Hey Everyone,

I thought I would start this thread for all you fans to let you in on what our feelings (The DTB) are on Synchestra now that it's done and in the can ! I'm going to post and hopefully the other guys will follow....maybe even Dev will, if he finds the time out of his busy schedule.

Ryan's view and opinion.....

I've had a finished copy of the album for a few days now, same with the rest of the DTB guys. It has never left my home CD player or my Discman when I'm away from home. My computer in my bedroom is even playing music when I go to sleep at night, guess what's playing every night ? That's right......Synchestra !

This album is fucking AMAZING ! From start to finish there is'nt a song that I dislike or skip when I listen to it. There are beautiful moments, there are emotionally heavy parts, there are Kick-Ass Rockin' songs, there are humourous parts and for the most part.....this album, collectively, is extremely EPIC ! I've listened to this album probably 10-15 times over the last few days and I'm still not sick of it, not even close.

I will go on record with this next statement :

In my opinion, this is the best album that Mr. Townsend has put out in his solo career and I would go as far as to say that this is pretty much his best album out of anything he has done !

This album moves me in ways I have never experienced with music before. This has nothing to do with the fact that I played on the album either ! I played on Accelerated Evolution as well and thought it was a good album, I'm proud of it, but I still like Terria and especially Ocean Machine more. With Synchestra..... nothing, I mean nothing tops it. You are taken in from it with the first song "Let it Roll" and you cannot stop listening to it till the very last notes from "Notes from Africa". I truly mean this. It's one of my all time favourite albums EVER !

One major point that needs to be pointed out about this album is that you really need to listen to it from start to finish to get the whole effect of what Devin accomplished here. It's like a musical story, it has peaks and almost dark emotional moments right down to parts that I'm sure you all will find uplifting and even humourous. It truly is a musical journey that MUST be heard from start to finish to get the whole effect.

Musically, technically speaking, this album has a very progressive side to it. Dev's guitar playing is awesome as usual. His vocal and guitar melodies are stunning on this record, you'll find yourself mesmorized with what he's created on this album. Brian Mike and Dave do some amazing things with their instruments as well. Mike's Bass playing is sick on this album, he also lay's down some mean Tuba playing ! No lie ! The Piano/Keyboard parts are the most insane parts out of any Devin record IMO. Brian lays down some crazy picking and cool riffs on the album and even Dave gets to play guitar, mandolin and a few other things on the record ! The drumming is way more progressive then AE and I would go as far as to say that this is definitely one of the most progressive album's for drumming in Dev's solo stuff. We have everything from 32nd note double kick drum parts, to messed up time signatures, lotsa' ghost stroking, cool fills and cymbal work and most importantly some bad ass RVP Groove drumming. I'm very proud of this record musically for all the instruments and for many other personal reasons.

To end my review on this album,

I would like to say that Dev, Mike, Dave, Brian and myself really put our hearts and soul into this record. Dev does this with everything he does, we all know that but this time it was truly a band effort not just Dev. When we recorded AE, Mike, Dave, Brian and I were just happy that we were recording a Devin Townsend record We did'nt really have time to think or know how to put our hearts and souls into Dev record cuz we were only a full band for about 3 months at that point ! This time around we really felt the music , the vibe and knew eachother musically. That's what 3 years of touring, recording and being a band does to ya'. It was a real cool thing to understand and see what Dev created this time around. It's very rewarding.

In closing, I feel absolutely honoured to have been a part of what I consider the best Devin Townsend record to date. It's brilliant. I really hope all of you can experience what I experience and hear when I listen to this record....it's truly amazing. I think you all can tell how serious I am with this long write up about the album and the fact that I want to share my thoughts with you all. The emotions and feelings that this album brings to me cannot have a price attached to it. I hope you all get the same feeling when you get to hear this album in early 2006.

I can't wait to tour this album for you all. Until then take care and good luck with all your Blue Balls and Pussies in waiting for it to come out Sorry, had to say that !

Ryan's review score - 11/10 or FUCK YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RVP

PS.... The artwork which Geoff Rousselot has done for this album is absolutely incredible. The guy is a genius and he has truly outdone himself on the artwork for the CD. It easily rivals if not beats out Terria for the best artwork on any Devy record ! Thanks Geoff, you're the best bro !

[The Dev]

I love it. I'm really proud of it. Some of you will 'get it' and love it too... others may not have the patience for it. It's different than the others, and not intended to 'knock your socks off' from the first song.

My stuff ussually demands alot from the listener, but after Alien, I just wanted something nice to listen to. This is it. The next music will be different still...

The dtb guys propelled this one with awesome positivity and enthusiasm. I couldn't have done it without the passion of Ryan, Dave, Mike and the Beav.

Geoff is a fabulous artist who came through with flying colors, and made the package beautiful. Omer made us look great, (a hard task on a personal front...)

Vai is a good buddy and I'm proud that this marks the beggining of a new chapter of work between us. (I'd label the solo...'weird and memorable'...in a good way)

Again...this record is not a collection of individual songs like AE, so don't expect one track to really stand out...(maybe Vampira, but every album needs a video)...it's a kind of audio 'movie' that doesn't make a ton of sense individually, but if you can get to the 11th song, it might make you cry. (theres a cool subliminal story)

Everybody seems to want me to be a devil. SYL seems to get so much attention, which I'm proud of...( I love some of the material and the guys...especially Gener...) but my heart will always lie with the solo material. In a perfect world, all the same bands that piss their pants at the opportunity to tour with syl would let dtb OPEN for them. The dtb means alot to me, and the fact that we have stayed together for 3 years now I hope will convince someone that love music is valid. The world is angry and I get so sad that I scream at people to pay my rent. Unfortunately, both extremes are in me, but all I can say is that, although small at this point, the dtb 'family' (including you guys) is a tight and strong force, and I will continue to sing about this stuff (synchestra) no matter how 'uncool' being happy and optomistic is. (hope)

I want people to love this like I do. I'm on tour while I'm writing this (in the back of the bus), and Synchestra has made this tour really nice when I need some sunshine. It's like a friend that holds your hand. I've quit smoking pot (!) ...it's been almost a month now, and it's FUCKING HARD. I feel those murderous syl thoughts and beautiful dtb thoughts stronger than I have in 10 years, and it would be alot harder to deal with withoutout the Synchestra on contant rotation in my iPod.

Honestly though, I have no perspective on it. I'm too close to it, and once it comes out...it's no longer mine and I probably won't listen to it much (like all of them) This is how I summarize the records;

There are 4 record in my carreer that I feel a certain way about.

City, Ocean Machine, Alien and Synchestra. I think those are a family.

Infinity and Terria were the ones in between for me...

Honestly, those are the ones I'm most proud of. AE is perfect in it's own way, and Physicist has it's charms, but Those 4 on top there are real milestones for me.

The Darkane, Soilwork, FF, and Mastodon boys really seem to like the Synchestra, which is surprising and uplifting, as I didn't know what people would think of it. But again...for what it's worth, it probably won't sell...but those who do get it...I think it may make your day a little sunnier if it's been a bad one. We all need hope, (especially when you perform songs like Shitstorm for a living.)

I can't control the muse. I have a war in my head all the time, but let me just say that I guess you need to know where your edges are before you can find your middle...you need the dark to make the light visible.

SYL and DTB are brothers in a disfunctional house and the best thing I can do as a result of being presented with the material (10 new songs every 6 months) is do my best at actualizing them. Alien is a strange dark form of cathartic hell, and Synchestra is like someone stroking your brain in a pleasant way.


Just as Gene is the perfect man for syl, Ryan is the man for dtb. Jed and Beav, Mike and Byron, Dave and Willy... I love them all, and I just have to keep my mouth shut and keep getting the muse out.

I love you all...

Well I have been listening to Synchestra non stop for about a week now, and I am still a huge fan! I know there is a bunch of hype already about this one, and I dont want to tell people how amazing it is or anything, I will leave that up to your ears, but in the same breath I can tell you strictly from a band point of view, that each and every one of us is very proud of what we have come up with this time.

Like Dev said in the post earlier this is definately a different sound for us. Although there are still lots of recognisable Devinisms! His vocals are my favorite part of this record so far as there are some lines that he sings where you are just left wondering how he can get such emotion into his voice. I love it when Dev really sings in a clean voice and he did not dissapoint me

The guitars remind me of big menacing clouds at times when we play the low chords in the tuning that we are in now. And Mikes Bass is so 70s style damn did he ever step it up on this one! That boy is one badass bass player! I am sure you all know Ryan ripped it up, and Dave is now becoming a one man band. I am starting to wonder what he didnt play on this record.

This is definately an album that should be listened to from start to finish, but I dont think that is unusual for Dev. It is much like the whole Pink Floyd kinda vibe.

Anyway like I said I dont want to hype it anymore than it already has been, just wanted to give my opinion on it and say thanks to the guys in DTB for making this band so good And thanks to everyone on here for making it a fun place to come and share our thoughts.