My problem with Synchestra is that it's great until Judgement/A Simple Lullaby are too long and make me start thinking about other things and then the album never really grabs my attention again. Also Baby Song goes straight over my head 3/4s of the time so that kills a lot of the momentum in the early part of the album.


Alien, Accelerated Evolution and SYL are all gold though, Ziltoid is just better (although i'm not sure if it tops AE yet...)

Why is it so bad to NOT re-invent oneself everytime as an artist nowadays? Give me good songwriting, musicianship and production and I'm happy.

I think this is something that Devin has spoiled people in that all of his albums sound completely different from one another.

Personally I like when a band just slowly morphs their sound (Neurosis or The Mars Volta) or takes a different approach to their style and looks at it from another angle (Converge, Tool). If a band repeats themselves generally I'll just be satisfied with the album and won't love it, but I don't really think they need to totally change their music with each album, I actually prefer the gradual progression because it makes any kind of stylistic change less drastic and divisive.

Babysong is the most intense song on cd! It took me months to appreciate that track. Maybe it's because I'm approaching my 30's and I don't have a kid yet but that song really gets me. If skipped a track while listening to the album it was usually the Babysong. It was like the song just challenged me to listen to it even thought I didn't want to. Babys?!? That's not something I think about when I listen to music and especially not in that way. I now think it's the best song on the disc. It gets so intense during the 2nd half of the song that you need the levity of the Vampolka to snap out of it. I really did a turn around on this one from being almost unlistenable to being my favorite track.

I love "Judgement" because there's two songs going on at one time. On the surface you've got this vitriolic monster, almost like this somber sludge/doom piece. But right below the surface there's this beautifully serene ballad playing. It's a BRILLIANT piece of work.

"A Simply Lullaby" is simply an extension of "Judgement," only this time the "lullaby" part is more prominent until the end when it gets heavy again—before the grande finale fireworks thing. =)

And then "Notes From Africa" is just too damn awesome to not listen to. Such a great song. And "Happiness And Sunshine" is always good for a smile. Haha.

Well, say it however you want.

As for ZTO: I won't download the album, but I randomly checked out one track, (N9). I had to. I simply wanted to know how this album sounds, from a production standpoint, after the IMO kind of lackluster production/mix of the last SYL album.

You just picked the wrong song, that's all

Wait a minute! So the production on the rest of the album is different? That's hard to believe

Or do you mean that I did miss the "Wallet Chains" of the album?

Personally I like when a band just slowly morphs their sound (Neurosis or The Mars Volta) or takes a different approach to their style and looks at it from another angle (Converge, Tool). If a band repeats themselves generally I'll just be satisfied with the album and won't love it

So you like The Black album, Load and St. Anger much better than Master Of Puppets and ...Justice For All (which in essence are Ride The Lighning Mk. II and III). Right?

Right.

You just picked the wrong song, that's all

OMZ, I just checked out the samples on myspace (why I didn't wait for them instead of downloading N9 is beyond me). Inspired! This is some very wacka wacka music and I love it!

My problem with Synchestra is that it's great until Judgement/A Simple Lullaby are too long and make me start thinking about other things and then the album never really grabs my attention again. Also Baby Song goes straight over my head 3/4s of the time so that kills a lot of the momentum in the early part of the album.


Alien, Accelerated Evolution and SYL are all gold though, Ziltoid is just better (although i'm not sure if it tops AE yet...)

Why is it so bad to NOT re-invent oneself everytime as an artist nowadays? Give me good songwriting, musicianship and production and I'm happy.

I think this is something that Devin has spoiled people in that all of his albums sound completely different from one another.

Personally I like when a band just slowly morphs their sound (Neurosis or The Mars Volta) or takes a different approach to their style and looks at it from another angle (Converge, Tool). If a band repeats themselves generally I'll just be satisfied with the album and won't love it, but I don't really think they need to totally change their music with each album, I actually prefer the gradual progression because it makes any kind of stylistic change less drastic and divisive.

I wasnt really impressed with either DTB album. They both have their moments, but as a whole they both pale in comparisment to Terria, Ocean Machine, Infinity. Ziltoid is a step back in that brilliant territory Devin was in during those first few solo albums.

My favorite is definitely Synchestra.
It's versatile, awesome, triumphant, atmospheric, joyful... everything that you need to cry for happiness. Triumph is the most powerful song I know.
I love it when Devin creates complex songs that are multi-layered and give you goosebumps every time.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of straight-forward rock and riffage, I love AE.

I think Synchestra is a great piece of work although I can not understand A Simple Lullaby at all and the album loses me there. I definitely agree with Eyesore in that Judgement is brilliant.

OM will always be my number one album for all time. It is just beautiful.

As for Ziltoid well it is fun and has some wonderful moments that make my jaw drop but I'm not sure I can place it anywhere near the top of Devs outstanding catalogue of work.

So you like The Black album, Load and St. Anger much better than Master Of Puppets and ...Justice For All (which in essence are Ride The Lighning Mk. II and III). Right?

eh, I've only heard Kill Em All, Master of Puppets and Justice for All and they bored the hell out of me.

I think Synchestra is a great piece of work although I can not understand A Simple Lullaby at all and the album loses me there. I definitely agree with Eyesore in that Judgement is brilliant.

I like the first half of Judgement but then it just kind of wanders off.

I have always thought that Synchestra was an exceedingly strong effort. I don't know how to compare it if it is "better" or not, but I *do* know that I choose to listen to it more often than the other albums lately.

But, to compare... I like Synchestra at least as much as Terria. They're very similar, to me. Infinity has moments of brilliance, to me, such as Unity and Life is All Dynamics. But, it feels very scattered to me. I enjoy Physicist, too, but it also feels kind of disunified to me. Ocean Machine is very beautiful, but feels sorta like a first try in a way.

Now, let's be clear about something, though. Arguing about which Devin Townsend album (solo, DTB, SYL, whatever) is better or best is a little like arguing about Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches or which of Mozart's symphonies was the best. You know? I mean, they're so far above most others that it really almost silly to talk about. I think we can all agree that Devin Townsend's music is world's better than 90% of whatever else is out there. As I have said before and is found in a sig file, too, still, I see, Dev's music is like sex; even when it's bad it's still great!

So for "bad" Devy music, I'd lump Pysicist (but Kingdom is one of my favorite DevSongs), parts of Infinity (Wild Colonial Boy, Ants, War) in there. (Don't get crazy, those are good songs, but I don't like them as much as others.) But, Synchestra just kills, to me. The opening three songs are flat out amazing (Let It Roll, Hypergeek and Triumph). I almost think of that as one whole song in three parts. Babysong I like, and Vampira/Vampolka are cute, but that second half... Pixellate, Judgement... Damn! Notes From Africa? So great.

I also think that Accelerated Evolution is a damn fine album. Depth Charge and Random Analysis are awesome, so is Storm. And Deadhead. And Suicide.

Alien gets better every time I listen to it. Love that album. The New Black? That album is so much fun! Far Beyond Metal? Niiiiice. F*cker? Very niiice. Almost Again? Slays me.

Terria is an amazing, beautiful album. To me, it and Synchestra are Dev's most consistent albums and best. So, when I hear that Ziltoid is like that and better.... duuuude. (I've looked for the leak because I am weak and have bought nearly every single thing Devin has made, including Devlab and The Hummer but I couldn't find the leak so I may just be forced to wait.)

As for The Hummer and Devlab, I find them interesting but not satisfying. I like them because Devin made them and I'm glad to have supported one of my very favorite artists. But, I don't really enjoy them. It's fine to have them on and I listen occassionally, but for me, I'd rather have more traditional song structure.

It's just a matter of taste.

I think Synchestra is brilliant and my boyfriend doesn't like it that much. Does it make a less than fantastic album in my eyes? No. It's all relative..or just entertainment, folks!

I wasnt really impressed with either DTB album. They both have their moments, but as a whole they both pale in comparisment to Terria, Ocean Machine, Infinity. Ziltoid is a step back in that brilliant territory Devin was in during those first few solo albums.

You're comparing. That's your problem.

Why wouldn't you compare? Why do you dislike certain music? Because when you compare it to what you do like it's crap.

Why wouldn't you compare? Why do you dislike certain music? Because when you compare it to what you do like it's crap.

You don't compare Synchestra to Ocean Machine. They're two completely different things. Same artist, sure, but not the same musical mindset.

I wasnt really impressed with either DTB album. They both have their moments, but as a whole they both pale in comparisment to Terria, Ocean Machine, Infinity. Ziltoid is a step back in that brilliant territory Devin was in during those first few solo albums.

You're comparing. That's your problem.

I like them all for what they are... it's just that i like some albums more than others and i recognize that, so i figure out why i like certain albums more than others. It's not really a conscious comparisment, it's more of an observation.

Back on topic: The only downside to Ziltoid to me is the emotional content. I don't feel much emotion from it cause the whole concept basically makes it too silly for emotion...

I also think SYL fans will like this album more than the DTB fans. It's a really damn heavy album, and it does not have very many sappy moments in it. I find myself listening to more SYL than any of Devin's other projects lately so it fits with my current headspace perfectly.