The Devin Townsend Supermegathread!

[Jarmake]

I like this new album and I have been a fan since... forever? I also like quite much everything else from Devin, except for the ambient records. But hey, everyone has an opinion and stuff. Haters gonna hate etc

 

[drmosh]

Sounds like a rehashed, not-as-good Addicted overall.

There's no balance anymore between cheesy/wacky stuff and neurotic/vulnerable stuff. It's all wacky and cornbally.

How is Epicloud "wacky and cornbally"? Devin's always done exactly what he wants and his songwriting has never been standard. Shit pops into his head and he makes it into a song. How many more times does he need to explain this.
If he was forcing out the albums he would be totally shattered.

 

[noise in my mind]

I'm sorry, but this is not good. It's good in the sense that it's Devin and he makes good music that sounds good, but he sounds totally out of ideas even though he's recording 6 albums a year.

Sounds like a rehashed, not-as-good Addicted overall.

There's no balance anymore between cheesy/wacky stuff and neurotic/vulnerable stuff. It's all wacky and cornbally.

Can't believe people are praising the album so much. Either they are fanboys or afraid to say anything bad about Devin or they started listening to him with Ziltoid.

Really can't understand any longtime fans justifying this as being a good look for Devin creatively.

Pretty sick of Anneke too even though I have been a fan of the gathering for just as long as I've loved Devin.

Really glad that he's finally getting the popularity/money he deserves after toiling in obscurity for all those years, but this does nothing for me.

neg rep away

could not disagree more with this

 

[Metal_Webb]

Your opinion

I totally disagree with pretty much all of that, but I'm not gonna neg because it's your opinion and is as valid as a fanboi's one is.

That being said, Devin has said Epicloud was meant to be a huge big slab of cheese from the get go. He got all his vulnerable stuff out of the way with Ghost/Deconstruction and meant for this to be a big pile of fun. It's not my album of the year by any stretch (Ne Oblivisciarsis' "Portal of I" is just too brilliant for that ) but it's by no means a bad album at all. Having the album magically appear in my car's CD player this morning was absolutely brilliant, the album was meant for playing whilst driving. Each song has it's place and does it's job extremely well. It's not a cover to cover listener either. There are some songs which I can listen to all day (Luck Animals, Save our Now) however the rest really need me to be in a mood for them; I guess Epicloud is more like Ki to me .

I also prefer Anneke here to on Addicted. Her voice sounds much sweeter on Epicloud than it did on Addicted. The huge gospel choir sounds brilliant as well.

 

[Festivus]

I think there are some really good songs on the demo cd too! I think 'Love Tonight' is my favourite song out of both cds, I don't think it would be out of place on Ocean Machine.

One thing that stands out to me is that the production is very different to some of his older cds. To me anyway it doesn't feel like it has this huge wall of sound so much. The drums, bass, and guitar sound very dominant to me on Epicloud.

 

[InfinityCollision]

It's all wacky and cornbally.

That's the idea

If you don't like it, just wait for Z2. But from the way you talk about "running out of ideas" and such, I think the context for this album went right over your head and thus you're listening with the wrong mindset. It's a cheesy, poppy, 80's-fueled slab of fun and that's exactly what it's supposed to be.

Do I think it's Devin's best work? Hardly, but for what it is it's a good album.

 

[shpence]

I'm still gonna catch them live but that sucks Anneke isn't touring with them.

 

[IamSatai]

I think the context for this album went right over your head and thus you're listening with the wrong mindset.

That's the very thing that terrifies me about listening to this album. I have had it for a day or two, yet haven't listened to it yet. I'm just waiting for the moment when I feel that my mood and mind set will nicely coincide with the album. I have been really into addicted the past few days, ever since getting By a Thread. I feel that its the more melancholy feel then the happy feel of the album that is sitting right with me now. I'm going to give addicted one last listen, then stick on epicloud. I almost feel ready for a nice mix of Devin sounds.

 

[Prydogga]

I'm sorry, but this is not good. It's good in the sense that it's Devin and he makes good music that sounds good, but he sounds totally out of ideas even though he's recording 6 albums a year.

Sounds like a rehashed, not-as-good Addicted overall.

There's no balance anymore between cheesy/wacky stuff and neurotic/vulnerable stuff. It's all wacky and cornbally.

Can't believe people are praising the album so much. Either they are fanboys or afraid to say anything bad about Devin or they started listening to him with Ziltoid.

Really can't understand any longtime fans justifying this as being a good look for Devin creatively.

Pretty sick of Anneke too even though I have been a fan of the gathering for just as long as I've loved Devin.

Really glad that he's finally getting the popularity/money he deserves after toiling in obscurity for all those years, but this does nothing for me.

neg rep away

I don't see this post needing any neg rep, although I see a couple of guys have already gone that way.

I'm just gunna say I disagree on every point, and the notion that liking this album makes me delusional or fanboyish is pretty offensive. Blanket statements like that belong on youtube, not here. You have every right to dislike it, but just because you don't, doesn't make it a bad listen.

Devin's stated time and time again this album is a one off, it's not an indication of what his sound is, was, or will continue to be. He wanted to make this album exactly as it is. The silliness that is present in pretty much every other Devin album is absent by choice. I don't think there's anything particularly whacky about it.

Don't even get me started on 'Devin Townsend - running out of ideas'.

 

[DLG]

that was a stupid blanket statement, but I can't see this as a one-off thing when it sounds almost exactly like Addicted.

That one song with the clean intro, Divine I think, it started and I started singing that super corny ahh-eee-ahh-ee track off Addicted.

Just not used to Devin repeating himself or sounding stale after listening to him for so long, but this sounds like that to me.

 

[MFB]

Only Devy albums I really care about are Ziltoid and Addicted!, aside from that I haven't really cared for his stuff because it's all so different and if it's "I want to listen to some DT" you have to ask yourself the follow-up question of "Yeah, but ...WHICH flavor of Devin?" I haven't gone out of my way to listen to Deconstructed and even after 2 full listens I remember none of it besides the intro to "Juular" and Ghost/Ki don't grab me at all.

I have tried, I really have

 

[Prydogga]

What about the older albums?

 

[IamSatai]

"Yeah, but ...WHICH flavor of Devin?"

One of the reasons he is my favourite artist. Such variety, and I love it all. It allows me to listen to one of his albums regardless of what I am in the mood for. Even with the wide range of sounds he comes out with, it still has that Devin quality and touch. I listen to one of his more unusual albums such as Ghost or The Hummer, and I think; "I need to find more of this stuff". I go looking and find things with a similar sound, but never really find something that does it for me. I have come to realise that it is Devins underlying sound and production that I love.

And I agree with Prydogga, check out his older stuff if you haven't. Ocean Machine is a brilliant album, most likely overall my favourite album by him.

 

[MFB]

Ocean Machine is probably the ONE of his things I haven't listened to that I actually want to because it's really weird shit isn't it? I had Synchestra for a while and really only dug "Vampire" and "Vampolka" (they're practically the same track), and I can't remember anything off Terria beside "Earth Day." Accelerated Evolution has "Dead Head" on it which I also remember listening to. Never heard his Physicist/Devlab/The Hummer albums, the latter of which would either be an extreme hit or miss.

 

[Fiction]

Nah Ocean Machines pretty normal, the first half of that album is pure genius to me.. Give it a go though

 

[I Voyager]

that was a stupid blanket statement, but I can't see this as a one-off thing when it sounds almost exactly like Addicted.

Not at all. It's in the same vain, but the two albums definitely have distinctly different sounds, at least I think so.

 

[Prydogga]

Yeah, I honestly don't think this sounds a thing like Addicted. And I'll say it again. Devin stated very clearly that this was something different he wanted to do, and isn't relative to his other musical ambitions now. Besides, Addicted was written at the same time as the other 3 main albums he's released in this revamped period, it's not like the two albums existing makes it seem like this is the direction he's taking. He's done a lot more ghost/ki type stuff overall than pop meets metal in this period.

Ocean Machine is probably the ONE of his things I haven't listened to that I actually want to because it's really weird shit isn't it? I had Synchestra for a while and really only dug "Vampire" and "Vampolka" (they're practically the same track), and I can't remember anything off Terria beside "Earth Day." Accelerated Evolution has "Dead Head" on it which I also remember listening to. Never heard his Physicist/Devlab/The Hummer albums, the latter of which would either be an extreme hit or miss.

I recently went back to Accelerated, after a long period of not listening to it that much. It really is an overall experience. Of course Deadhead will stand out for a lot of listeners as the most interesting track, but listening from beginning to end is a great experience, and I think it has my favourite overall soundscape of any Devin album.

 

[DLG]

you guys are missing the point I'm trying to make.

The music all sounds different, has a different purpose (Ki, Addicted, Deconstruction, etc), but it's all coming from this chilled out, happier, emotionally stable Devin, and there's none of the vitriol of old devin.

of course, I don't wish him ill, i don't want him to start having hypomanic episodes again and fall of the wagon, I'm glad he's doing well - but the music happy and adjusted devin makes does not connect with me emotional in the least.

The corny, tongue-in-cheek humor overwhelms the music now instead of accenting his neuroses and darker themes like it used to when he was young.

No one's disputing the fact that he can still play guitar, write songs and sing well, I'm saying that the new stuff he's putting out has a lot less substance than the earlier stuff and whereas I have deep emotional ties with his earlier work, I can't find anything here to connect with.

 

[drmosh]

No one's disputing the fact that he can still play guitar, write songs and sing well, I'm saying that the new stuff he's putting out has a lot less substance than the earlier stuff and whereas I have deep emotional ties with his earlier work, I can't find anything here to connect with.

Maybe you should trying being less negative all the time and try being happy! hahaha

 

[Fiction]

Remind me never to post an opinion on the internet

(Incoming opinion)

The album sounds great to me, I'm a fan of the whacky cheesy Devy, but I'm really looking forward to another Pre-DTP album, I just put Synchestra and Accelerated Evolution back on my iPod and have been jamming those lately