[Octillus]

Sky Blue is rather amazing. The depressive quality of the songs is... really hard to escape right now.

I still think the new Fallout isn't as good as the old. I think Universal Flame still goes nowhere and is one of my least favorite tracks Dev's ever done, but other than that, man. This album's heavy in the way that comes with maturity.

You can't live the emotions of epicloud forever, that's for damn sure.

I made a video review of Z2. It's in Greek, but I've included English subtitles. I perform three characters in my videos, which is why my behavior changes in the beginning and end of this video. Please, tell me what you think and let me know if the subtitles make enough sense to you (English is my second language, and I still make mistakes). I appreciate your support!

[youtube]NL6QsWnkdkI[/youtube]

I went into this album expecting an epic follow up to Ziltoid and a dtp side album I wouldn't care much for, but have come out almost the complete opposite. To me Skyblue is the best album Dev has released in YEEAARRS! Absolutely in love with it. Dark Matters on the other hand is fun but not the highlight of Z2 for me.

sky blue has grown on me. but its no where close to as complex or intense as Dark Matters. i love the ppl bitching that if you dont like Sky Blue its cause "Your ears cant hear layers"...apparently. meanwhile they dont like Dark Matters. this is why i usually dont talk to Devy fans.

a similar complaint I have with Dev fans is they kneejerk that Sky Blue must be like Epicloud because of the pop sound and complain "Devin's new releases sound too similar." ...and then they turn around and complain that Z2 isn't a carbon copy of ZTO without seeing the irony.

It seems that everyone is judging Z2 by their half-decade's-worth of expectations rather than the music itself; people need to see Z2 for what it is and not what it isn't. I don't know when Dev's fans all lost their collective minds and started acting like Devin personally owes them something, but it's an insufferable attitude from any fan base.

I learned from Terria and Deconstruction that you need to give an album time before you can really understand it, and it angered me to no end that many people already closed their minds to Z2 after a song or two leaked and the release date hadn't even arrived. Shame, shame.

Z2 is growing on me and it already looks like the albums are in the running for Devin's best work. I'm glad the wait is over because I've been sick of the fans' "we want Z2 now!" demands for years. It feels like a demon's been exorcised, I'm really excited to have the mystery back of what comes next.

I fucking love both of them. From Sleep Awake and Ziltoid Goes Home are magnificent. I bet anything Deathray is gonna be part of this new tour, and it would kick such ass live.

a similar complaint I have with Dev fans is they kneejerk that Sky Blue must be like Epicloud because of the pop sound and complain "Devin's new releases sound too similar." ...and then they turn around and complain that Z2 isn't a carbon copy of ZTO without seeing the irony.

And I for one hate it when fandoms circlejerk over anything and rationalise all criticism away as if only the positive opinions are the right ones. You don't need other people to agree with you, you know? I hate it when people seek reviews of music or movies or games they've already experienced and get angry if they are not rated 5 out of 5.

Just to wade on in, everyone is going to experience it in their own way and have their own opinion (something which is particular true with Devin's music - one look at the varied musical tastes of members here tells you how many different perspectives and reasons people come at Devin's music from). I'm not sure why it matters whether everyone in the omniverse loves it or hates it. Surely it's just about your personal experience with that album?

So finally got my copy and gave Dark Matters a spin this morning, and I was a bit underwhelmed. I'm enjoying it more with extra listens, but I think the choir is a bit overused and there's no real standout tracks like Hyperdrive or The Greys

Fee more listens before moving on to Sky Blue

a similar complaint I have with Dev fans is they kneejerk that Sky Blue must be like Epicloud because of the pop sound and complain "Devin's new releases sound too similar." ...and then they turn around and complain that Z2 isn't a carbon copy of ZTO without seeing the irony.

And I for one hate it when fandoms circlejerk over anything and rationalise all criticism away as if only the positive opinions are the right ones. You don't need other people to agree with you, you know? I hate it when people seek reviews of music or movies or games they've already experienced and get angry if they are not rated 5 out of 5.

Agreed. Music is always a matter of taste, so there is no "You just have to listen to it more until you get it" in every case. Especially in the metal genre I often see people judging music more by complexity rather than what they actually feel while listening - not really my understanding of music.
And honestly, it doesn't come as a surprise to me that this album is not for everyone, even if they enjoyed previous works of Devin. Comparisons with older works are absolutely natural because they are the reasons why we are listening to this record now, right?

I'm in love with both albums now but was really put off at first. I'd done so with another favorite band, Katatonia's last two albums, too, so I should have known I needed to keep listening to "get" it before judging.

There's just a few parts on Sky Blue that I'm not fond of. Hard to describe, but one of my issues with Deconstruction was the same. Sometimes the lyrics and/or their cadence feels out of place, distracting or too cliche. I wasn't a big on Epicloud but want to listen to it again to give it fair attention so at first I felt like SB was just more Epicloud/er. I was surprised at the tone of SB, too. There's a lot of bits that bring me back to Accelerated Evolution, Infinity, Synchestra, and Ocean Machine.

A big factor of like for me is if while listening to something I get reminded of, then excited for the next part coming up or that I keep turning the volume up. Parts of SB do so, but oh man does Z2 meet that. ZTO has been a top favorite since it's release and although it's quite different in scope, Z2 is becoming a treasure to me, also.
Z2 was so difficult at first to go through as it is so busy and I was at first disappointed. I'm grateful for the raw disc as it helped me finally parse the parts and now I love either version depending on the mood. The production, orchestration, and performances are so good. I guess it's just the right mix of sounds that my brain likes to analyze and figure out. Love the sound of the Poozer racing through space, and Ziltoid's sarcastic tone.

There're just some moments here and there where I wish the main vocals were more audible and some guitar work was more central. Also wish a few parts were a little more sustained like how the ending of By Your Command and Solar Wind carry for a bit with their immense soundscapes. I think some of the non-metal liking family/friends I have might enjoy it, too, since it's a fun mix of musical/theatrical/ comedy/music/energy stuffs and unlike Herman they enjoy musicals. I regret not participating in the choir submissions, too.

I've been re-watching the in-production vids now that I know the parts a bit better. The Framas one with Dave Young is great. Anyone know if he wrote stuff, too, or is it just Dev's writing and Dave then playing for the recording or how that process goes? I've been really impressed with Dave's contributions to the live shows. RVP's drumming is great, also along with his progression all these years, with what feels like throwbacks to Gene's and Dirk's Decon styles.

Also, is Anneke or Dominique singing on From Sleep Awake?

Took quite a few listens, but I am super happy with these albums.

Also, is Anneke or Dominique singing on From Sleep Awake?

I am 99% certain that is Anneke; that track feels like a continuation of Sky Blue to me.

It fits the story for Anneke to sing that part too, seeing as it's the people of Earth all singing to Ziltoid.

It fits the story for Anneke to sing that part too, seeing as it's the people of Earth all singing to Ziltoid.

Yep, Persi has the War Princess role and is only singing her lines.

I got a good chuckle out of Persi's character being named QUEEN Blattaria, War PRINCESS. Felt a little funny to me.

Z2 went to number 4 on the finnish charts, highest that Devin has ever been here
(well Retinal DVD was number 1 on the DVD list)

But loving Sky Blue, so much beauty(wow), Universal Flames has to be my favorite, hope to hear it live
Not really liking Dark Matters, but maybe in time it will grow..