Hi folks,

I just wanted to share my thoughts about the fact that I can't believe it's been 10 years since Physicist was released! Here seemed like a good place to do it

A lot has been said about this album - is it really just a SYL album? what about the mix? etc. What I remember is that it came out at a time when things seemed uncertain about Dev's career. He had publicly stated many times that he was done with SYL; he was concentrating on his mental health; he was burned out after the nightmare of putting Infinity together; and at one point, Jason Newsted was possibly going to be playing bass on the album! A lot of stuff seemed to be happening. So I was over the moon when it was finally decided to make this mysterious new album that was described as 'Diet-Strapping' by Dev himself.

The website was in development. In fact, I think Physicist was the first of the 'themed' websites of Dev's long career since. The first website period, actually. When it finally came time to release the album in late April/early May (which, at that point, many of us were still buying from Tracy direct!), a snippet from 'Planet Rain' was released on the website. I listened to it over and over, and I knew it was going to be a great album.

Well, 10 years on, I still get more than my money's worth with this gem of an album. I went for a long walk tonight and listened to it to celebrate.
I guess you'd describe it as an 'interim' album more than a 'turning-point' album like, say, Ziltoid. I'll never forget cranking up the stereo the day I got the album in my letter-box and being utterly blown away by the sheer power of the opening track, 'Namaste'. It still stands as one of the most ferocious opening tracks to an album I've every heard.

I love this album. And I'm so thrilled that, given that Dev's career looked uncertain in 2000, 10 years on it is stronger and healthier than anyone could have imagined - probably Dev himself included.

Thanks again Dev for this great album and all the best for things to come

P.S. I hope nobody minds the long-winded retrospective review! I like to write, especially when it comes to things I'm passionate about - like Dev's music.
\m/

No problem with the long paragraph.

With Kingdom being played live, I've dived into Physicist quite a lot those days. Curious how this record, probably more than any other by Dev', always had some ON and OFF time with me. It may not have as many "mind-printing" songs as most of his other records, but every now and then when the random eventually falls on a Physicist track, it's not unusual that I'll be dragged by the particular sound of the album and decide to play it entirely, maybe several times in a row.

Particularly liking Jupiter right now, really uplifting. I also like how Death, Devoid and The Complex can sound a bit like a long 3 parts song, kinda like "you didn't have enough ? wait, here's some more !"
If I had something to "critic", it's the way the album ends. Planet Rain may be a great track, I never managed to get a more positive vibe out of it (while I can with Bastard (2nd half) or even the tiny glimpse of hope at the end of Spirituality). With Planet Rain I always had a bit of a... mmh... "resigned" feeling through the song. Maybe because of the "I'm sorry" vocals fading away along the end. And Forgotten always sounded too different from the rest of the album to change my overall impression of the end of the record.
Well that's a "problem" I have with many of Dev's records actually. He often chooses to end a record on a more mellow, sad or slower song, while "ideally" I think I prefer when an album starts strong, goes more mellow somewhere in the middle, then eventually gets violently chaotic before ending on a powerful uplifting song. But who knows if it would work with Devin's music.

Seeing how Dev sings Kingdom live, I really wouldn't mind a rerecording of Physicist with this kind of clear vocals. Not sure it would keep the "pop-metal-spaceship" atmosphere, but would be great too.

Well that's a "problem" I have with many of Dev's records actually. He often chooses to end a record on a more mellow, sad or slower song,

have to sort of disagree with you there. with the exception of ocean machine,physicist and ki, all his solo albums end on an incredible upbeat:

infinity: noisy pink bubbles (moderately upbeat)
terria: stagnant
AE: slow me down
synchestra: sunshine and happiness
ziltoid: the greys
addicted: awake! (unless you consider the outro dragging on)
punky bruster: larry's o (i really consider this the end of the album, but even metalheads is pretty upbeat too)

ironically the SYL albums tend to end on a lighter note which is a good thing since the rest are so brutal. so ok, you're not that far off, but i wouldn't say "often" cuz i think it's more often on an upbeat moment than not.

I wouldn't call The Greys and Stagnant f.i. "upbeat" at all.

btw this thread rules, thanks for your thoughts and anecdotes.

interesting you say that. maybe "upbeat" isn't the correct word. but they end on such a high note it leaves me with such a positive feeling, in contrast to being "mellow" or "slow"