Devin Townsend v. Offer Your Posts

[twosuitsluke]

This 'bonus' disk is better than most releases I've heard this year!!

[TioJorge]

For real.


Also I'd like to reiterate how much I fucking adore Feather. Such a feelsy and beautiful song. I mean all of Ghost is but this one especially.

[jakepriest]

Also I'd like to reiterate how much I fucking adore Feather. Such a feelsy and beautiful song. I mean all of Ghost is but this one especially.

Feather is one of the weakest tracks on Ghost for me. The second half drags on for way too long.
Still, being a weak track on Ghost makes it a pretty good song because the album is that amazing.

[PROGdrummer]

Also I'd like to reiterate how much I fucking adore Feather. Such a feelsy and beautiful song. I mean all of Ghost is but this one especially.

Feather is one of the weakest tracks on Ghost for me. The second half drags on for way too long.
Still, being a weak track on Ghost makes it a pretty good song because the album is that amazing.

Feather is my absolutely favorite Devin track out of his whole discography.

Shitstorm comes in at second

[Mosh]

Transcendence is definitely a solid effort and a step in the right direction for Dev.

Don't really see the hype with the bonus disc. It's good but definitely bonus material quality to my ears.

[Onno]

Don't really see the hype with the bonus disc. It's good but definitely bonus material quality to my ears.

Same here. I like it, but the main disc is way better.

[twosuitsluke]

Don't really see the hype with the bonus disc. It's good but definitely bonus material quality to my ears.

Same here. I like it, but the main disc is way better.

I agree that the main album is better, that doesn't stop the bonus disk being full of win!!

[Mosh]

One thing I'll give him credit for is you can always expect more experimental stuff on the bonus disc. Usually one or two songs that are unlike anything else he's done. Also your best bet if you're interested in anything more raw sounding from him.

[Nel]

In the record store yesterday. Metal section in the back. Some big dude's looking around the T-section. Metallica is playing. All of a sudden, I can faintly hear "Praise The Lowered" playing. Thinking I'm going crazy, I look around. The guy has been eyeing Deconstruction, and brought the album up on his phone to sample it. "Praise The Lowered" is just about to hit *that* moment (you know the one), and the guy turns it off. "Shit's not even metal." he says. I... can't... help myself. "But it's Devin fucking Townsend!" I interject. "You were just about to hit the best part! That whole album's great!" "No, that's stupid," he dully responds. "That wasn't metal. It's stupid." and continues looking. I suggest listening to some of the other tracks when he gets a chance and he just angrily tells me "NO!" 

Don't know why I even bothered with someone who can't think of anything to say other than calling something "stupid" over and over.

[KevShmev]

His loss.

Deconstruction is a bad place for a non-fan to start anyway.

[Adami]

It's actually really hard to know where a non-fan should start. I know most will say Terria, but I'm pretty sure if I started with that album, I'd have just moved on.

Luckily I started with songs from Ziltoid and Synchestra and have been hooked since. :-D

[Mosh]

It's actually really hard to know where a non-fan should start. I know most will say Terria, but I'm pretty sure if I started with that album, I'd have just moved on.

This was me a few years ago. Heard Earth Day, tried the whole album and I hated it. Luckily I gave Dev another chance with Addicted and became a fan (now Terria is my favorite) but it was a rough start. Would not recommend Terria or Deconstruction for newcomers. I think Addicted is probably the best one to start with.

[TioJorge]

In the record store yesterday. Metal section in the back. Some big dude's looking around the T-section. Metallica is playing. All of a sudden, I can faintly hear "Praise The Lowered" playing. Thinking I'm going crazy, I look around. The guy has been eyeing Deconstruction, and brought the album up on his phone to sample it. "Praise The Lowered" is just about to hit *that* moment (you know the one), and the guy turns it off. "Shit's not even metal." he says. I... can't... help myself. "But it's Devin fucking Townsend!" I interject. "You were just about to hit the best part! That whole album's great!" "No, that's stupid," he dully responds. "That wasn't metal. It's stupid." and continues looking. I suggest listening to some of the other tracks when he gets a chance and he just angrily tells me "NO!" 

Don't know why I even bothered with someone who can't think of anything to say other than calling something "stupid" over and over.

To facilitate his listening processes you should have GAVE HIM THAT WINE, GAVE HIM THAT ACID!!!

[Onno]

 

"That wasn't metal. It's stupid."

- "SMOKE THE FUCKING WEEEEEEEED!"

[PROGdrummer]

I really hate people who just choose not to give music a fair listen. If theyre not impressed by the first 60 or even 30 seconds of one song, they write off the artist in question forever. So frustrating.

My very first exposure to Devin was stumbling upon his original video for Lucky Animals. The one where it's just him in his backyard dancing like an idiot and nothing else. I laughed so hard, but the music was actually decent with a cool riff in the bridge. This was before the Epicloud album had been released so the first thing I checked out was Deconstruction+Ghost (they were bundled together on iTunes for like $9.99 so I couldnt pass it up just to try it.

Deconstruction really turned me off at first, the run from Praise The Lowered through Sumeria just baffled me. For whatever reason I really liked the second half of the album immediately though, the 1-2-3 punch of Pandemic-Decon-Poltergeist really made my jaw drop.

Ghost had the opposite effect on me. My first listen I immediately loved everything I was hearing up until Dark Matter ("wtf is going on here?" )

You literally just have to give art a chance, especially complex  art and especially complex music. People just dont understand that theyre not guaranteed to love everything right away. If it doesnt sparkle in 2 seconds, people get bored and look away.

/rant

[TioJorge]

I really hate people who just choose not to give music a fair listen. If theyre not impressed by the first 60 or even 30 seconds of one song, they write off the artist in question forever. So frustrating.

Yep. I used to be like that as a teen (and I'm sure many around that age as well, outside of their comfort zone) and hated a couple artists that are now some of my absolute favorites, Dev included (a couple others that come to mind are AFI and BTBAM, both of whom I really detested because of a song or two, and not even the whole thing, and now I purposely the whole thing all the time). 

[cramx3]

I really hate people who just choose not to give music a fair listen. If theyre not impressed by the first 60 or even 30 seconds of one song, they write off the artist in question forever. So frustrating.

Yep. I used to be like that as a teen (and I'm sure many around that age as well, outside of their comfort zone) and hated a couple artists that are now some of my absolute favorites, Dev included (a couple others that come to mind are AFI and BTBAM, both of whom I really detested because of a song or two, and not even the whole thing, and now I purposely the whole thing all the time). 

I could understand sampling an album of someone you haven't purchased from and not buying it off of the dislike.  The guy's reaction was pretty douche overall though.


However, I feel like Devy is certainly a musician who's music can not be described in one song since his range is so broad.  Having said that, Deconstruction is an album I've listened to only maybe once or so (besides the couple Retinal Circus tracks) and it really didn't intrigue me so I haven't gone back.

[Nel]

I suppose the problem with sampling an album rather than a single is, if the album's opening is a short one, or it's meant to be a massive mood swing, that person's going to be much more likely to drop it before really giving the artist a chance.

This guy just seemed like the type who, to him, metal begins with Maiden and ends at Metallica and Megadeth. Which is fine, I guess, but if he was just going to talk to me in a really meatheaded way, then I'm not going to bother trying to suggest things to him.

[KevShmev]

I tried to get a buddy of mine, who likes some metal, into Devin a few years ago by burning a copy of Addicted for him, but his reply was basically (slight paraphrasing here), "I didn't like it once I heard the female singer; metal shouldn't have a female singer."

[Adami]

I tried to get a buddy of mine, who likes some metal, into Devin a few years ago by burning a copy of Addicted for him, but his reply was basically (slight paraphrasing here), "I didn't like it once I heard the female singer; metal shouldn't have a female singer."

People should have the right to dislike whatever they dislike without people shaming them. If they don't like metal, or Dev, or his songwriting, that's their right.


However........NO ONE disrespects my Anneke! Kill your friend.

[KevShmev]

Haha, exactly.

I didn't shame him or anything, although a part of me was like, "Really, man?"  He's not a big music guy, so it was a long shot anyway.

[PROGdrummer]

I really hate people who just choose not to give music a fair listen. If theyre not impressed by the first 60 or even 30 seconds of one song, they write off the artist in question forever. So frustrating.

Yep. I used to be like that as a teen (and I'm sure many around that age as well, outside of their comfort zone) and hated a couple artists that are now some of my absolute favorites, Dev included (a couple others that come to mind are AFI and BTBAM, both of whom I really detested because of a song or two, and not even the whole thing, and now I purposely the whole thing all the time). 

Future Sequence actually gave me a massive headache the first time I heard it but I still gave it another spin

[Metro]

Tweet from Devin. Possible new project on the horizon, "Empath"

Seems like a bunch of ideas want to be together... I think I'll call whatever this ends up being 'Empath'

https://twitter.com/dvntownsend/status/815745344755511296

Add it to the list of Devin projects waiting to happen. I'm still waiting for "Garden Music" and "Obviouser" and that electronic EP he mentioned years ago. When/if this project becomes a reality, I wouldn't expect it 2018 since his focus this year seems to be Moth(the symphony) and the Ocean Machine show in September.

[cramx3]

https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/devin-townsend-and-the-dollar10-million-cock-symphony

Really interesting interview with info about the orchestra project The Moth as well as the Ocean Machine concert.  Also, never knew Dev was offered to sing for Judas Priest.  I like how he knows how he would have ruined JP if he had sung for them.

[Mosh]

I knew he was under consideration but I didn't know he was actually offered the job. Good for everyone that he didn't take it, obviously.

[goo-goo]

Is he really joking about the 10 million dollars for the symphony?

[cramx3]

Is he really joking about the 10 million dollars for the symphony?

it's hard to tell through text.  My guess is that it's an exaggeration, but he does need a lot of money for it, but then again, I don't know the exact details, but sounded like he wanted to tour with the symphony and choir, which would be very expensive.

[Adami]

Nightwish makes a lot of albums with huge orchestras and choirs. Huge.

I remember they once said that an album with all of that plus videos and so forth cost one million. So yes, 10 million is a joke.

[abydos]

Might be an exaggeration but I think he factors in all the personnel, decor, props, costumes, actors (since it's a musical-type thing) so maybe it's not that far off.

[Metro]

Devin did an online lecture recently on his creative process

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsUet12ZTXg

[Ben_Jamin]

finally got around to listening to Transcendence. Great album love the atmospheric interludes he includes.

my rankings so far are:

From The Heart
Transcendence
Secret Sceinces
Higher
Failure
Offer Your Light
Transdermal Celebration
Stormbending
Stars

[Onno]

Devin did an online lecture recently on his creative process

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsUet12ZTXg

Thanks for the link, I missed the lecture!

[Tomislav95]

Is Anneke touring with DTP?

[cramx3]

Is Anneke touring with DTP?

Don't believe so.  She has a new band debuting soon

[abydos]

Yeah I was disappointed to see her form a new band. After that TG reunion show I was kind of expecting her to go back with them to do that type of music parallel to her more mellow solo stuff.