Hey Devyfans!

Since the album is out today, I'm really curious what your opinions are. Since it is often the case that opinions about an album change the more you listen to it (that was the case for me with the first Ziltoid), my idea was to have a "first impressions" thread.
Rule: You only listened to the album a single time. Could be interesting to see if and how much favorites change after a while . Favorite songs, specific opinions about songs, a general opinion, everything's fine.

I cheated and have already listened to it several times, but my first impression of each disk:

Sky Blue: Silent Militia might be the catchiest song Devin has written, and Rain City is his most beautiful song in several outings with the possible exception of Flight. As a whole, the disc is solid.

Dark Matters: Dominique Lenore Persi needs to be on more Devin albums, because she was a perfect fit for this album. The story got straight-up silly later on. Best tracks were Ziltoidian Empire and War Princess, and Ziltoid Goes Home was pretty nice, but I really want to hear this without all the dialogue, which takes up a huge chunk of this thing.

As of now, I choose Sky Blue.

Sky Blue definitely has more replay value for me, the individual songs just stand out a lot more. Dark Matters is great to listen as a whole with some exceptions (Ziltoid Goes Home is amazing on it's own). Silent Militia, Universal Flame, Midnight Sun and A New Reign stand out the most for me. I love the Dead Or Alive reference in Silent Militia, great take on that melody.

Devin talked about Enya in an interview some time ago: "[...]I was like, "I want metal that sounds like Enya", and I think I’ve spent most of my career working towards that end!" - I think he very well succeeded in Forever. It doesn't fit really well in the context of the album, but it's an amazing track on its own.

I love the Dead Or Alive reference in Silent Militia, great take on that melody.

That, and the Bastard lyrical references in Rain City, were among the main highlights for me. But that Silent Militia track is just so damn catchy.

I listened to it now as well. My impression:

Sky Blue: I was really surprised by this one. I already heard Universal Flame and Rejoice in some Podcasts and was expecting a very pop-esque album that doesn't have much impact on me. Universal Flame is probably my least favorite song on this album, Rejoice works quite well as an intro though.
What I really, really like about it is the sound. Can't really put my finger on it, but to me it improved a lot compared to Epicloud. Maybe it's because the opposite of what I was afraid of is true: It sounds *less* like a pop album and instead creates a very unique mood.
Favorites so far were Warrior and Before We Die, both interestingly for their verses instead of the chorus. There's just something magical about songs of him that really utilize Anneke's voice. Absolutely wonderful duo. Rain City was also standing out, I've got to listen a few times more to it though. It didn't really make *click* yet.
I never played Dead or Alive, so I didn't notice the reference from Silent Militia. Any specific song from those games? So far not really one of my favs, maybe that's the reason .

Dark Matters: I was actually just waiting for this part because Ziltoid is my favorite album of him along with Ocean Machine. Color Your World is probably my favorite track of everything he's done so far.
Unfortunately, I feel like it has completely turned into a comedy/musical thing. While I enjoyed all the beautiful melodies in the first one, everything seems just to be "epic" now with many layered voices etc.. From Sleep Awake and War Princess stood out for me here - maybe because the female vocals usually don't are as layered and seem more melodical to me, I don't know . Aand of course the wonderful Dimension Z. Loved it when the Universal Choir thing was announced, still like it! Seems like the choir thing also worked quite well - I had my doubts due to all the different microphones used etc..
In the end, it worked well as background music while doing something else, but I'm not sure if I will really enjoy this album as much as the first. Maybe that will just be a "listen 10 times to it and you will like it" thing, I'm not sure yet.

So much from me. Still, this was 2 hours of a Devin soundwall. It will probably take some time to really appreciate songs on their own .

I never played Dead Or Alive, so I didn't notice the reference from Silent Militia. Any specific song from those games?

I meant this Dead or Alive, you know the chorus

I never played Dead Or Alive, so I didn't notice the reference from Silent Militia. Any specific song from those games?

I meant this Dead or Alive, you know the chorus

Oops, I see . The song just sounded a lot like some kind of heavy game soundtrack, so I figured you talked about the games *ahem*.

Sky Blue is rocking my world. After the first listen there were numerous sections and melodies that I had to go back and revisit. Hell, after hearing Midnight Sun for the first time I had to rewind it several times before I could move on. After a recent loss that chorus hit me REALLY hard.

Dark Matters is very good and a worthy sequel to ZTO but it is a demanding album that is much more focused on narrative, jokes, dialogue, etc. Nothing wrong with that and I know it was the intent, I just found that going from one album to the other was quite jarring. I'll have to spend some time with it on its own.

I think both albums are growers that will open up more and more after repeated listens.
Sky Blue is exactly the album I wanted from him so its just a personal preference for me. I love the big sound of Epicloud and the emotional depth of an album like Terria. Sky Blue seems to be a great mix of those two things.

Fave tracks (at the moment) - Midnight Sun, Fallout, Warrior, Sky Blue, and Ziltoid Goes Home

[EphelDuath666]

Sky Blue.....is......awesome. So much goodness to find here! Midnight Sun (!!!! one of the best DTP songs, if not THE best one in my opinion) , A new Reign, Universal Flame (that awesome part at the end, wow), Warrior, Rain City, Forever, Before We Die (such a fun and powerful song)...wow. I really, really, really liked Addicted and Epicloud but Sky Blue just works soooooo much better for me. Less repition within the songs, better song writing and just so many brilliant, moving moments. I'm absolutely happy with this album.

Z2 is good, while I have to admit that I actually prefer the raw version (bought the special edition) because the spoken stuff is a little too distracting for me this time around. Really enjoying the raw version though but I also am not sure how many times I'll listen to this one since it really does feel more like a soundtrack, one piece, rather than an album with individual songs. And while I have no problem with that you really have to be in the right kind of mood for that kind of thing.

Does the extra disc for Dark Matters still include lyrics or is entirely instrumental?

Does the extra disc for Dark Matters still include lyrics or is entirely instrumental?

The Disc 3 is Dark Matters without dialogue.

[EphelDuath666]

yes, it's Dark Matters (almost) without any of the spoken words. So it's not instrumental, no. It's just the spoken words that are missing.

On first listen, neither disk is really grabbing me. I'm sure both will grow on me (and it wouldn't be the first time) but right now, I'm uninspired

There are a few moments on Sky Blue that I'm really liking but not enough for me to be excited.

Dark Matters hasn't don't much for me musically, but I'm sure it'll all be revealed on multiple listens.

Neither is really a disappointment as my expectations for this one weren't particularly high,
Whatever my thoughts end up being it'll all feed into the spectrum of Devin albums and I'm sure both will find their place.

[Victimlas]

Just got mine in! Listening to Sky Blue and loving it Midnight Sun is amazing!

[Blazingmonga]

Mine arrived today but I haven't been able to listen yet. Looking forward to a long drive tomorrow when I can listen to both discs

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