the title track, the one starting at 4:10. Maybe on Deconstruction?
All in all, it's a solid album. The fact that he's currently (well, not now, he's on tour) writing new material for Casualties of Cool with Ché Aimee gives me hope. I want more of that.
 

RDreamer

Member
My deluxe copy arrived a while ago, actually, so I've got in quite a bit of listens. Overall I think a few people here are kind of right. It's more Devin Townsend. I think starting with such an iconic song like Truth is a bit of a misstep because it sets the whole album up in sort of retread territory. While I really fucking love the Ween cover, ending the same album with a cover feels a bit weird, too. Overall it's gonna have a hard time differentiating itself from his massive discography. It's still a fucking great album, though. Highlight for me is Failure and Offer Your Light

The bonus disc is pretty awesome, too. It's a lot more fun, catchy, and heavy. It's a bit less wall-of-sound heavy and more just heavy metal riffs. The highlight there for me is actually Monkeymind, a crazy instrumental. Canucklehead is also fucking great. The whole bonus disc is actually really addicting and I recommend that you don't miss it if you're a fan. I'm glad he gave it an actual name (Holding Patterns). I gave it a cover of its own in my library and will treat it as another Dev album. Someone on another forum said it, and I think it's definitely true: Offer Your Light actually fits a bit more on Holding Patterns than Transcendence.

All in all, it's a solid album. The fact that he's currently (well, not now, he's on tour) writing new material for Casualties of Cool with Ché Aimee gives me hope. I want more of that.

He's also writing a symphony.
 
My deluxe copy arrived a while ago, actually, so I've got in quite a bit of listens. Overall I think a few people here are kind of right. It's more Devin Townsend. I think starting with such an iconic song like Truth is a bit of a misstep because it sets the whole album up in sort of retread territory. While I really fucking love the Ween cover, ending the same album with a cover feels a bit weird, too. Overall it's gonna have a hard time differentiating itself from his massive discography. It's still a fucking great album, though. Highlight for me is Failure and Offer Your Light

The bonus disc is pretty awesome, too. It's a lot more fun, catchy, and heavy. It's a bit less wall-of-sound heavy and more just heavy metal riffs. The highlight there for me is actually Monkeymind, a crazy instrumental. Canucklehead is also fucking great. The whole bonus disc is actually really addicting and I recommend that you don't miss it if you're a fan. I'm glad he gave it an actual name (Holding Patterns). I gave it a cover of its own in my library and will treat it as another Dev album. Someone on another forum said it, and I think it's definitely true: Offer Your Light actually fits a bit more on Holding Patterns than Transcendence.



He's also writing a symphony.

Good impressions. I'm inclined to agree thus far, however I'm just undewhelmed. Perhaps it's because I listen to Devy constantly, so I'm not musically desiring something else from him currently. IDK.

I need to listen to his bonus album. I have a lot of favorites of his from extra's (Woah No!).

late edit: I gave it a few more listens and honestly I'm in love with a few songs. I listened to the album fresh off "discovering" Deconstruction and so this was not the high energy heavy melodic prog rock that I expected. It sounds like another Epicloud and that's quite alright. I expected something different, but it's in the same category in my mind.

oh yeah, that's absolutely right. I forgot about it!

Yeah it's called "The Moth" apparently. Devin said it's super heavy/dark with apocalyptic vibes. I'm not going to get myself excited though. I have gone through several of my favorite artists doing orchestra, and while it's cool, it usually just makes me ache for more of a traditional album from them.
 

Weetrick

Member
Bumping this thread because I saw DTP live this weekend (1st time). I had a blast! So many metal bands are sloppy live or have everything cranked up so loud you can't hear the individual parts. Not DTP. I could hear everything crisp and clear, while still being loud and intense. I have a low tolerance for unprofessional live bands these days. They killed it. I will definitely catch them again someday.

Highlights of the show: Deadhead, Kingdom and Dev's banter.

Anyone else catching this leg of the tour?
 

Sesha

Member
I saw him earlier this year too. First time seeing him in any capacity. Amazing concert. His and the band's performances were top notch. They played a couple of tracks from the Ziltoid albums which I digged. Someone in the very front had a McDonald's birthday crown that he got and wore through part of the concert. It was great. I was able to shake his hand at the end after having moved to the front. I swore to never wash my hand again.

The man is a musical genius. The original Ziltoid is absolutely hilarious and one of my favorite metal albums. I'm on an exchange now so I have a chance to see him again in a few weeks. Although the first concert I went to while here was quite the ordeal to get to and from, I might go.
 

zethren

Banned
I'm a huge fan of Ziltoid, so I should dig into the rest of his work. It's such a good album from start to finish, and ridiculously funny.
 

Weetrick

Member
I'm a huge fan of Ziltoid, so I should dig into the rest of his work. It's such a good album from start to finish, and ridiculously funny.

His other albums aren't nearly as dramatic (definitely not as theatrical), but there's a TON of back catalog stuff to dig through. Have you heard Z2 (Dark Matters), the Ziltoid sequel?

I would check out his live album, Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall. The first set is Z2 in it's entirety and the second set is a fan-selected run through his discography. It's excellent.
 
Just saw Devin last night....right near the front row too. He was so delightful and full of energy. His voice was ON POINT last night too...he absolutely nailed everything and even screamed more parts in Deadhead/Kingdom.

I really enjoyed Failure and Higher live from the Transcendence album.
 

Weetrick

Member
Yeah he sounded great at my show too. He kept joking about it being the first night of the tour and how he needs a few days to adjust, but he nailed it.
 

RDreamer

Member
The only time I've seen Dev was in a tiny club that could barely hold like 50 people max. It was pretty great, but he joked around and you could tell he was basically like "why the fuck am I even here?"

Then he proceeded to never come back to my neck of the woods ever again (unless I missed something).

Still, it was fucking rad.
 
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