Thanks guys, it sounded just from the samples that she was on it less and used more for atmosphere this time around. Can't wait to hear this album.

OK, this is the first time I've heard much of Epicloud, AND I LOVE IT.

Liberation has a fantastic riff.

On the subject of the mix, my WAV rip sounds like the orgasms of one thousand gods.

oh god want

Pretty much what everyone else, Anneke is much less pronounced, I suppose. She's almost a more ambient tool. But without her the album would be VERY different, and probably not as good.

Because you guys seemed to love the last Epicloud wallpaper I posted so much, here's a new one, this time made (read: cropped) by me. Hope uliek.

It's fantastic. While I don't think it qualifies for AOTY for me, it's surely one of the highlights of 2012.

Here's a song-by-song analysis no one asked for:

Effeverscent!: Very interesting way to start the album; it could be expanded a bit with instrumentation, though, it's a bit of lost potential.
True North: So damn cute! That's it, before entering Devy-territory, and I must admit it dragged on a little bit (kind of like Stand did). Justified by the ending, though, and still a great song.
Lucky Animals: Eh, I don't particularly like it much; still has strong earwormy qualities, and sounds like a song Dev always wanted to do
Liberation: One of the most energetic songs I've ever heard. Remains my favorite for now along with Kingdom.
Where We Belong: Has all the qualities of a pretty boring song, and yet manages to escape that fate. Man, those are the cleanest clean vocals I've heard, and when the choir enters the final chorus it's so damn epic.
Save Our Now: Very simple, chorus could be better, but overall the song sounds very pleasant.
Kingdom: WOW. The only thing I missed was those screams he did on the verse. Still, WOW.
Divine: Floaty and beautiful. Pretty cute to follow Kingdom with this. =P
Grace: Not much of a fan, to be honest. I always was a step behind most Dev's lower-tempo stuff, although I agree that without this Epicloud would be incomplete. I find funny that Grace sounds calm, even if very powerful.
More!: Sounds like a Foo Fighters song, which is good because Foo Fighters is good. Also, the bridge is one of the best parts in the whole album, and reminds me so much of Deconstruction.
Lessons: omfg I love this interlude. Reminds me of how TMM starts, but much better.
Hold On!: Very simple but effective.
Angel: A low-tempo song, but this one is effective too, and Anneke did an awesome job. Verses are a bit repetitive though. The choir at the end makes me feel funny inside =X

Please tell me someone else is pleasantly stunned with how amazing More!'s bridge is. It's great to see that was in his setlist the other day.

Definitely. The bridge is what elevates it beyond your typical four on the floor rocker, and the heavy riff at the end is just the icing on the cake.

Also, I started a lyrics wikia page at: http://lyrics.wikia.com/Devin_Townsend_ ... .282012.29 in case anyone wants to take a stab at the lyrics. Can anyone with the full CD tell me if it comes with a lyrics sheet?

[Octillus]

Please tell me someone else is pleasantly stunned with how amazing More!'s bridge is. It's great to see that was in his setlist the other day.

Definitely. The bridge is what elevates it beyond your typical four on the floor rocker, and the heavy riff at the end is just the icing on the cake.

It sounds like a train that's coming apart on the tracks it's rocking so hard.

Hmm. Definitely not the perfect album, and not the best Dev's ever released, but certainly one of the most enjoyable. Few songs that stand out to me, for good or for bad:

True North: There's some really good ideas at work here (particularly the "Hey there, what has come into your royal mind?" and "Where do we go from here?" sections), but all these separate ideas and parts feel too 'thrown-together' to me, much like 'Jupiter' on Physicist. It all comes across a little messy and unstructured. Still, very good.

Where We Belong: For whatever reason, the demos and live acoustic versions posted before the album's release sounded better than this final version. Well, maybe not better, but I just don't feel this song works when it's as big and overblown as Epicloud is.

Save Our Now: I see people bashin' on this one, but it's really great. The verses and pre-choruses are fantastic, with some nice, atmospheric work. If I'm honest, however, the chorus is a little disappointing.

Kingdom, Grace, More!: Holy shit. Epic. Loud. That is all.

Hold On: This and Angel gel into one heck of an ending, I gotta say. I love the "hospital" ambiance you hear as 'Lessons' fades into 'Hold On,' really sets the theme for the rest of the song. As a pop song, this is probably the most successful on the album, with some totally original and emotive yet utterly infectious melodies.

Angel: Dev sure has a habit of ending his albums on a high note, and this is no exception. Huge, overwhelming bursts of sound, some fantastic, emotive melody, and utterly stunning vocals from both Dev and Anneke. Also, the reprise of 'Effervescent!' is a really nice touch.

That's what I'm thinkin' so far. Really diggin' a lot of this, so I'm gonna try not to play it to death before it's even properly released!

Hmm. Definitely not the perfect album, and not the best Dev's ever released, but certainly one of the most enjoyable. Few songs that stand out to me, for good or for bad:

True North: There's some really good ideas at work here (particularly the "Hey there, what has come into your royal mind?" and "Where do we go from here?" sections), but all these separate ideas and parts feel too 'thrown-together' to me, much like 'Jupiter' on Physicist. It all comes across a little messy and unstructured. Still, very good.

Where We Belong: For whatever reason, the demos and live acoustic versions posted before the album's release sounded better than this final version. Well, maybe not better, but I just don't feel this song works when it's as big and overblown as Epicloud is.

Been thinking the same about these two. It's kinda bugging me that the demo version on WWB sounded better. Oh well still a quality track.

Thoughts on the songs that I have heard without commentary:

Liberation: Awesome.
More: The quality I heard this on must suck, because I'm not feeling this one.
Grace: EPIC.
Kingdom: LOUD.
Lucky Animals: It's catchy, but nowhere near my favorite.
Where We Belong: It's probably going to end up as my third or fourth favorite after Grace, Liberation and Angel.

True North: There's some really good ideas at work here (particularly the "Hey there, what has come into your royal mind?" and "Where do we go from here?" sections), but all these separate ideas and parts feel too 'thrown-together' to me, much like 'Jupiter' on Physicist. It all comes across a little messy and unstructured. Still, very good.

Where We Belong: For whatever reason, the demos and live acoustic versions posted before the album's release sounded better than this final version. Well, maybe not better, but I just don't feel this song works when it's as big and overblown as Epicloud is.

Been thinking the same about these two. It's kinda bugging me that the demo version on WWB sounded better. Oh well still a quality track.

Yeah, I would agree on True North, it does kinda feel thrown together to me, too. But I also see that it's other people's favorite song, so to each their own. I

In my experience, I often prefer the version of the song that I've heard first, whether it was a live bootleg, demo, or the album version. So if I hear the demo first, then the album version may seem kind of stiff and lifeless or overproduced in comparison. On the other hand, if I hear the album version first, the demo may seem kind of sloppy in comparison. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the version I hear first sets the tone by which I will mentally compare any subsequent versions.

I still can't figure out why people are hating on Where We Belong. Yeah, the demo sounded phenomenal, but something had to be done to make it fit with the rest of the album. To me, the chorus has that awesome "lighters in the air" atmosphere down pat.

I genuinely want to buy a convertible just to speed down the highway blasting Save Our Now.

Lol, I was totally banned from another forum for talking about the album. Zero tolerance policy on piracy!