I'm not a big fan of the total production of Ziltoid... It's not only the drums that bug me. Ofcourse I'm spoiled, because I have Terria, but I dunno, Ziltoid's production is just a little off, in my opinion. I know Devin did everything on his own, and I do have to give him thumbs up, for programming the drums this tight and creative, but somehow, it's noticable that it's a little less 'living' than his other productions.

I like the DFH. I liked it on Catch Thirty-Three and the Nothing remix as well. Ziltoid is no exception - as someone else said, it fits the "spacey" theme.

The drums on the remix of Nothing are real, not DFH. More infos here:
http://hevydevyforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6097

Just out of interest what did Devin use to program the drums? Like what program or plugin or what-have-you?

I think it suits the Ziltoid album myself. I like accoustic and digital drumkits though.

Drumkit From Hell. Search for that on the forums and I'm sure you'll find loads of info about it

Yup, I like the programmed drums on this album (agree with it sounding "spacey" and all...artificial=mechanical=AI=whatever), but my personal preference is always the real thing, especially when it's Gene or Ryan.

I like the DFH. I liked it on Catch Thirty-Three and the Nothing remix as well. Ziltoid is no exception - as someone else said, it fits the "spacey" theme.

The drums on the remix of Nothing are real, not DFH. More infos here:
http://hevydevyforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6097

Oh, that's right. I remembered wrong. The bit about replacing a couple drum/cymbal sounds stuck in my head and made me think they re-did all of them with the DFH.

I liked the drums. But I think the whole point of this record was that Devin wanted to do everything himself, so he had to use programmed drums. After all, he was going to call it the Mighty Masturbator, which I took as meaning it was completely self-indulgent. I only wish he would've gone a little crazier with it and had more parts that were impossible for a human to play. Still, it suits the album well, IMO.

I don't know what it is, but Ziltoid is both quieter and less deep than many of his other albums. The mixing is, I dunno, less interesting, maybe? It's still great, pretty much on par with something like Opeth, but not quite up to Devin's usual standards. Oh well. It's still fun.

I asked RVP about the Ziltoid drums on his forums, but he hasn't replied.... I'll give him another poke

Hey everyone and Biert! This is what I think about the Ziltoid Record....

I like it and I think Dev did a great job with the DFH. Would I have preferred real drums.... hell yeah, I'm a drummer! I would have loved to play on that record and at one point I remember Devin was thinking of using both Gene and I on the album for different songs but in the end he decided to use the DFH cuz he wanted to lay down drums exactly the way he was thinking in his head. Not that Gene and I can't play what Devin wants but Gene and I will always have our style put into what we do (fills and beats) and I know Dev wanted to do a record that was 100% all his ideas and 100% him in every way. The DFH was the perfect solution for Dev and I respect that. I think he kicked ass with his drum programming and my hats off to the guy.

Dev can sing, play Guitar, Bass and Keyboards awesome.... except for the drums! Just watch the hidden track on the DTB DVD and you'll know what I'm talking about Just like I can't play the Keyboards worth shit!

If Dev reads this: You're still awesome at the drums to me Dev and I love your stick twirls!!!!

So there's my answer. I love the record and think Dev did a great job on the drums and he got all his ideas and his vision out 100%. In the end though, speaking with my heart.... it would have been cool to hear real drums on the album (I would have loved to play on the album as well), then again, I'm a drummer and I think that would be any drummers answer.

Best,

RVP

at one point I remember Devin was thinking of using both Gene and I on the album for different songs

I like that idea. A whole freaking lot. It would be excessively sweet to have both at the same time. Not like either of the fellas isn't already their own drum line... Sweet reply, dude. Here's to hoping you get some slots on the next one.

Thanks for the reply Ryan

I don't really like them either actually. But it's very well done considering the amount of work that's needed.

I don't have a problem with them being programmed (as mentioned, some parts are pretty much inhuman-- see 'Ziltoidia Attaxx!!!), but the fact that they're so insanely sharp and clicky sorta kills it for me, yeah. Clicky drums usually don't win any points with me, and these ones are so ridiculously snappy it's just way too much.

Which parts do you mean? I haven't heard anything immediately but maybe I didn't pay enough attention. It's audible that it are programmed drums though. Otherwise it's also the snappy sound that's a bit too much for me. But it's just the way the samples sound that come with the program and I guess Devin didn't feel like creating some of his own right then.

I'm not a big fan of the total production of Ziltoid... It's not only the drums that bug me. Ofcourse I'm spoiled, because I have Terria, but I dunno, Ziltoid's production is just a little off, in my opinion. I know Devin did everything on his own, and I do have to give him thumbs up, for programming the drums this tight and creative, but somehow, it's noticable that it's a little less 'living' than his other productions.

Yes, it's hard to put into words but it's less "living" indeed. I get that feeling with the guitars too. I don't know how everything got recorded exactly. But it sounds as if the guitars were either recorded directly or with "less air" between the speaker and microphone compared to other releases. It sounds a bit more claustrophobic at times. Or maybe it's just the drums who create that general feel.

Nevertheless, this is just nitpicking and comparing with his other great stuff. Especially considering how everything was written/recorded and at what pace. The production is still much better than most of the stuff I hear.

Sure, they sound programmed. Who gives a fuck? Some of the parts on the album would be IMPOSSIBLE for a human to play without the aid of heavy studio editing anyway. Like the crazy blasts in "Ziltoidia Attaxx!", or the end of "Solar Wind". "Monotonous idiotic rhythm", my ass. Listen to the drums on "The Greys"; they are textured and almost natural-sounding, with a lot of creativity in the fills. Hell, they are far more interesting than a lot of the drums on Infinity. Yeah, I said it. Devin probably spent many hours prgramming the record, and you just wrote off all that work in one or two sentences. Feel better now?

A great drum program is still a drum program. Ziltoid is the shit, but I love a full assembled band.

A studio drummer couldn't have brought such a precise atmosphere to the album as the DFH did. If it was never mentioned that they were programmed, we'd all be sitting here wondering who Townsend got to perform drums on the album, just as many people think Haake performed the drums on Catch Thirtythree.