Author Topic: Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. 'Cause there is always time...  (Read 51432 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Ultimetalhead

  • The Mighty Masturbator
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 7029
  • Gender: Male
  • .ay rof dab s'ti dna...
Devin Townsend is a musician, pure and simple. Be it with his soaring vocals, ethereal atmospheres, or crushing guitar, Devin's music positively bleeds emotion. Looking at Devin's impressive discography, it might be easy to assume that he's merely another one of those progressive metal titans who is way too in love with himself and always striving to reinvent the genre. However, Devin has said numerous times that he makes music for himself only, and honestly doesn't care what people think of it. Obviously, every musician under the sun has said that, but I get the feeling that Devin Townsend is one of the few that truly mean it. Over the course of his career, we have a pop-punk album, numerous industrial/death metal experiments, delightfully heavy pop rock, soft ambient, and even blues-based atmospheric country. While each of his albums are instantly recognizable as his work, each of his many projects takes on its own identity. For the purposes of this thread, we will be covering his solo work, so pretty much anything with the name Devin Townsend in it will be covered.

Teh list (Click the album link to magically warp to the first post of the discussion)
Ocean Machine: Biomech (1997)
Infinity (1998)
Physicist (2000)
Terria (2001)
Accelerated Evolution (2003)
Synchestra (2006)
Ziltoid the Omniscient (2007)
Ki (2009)
Addicted (2009)
Deconstruction (2011)
Ghost (2011)
Epicloud (2012)
Casualties of Cool (2014)
Z2 (2014)

So, without further ado, let's take a dive into the wonderfully lush world of Ocean Machine: Biomech.



Considered to be the "serious" component of Devin Townsend's music (the non-serious being Strapping Young Lad, which Townsend considered a parody), Ocean Machine: Biomech was constructed to be a vehicle for Devin's solo compositions. Though it was initially released under the Ocean Machine moniker, it was quickly reissued with Devin Townsend's name sloppily stamped above the original logo. Strapping Young Lad had already given many listeners an introduction to Townsend's penchant for walls of sound with literally no breathing space. In SYL's complex, visceral grind, the wall of sound complimented the chaotic nature of the music flawlessly. With the more subdued Ocean Machine album, we see the wall of sound manifested in a multitude of atmospheric layers. Simply put, there is always something else going on in the music other than what's at the forefront. Every verse, bridge, chorus on the album (barring the minimalist Death of Music) is stooped in layers of ambient pads and lush soundscapes. Much like the ocean itself, this album is DENSE. The resulting density makes repeated listens incredibly worthwhile, but first listens may be marred by mental overload from the listener. The songs are catchy, the riffs are heavy, and the atmospheric sections are quite relaxing, but it can be WAY too much to take on a first listen. As such, I don't usually recommend OM to many first-timers. This is an album that takes its time growing on the listener, gradually revealing all of its intricacies to only the most patient audience.

Now, with the pretentious intro out of the way, let's move on to my personal experiences with this album. This one took a REALLY long time to gel with me. I got into Devin with Addicted, Ziltoid, and SYL's The New Black, so the earlier material with all of the atmospheric bits and lighter tone was hard to swallow at first. Plus, whenever I tried to give it a listen, there was this harrowing atmosphere around it that just left me uncomfortable. Even the happier songs like Life and Hide Nowhere had me feeling odd. Something was just...off. Later, this atmosphere is what would make me consider OM a top 50 album. The fact that music could make me feel such an emotion was enough reason for me to keep at it. I had to find out why this album was disturbing me so much. It finally hit me on a drive home in the middle of the night. I paid full attention to the intricacies of the music. Every little detail jumped out to me with such clarity that I couldn't help but laugh. The bombast of Hide Nowhere worked perfectly alongside the dark, brooding Voices in the Fan. And the 3 song suite of Funeral, Bastard and The Death of Music is easily the most emotion-driven 30 minutes of music I have ever experienced. Every little section, from the choral outro to the previously mentioned Voices in the Fan, the blood-curdling scream that separates Bastard into its two sections, and the other blood-curdling scream at the end of Things Beyond Things: Everything on this album was here for a reason. Nothing is out of place.

It's hard to look at this album and not see that it was clearly made by a bipolar personality. The album changes mood so frequently that it occasionally endangers the cohesion of the whole. Fortunately, the production style makes it so that even the relentlessly happy songs feel dark and oppressive. This album has been the soundtrack to many sessions of self-reflection. It's so easy to get lost in the layers and (pardon all the ocean parallels) drown in its beauty. Really, the entire album feels like drowning. It's overwhelming, and the mind wants to get out, but eventually the body just gives in and accepts its fate. Alright, I said I was done with pretentious analogies, but this album deserves them more than any other. This is a truly wonderful piece of art.

In 5 or 6 days we'll move on to the even more bipolar Infinity album.
« Last Edit: June 01, 2016, 06:08:42 AM by Ultimetalhead »
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME SHIT AHHHHHH

Offline Buddyhunter1

  • Professional Mellotron Spotter
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 6906
  • Gender: Male
  • Observe The Train
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2014, 01:38:06 PM »
This would be my 2nd favorite pre-DTP, non-SYL album of his (which is still saying a lot), and my favorite solo album of his up until Accelerated Evolution. It's executed extremely well for an album so early in his career, though the mixing/production can be a bit weird at times.
BUDDYHUNTER | Debut Demo Out Now! FREE DOWNLOAD: https://buddyhunter.bandcamp.com/
RYM: https://rateyourmusic.com/~buddyhunter1

Online Sacul

  • Spinettapilled
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 12115
  • Gender: Male
  • ¿De qué sirvió haber cruzado a nado la mar?
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2014, 02:35:19 PM »
This album is freaking amazing. The amount of energy of songs like Seventh Wave or Regulator are ridiculous - that's why it's my fav album to listen to while I work out. The mix can be quite weird to understand at first but I can't imagine this album with another kind of production. Btw, I haven't thought of the beauty of this record, I'll check that on the next listen.
Following :hat.

Offline adace

  • Posts: 2267
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2014, 02:37:27 PM »
Awesome album. Seventh Wave, Life, and Regulator are some of my favorite Devy tunes.

Offline Lowdz

  • Posts: 10378
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2014, 02:51:45 PM »
I've never been a huge  Devy fan - Steve Vai's awful Sex & Religion put me off. I've heard bits of things since then - Epicloud was really good and some of the DTP albums have been really good if I'm in a certain mood for them.

My interest was piqued when you said "melodic" in the op. Gave this a listen on Spotify and wow - great album.

So yeah, following.

Offline seasonsinthesky

  • roo)))m noise
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 1483
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2014, 04:08:49 PM »
absolute favourite, has been since 2002 when i got into Dev.

"Funeral" > "Bastard" > "The Death of Music" is a triple knockout i don't think Dev has quite topped since (for me), and possibly my favourite half hour of music i know.

and while OM is definitely sequenced amazingly, i often wonder how much more i'd like it if "Ocean Machines" (and perhaps other relevant demos, like "L.A.") were recorded and included. but since that song was written after...

Offline Metro

  • DTF Resident Sloth
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 3051
  • The Sloth Rules
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2014, 05:01:37 PM »
First off, I am SOO happy that you are doing this.

Ocean Machine is one of my favorite albums of all time. But it's also kind of a difficult album for me. I started listening to Devy with Addicted back in '09 and worked my way backward. So this ending being one of the last stops on my tour through his wondrous discography. Around the time I got around to it, I was going through a pretty low point in my life. This album was a big factor in me coping with what was going on. The last 4 songs of the album never fail to give me chills every time I listen to them.

Offline Ultimetalhead

  • The Mighty Masturbator
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 7029
  • Gender: Male
  • .ay rof dab s'ti dna...
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2014, 05:03:10 PM »
I've never been a huge  Devy fan - Steve Vai's awful Sex & Religion put me off. I've heard bits of things since then - Epicloud was really good and some of the DTP albums have been really good if I'm in a certain mood for them.

My interest was piqued when you said "melodic" in the op. Gave this a listen on Spotify and wow - great album.

So yeah, following.
Jesus. Sex and Religion shouldn't be the basis by which someone judges anyone. I don't mind Devy's vox on that album much, but good lord that's like the WORST possible example of Devin's capabilities.
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME SHIT AHHHHHH

Offline Scorpion

  • Unreal Heir
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 9908
  • Gender: Male
  • Ragnarök around the Clöck!
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2014, 07:13:22 PM »
No Punky Bruster, Devlab or The Hummer? This thread is worse than Satan and Hitler combined already. :neverusethis:

In all seriousness... I'm extremely psyched that you're doing this. It sometimes seems to me that your knowledge on Devin Townsend is a little beyond what is healthy, but that is exactly what we need for a thread like this. :P This thread will probably also prompt my first ever listen of Physicist... eventually.

Ocean Machine is ridiculously amazing. The atmosphere is crushing and soothing at the same time and it's a mood that Devin has never quite captured again. The closing stretch of Funeral - Bastard - The Death of Music is, as many have already mentioned, a serious contender for one of the best 30-minute stretches in music. Others of my favourites are Seventh Wave, Life, Voices in the Fan and Regulator.

Fun fact: this was, if I recall correctly, the first Devin Townsend album that I got into, so it'll always have a place in heart, and my Devin Top 5. It's not quite #1, but I'd never question anybody calling it their favourite Townsend album. The fact that Devin made such amazing music so early in his career is amazing, and is, in my opinion, only surpassed in amazingness by the fact that over such a large amount of albums, the quality has barely waned at all.

So yeah, looking forward to this thread.
scorpion is my favorite deathcore lobster
Hey, the length is fine :azn: Thanks!

Offline Ultimetalhead

  • The Mighty Masturbator
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 7029
  • Gender: Male
  • .ay rof dab s'ti dna...
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2014, 07:24:15 PM »
Oh trust me, I've been dying for a chance to put my ridiculous amount of Devy knowledge to use. As much as I'd love to do Punky Bruster, I just don't think it fits as a part of Devin's overall work. It's a hilarious parody of punk bands, yes, but it's just not quite up to snuff. I'm leaving Devlab and The Hummer out because they're mostly noise and ambiance, and I haven't listened to either of them hardly ever.

Fun fact: Ocean Machine: Biomech is made up of material written across many years. Some of it dates back to pre-Sex & Religion, though I don't precisely know what is from when. Thinking of it as a "greatest hits" of the more mellow stuff from Townsend's earlier years certainly explains the ridiculous level of quality throughout.

Boy I can't fucking wait for Infinity. I've got SO much stuff to talk about.
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME SHIT AHHHHHH

Offline Scorpion

  • Unreal Heir
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 9908
  • Gender: Male
  • Ragnarök around the Clöck!
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #10 on: May 24, 2014, 07:55:03 PM »
Yeah, just joking. Though I like The Hummer, I understand why people don't, and Devlab is really quite... bad. Just messing around.

Also, how great is that scream at the end of Things Beyond Things? :hefdaddy
scorpion is my favorite deathcore lobster
Hey, the length is fine :azn: Thanks!

Offline Ultimetalhead

  • The Mighty Masturbator
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 7029
  • Gender: Male
  • .ay rof dab s'ti dna...
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #11 on: May 24, 2014, 08:11:28 PM »
Yeah, just joking. Though I like The Hummer, I understand why people don't, and Devlab is really quite... bad. Just messing around.

Also, how great is that scream at the end of Things Beyond Things? :hefdaddy
Ooh boy. More fun facts: The scream for Things Beyond Things was recorded on tour with Steve Vai. Devin was always trying to expand his vocal techniques and range, so he would often sit in the tour bus with his portable recording device and just scream as hard as he possibly could into it. The resulting low-fi crackling from the scream seems to confirm the theory that it was recorded during the tour and lopped on the end either as a joke or for some artistic reason that will never be understood.
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME SHIT AHHHHHH

Offline TioJorge

  • Constantly Contorting
  • Posts: 7082
  • Gender: Male
  • Ashes to ashes, fun to funky.
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #12 on: May 24, 2014, 09:45:10 PM »
Awesome, definitely following and will contribute to this.

I consider, as I'm sure many others do, you to be the end-all of information when it comes to Townsend. While you didn't specifically introduce me to him, I had only heard SYL's Aftermath, loved it, but didn't listen to anything else by the man for years, and had honestly forgotten all about him. Then when I became active here, I started to quickly realize that Ulti might in fact be Townsend himself, and it still wouldn't surprise me, because who else knows what Devin's poop consists of? After realizing this, I followed a lot of your discussions on Townsend and soon found myself loving his music and the moods it put me in.

All kidding aside, like Scorp said, it's awesome to have intimate knowledge in discussions about an artist. Anyway, thanks for doing this and for getting me into one of my favorite artists out of all the times!

It took me a while to get into OM as well, for many of the same reasons. It honestly does feel like 'work' to listen to the first...well, for me, first hundred or so times. That's not a joke. It's probably a couple hundred. It took me...years to get into, and one day it just clicked (mainly Things Beyond Things...I also pissed myself on that scream...granted, I was also on psilocybin..which also greatly influenced the 'click', though it stuck, luckily). Since that time I've listened to the albums thousands of more times and each time after I sink deeper (it will never end) into the music. It's a truly amazing work of art, and while I consider almost anything Townsend does to be a work of art, this one was the first that, once it hit, I knew I had to find out everything else the man had created.

Awesooooome! 6 days is too long.

DTP says "WOW, LOOK AT THAT GREAT POST"
RIP DTP.

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #13 on: May 24, 2014, 11:05:47 PM »
Ocean Machine has always been an interesting album for me personally cause I definitely recognize its awesomeness from start to finish, and some of my favorite Devin songs are from this record, but for whatever reason, it has never dominated my CD player for weeks, or even days, at a time like most of Devin's other albums have.  Granted, I got into him shortly before AE came out, and I think loving Terria and Infinity both way more made OM kind of the odd man out as far as listening time went, and then as each new album has came out, each one got its due in my CD player, and Ocean Machine has never really gotten that long run where it's all I listened to for days. 

Life is overrated.  Don't get me wrong, I like it a lot, but I think nearly every full-length song on this record is better.

The scream at the end of Things Beyond Things is definitely epic, but I have to admit to editing it out of the mp3 I have of it.  I seldom want to get bludgeoned by that scream. :lol

The Death of Music is incredible to listen to when driving at night. 

I'll say more about this album in the days to come as I think of it.

 :metal :metal

Offline TioJorge

  • Constantly Contorting
  • Posts: 7082
  • Gender: Male
  • Ashes to ashes, fun to funky.
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #14 on: May 24, 2014, 11:12:52 PM »
Kev...you're the awesomest of blossoms, but your mind is such poopy after saying the words 'overrated' and 'life' in the same sentence (when regarding the song, cause life is fucking definitely overrated lllllllllllllllllllolz). Buuuut  :rollin at editing TBT, I did the exact same. I absolutely love going to sleep to that song...but my god, I didn't every single time I went to bed listening to it before doing that...and subsequently forgot about it the next night I listened to it. I know the artistic value in having it...and understand it's importance, but that's about all I need to know. That thing is fucking annoying for as much as I love the blood drenched screams from the blood god. *ahhhh sleepy time...record is ove-- :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg:*ADRENALINE YOU'RE GOING TO DIE WAKE UP FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF* :lol

DTP says "WOW, LOOK AT THAT GREAT POST"
RIP DTP.

Offline Lowdz

  • Posts: 10378
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #15 on: May 25, 2014, 04:38:48 AM »
I've never been a huge  Devy fan - Steve Vai's awful Sex & Religion put me off. I've heard bits of things since then - Epicloud was really good and some of the DTP albums have been really good if I'm in a certain mood for them.

My interest was piqued when you said "melodic" in the op. Gave this a listen on Spotify and wow - great album.

So yeah, following.
Jesus. Sex and Religion shouldn't be the basis by which someone judges anyone. I don't mind Devy's vox on that album much, but good lord that's like the WORST possible example of Devin's capabilities.

Yeah, its not the whole basis of my initial judgement, but the stuff I did sample when everyone was raving about him was screamy noisy stuff which just isn't my thing.
He is a very diverse artist. obviously, so hating one aspect of his music doesn't stop me from being a fan of other parts. I just sampled the wrong stuff early in my exploration.
OM sounds like a great album so I just bought it.

Offline Zantera

  • Wolfman's brother
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 13415
  • Gender: Male
  • Bouncing around the room
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #16 on: May 25, 2014, 04:40:26 AM »
Ocean Machine is a really good album. I got the blue vinyl in my collection, and I would say that together with Terria, it's his finest album.  :tup

Offline KevShmev

  • EZBoard Elder
  • *****
  • Posts: 41963
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #17 on: May 25, 2014, 08:14:56 AM »
Kev...you're the awesomest of blossoms, but your mind is such poopy after saying the words 'overrated' and 'life' in the same sentence (when regarding the song, cause life is fucking definitely overrated lllllllllllllllllllolz). Buuuut  :rollin at editing TBT, I did the exact same. I absolutely love going to sleep to that song...but my god, I didn't every single time I went to bed listening to it before doing that...and subsequently forgot about it the next night I listened to it. I know the artistic value in having it...and understand it's importance, but that's about all I need to know. That thing is fucking annoying for as much as I love the blood drenched screams from the blood god. *ahhhh sleepy time...record is ove-- :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg:*ADRENALINE YOU'RE GOING TO DIE WAKE UP FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF* :lol

The Devin Townsend song Life is overrated.  There, I said it again. :biggrin:

And that's funny you mention that about sleeping cause I do have a Devin playlist for falling asleep to, and I couldn't have Things Beyond Things on there if that scream was there.  That actually was my main motivation for editing it out. :lol :lol

Offline Buddyhunter1

  • Professional Mellotron Spotter
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 6906
  • Gender: Male
  • Observe The Train
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #18 on: May 25, 2014, 10:54:07 AM »
Life is good, but not one of my favorite songs on the album.

And yeah, I edited out the end of Thing Beyond Things too. As well as the "Strapping Young Lad sucks my hairy anus" thing at the end of Spirituality. :P
BUDDYHUNTER | Debut Demo Out Now! FREE DOWNLOAD: https://buddyhunter.bandcamp.com/
RYM: https://rateyourmusic.com/~buddyhunter1

Offline Ben_Jamin

  • Posts: 15690
  • Gender: Male
  • I'm just a man, thrown into existence by the gods
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #19 on: May 25, 2014, 11:44:57 AM »
I love this album. Funeral is just amazing, his vocals and the atmosphere.
I don't know how they can be so proud of winning with them odds. - Little Big Man
Follow my Spotify:BjamminD

Offline Ultimetalhead

  • The Mighty Masturbator
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 7029
  • Gender: Male
  • .ay rof dab s'ti dna...
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #20 on: May 25, 2014, 01:10:00 PM »
I've already got about 2 and a half pages done for the Infinity write-up. If you guys think 6 days is too long I'll put it up on Wednesday or Thursday.

One thing I specifically want to talk about with OM. How awesome is the choral interlude between Voices in the Fan and Greetings? It's one of the most haunting moments in music I've ever heard. It makes me think about a church, massively late at night. Maybe a service that only 2 or 3 people appeared to. Borderline solitude. It's incredible how the amazing moments in Devin's music sometimes occur in between the songs. No other artist I know can really do that.
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME SHIT AHHHHHH

Offline Ben_Jamin

  • Posts: 15690
  • Gender: Male
  • I'm just a man, thrown into existence by the gods
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #21 on: May 25, 2014, 01:35:57 PM »
I'm gonna jam OM after Casualties of Cool....good yardwork music.
I don't know how they can be so proud of winning with them odds. - Little Big Man
Follow my Spotify:BjamminD

Offline Scorpion

  • Unreal Heir
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 9908
  • Gender: Male
  • Ragnarök around the Clöck!
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #22 on: May 25, 2014, 01:44:45 PM »
The choral ending of Voices in the Fan is amazing, and one of the best things on Ocean Machine. And given how good that album is, that's saying a lot.
scorpion is my favorite deathcore lobster
Hey, the length is fine :azn: Thanks!

Offline seasonsinthesky

  • roo)))m noise
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 1483
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #23 on: May 25, 2014, 01:55:24 PM »
One thing I specifically want to talk about with OM. How awesome is the choral interlude between Voices in the Fan and Greetings? It's one of the most haunting moments in music I've ever heard. It makes me think about a church, massively late at night. Maybe a service that only 2 or 3 people appeared to. Borderline solitude. It's incredible how the amazing moments in Devin's music sometimes occur in between the songs. No other artist I know can really do that.

i think it concludes an absolute highlight reel from the middle of the record — it starts well, sure, but when "Hide Nowhere" ends and these tracks flow out of it, i think the true genius of the work begins proper. the collage under/around "Sister" is sublime, a point of submersion (perhaps the first actual one) that slowly emerges into the air with "3 A.M.," probably my favourite little segue/intro piece Dev has ever made and a study in how to create moving music with the most minimal approach possible. it becomes "Voices in the Fan," maybe one of the most unique songs in Dev's entire catalogue, if only for the arrangement itself... and then we're treated to a conclusion to the sort of mini-suite with the sample you mentioned, maybe the most sublime possible result from that sequence of songs (and the way they are sequenced).

the structure of the record overall is very interesting. it opens with self-contained, 'choppy waves'
Seventh Wave
Life
Night
Hide Nowhere >

then becomes more structurally homogenous and flowing, like long waves overlapping
> Sister
> 3 A.M.
> Voices in the Fan

but with the dynamics of the ocean reflected by the quiet transition into two more 'long waves'
Greetings
> Regulator

before culminating in the total immersion somewhere in the last third of "Funeral"
Funeral
> Bastard
> The Death of Music

i love "Things Beyond Things" but i wish it wasn't on every version. it's obviously a demo and an afterthought on the album — a highlight of Ass-Sordid Demos if it were there like it should be, but a somewhat random and unfitting part of OM, sorta like listening to Infinity and getting to the end of "Noisy Pink Bubbles" and then you get these random bonus tracks that don't fit at all. (more to be said once we get to that album, i guess.)

Offline Ultimetalhead

  • The Mighty Masturbator
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 7029
  • Gender: Male
  • .ay rof dab s'ti dna...
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #24 on: May 25, 2014, 05:31:55 PM »
Oh man. Can't say I agree at all with Things Beyond Things. I think it's a fantastic conclusion to the album. I once heard another fan refer to Sister as "the ocean by day" and 3AM as "the ocean by night", and while I love that analogy, I feel like Things Beyond Things is the true "ocean by night." The atmosphere to that song is so incredibly beautiful and dark, but not quite as oppressive as the rest of the album. After the stone-cold darkness of Bastard and The Death of Music, I think Things Beyond Things provides a much-needed release. The Death of Music would have been a fine album closer, but I think Things brings it full circle.
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME SHIT AHHHHHH

Offline wolfking

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 46256
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #25 on: May 25, 2014, 05:36:54 PM »
You know, I have quite a few Devin albums and while I find them good, I have never been addicted like you guys are.  I think something just never clicked.  I think this thread is a good opportunity to pull the albums I own back out and give them a couple of listens while the discussions are going.

I don't even know which ones I have without going home and looking.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Offline PROGdrummer

  • Posts: 719
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #26 on: May 25, 2014, 05:38:40 PM »
So, is this the new Devin Townsend thread? Is the other one dead?

Edit: nevermind

Offline Ultimetalhead

  • The Mighty Masturbator
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 7029
  • Gender: Male
  • .ay rof dab s'ti dna...
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #27 on: May 25, 2014, 05:40:13 PM »
If Ocean Machine doesn't make you feel at least something, you have very little hope as a functioning human being. Though, I don't think there's a single album we'll be covering that sounds like any of the others. It will certainly be a unique and varied journey if you wish to take the plunge.  :tup

So, is this the new Devin Townsend thread? Is the other one dead?
Nope. Other thread is alive and well. This is a thread in which we talk about one of his albums every week or so, going chronologically. We're talking about OM right now, and we'll move onto Infinity later this week. Sorry if the "v. title" confused you. I was worried about that.  :lol
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME SHIT AHHHHHH

Offline wolfking

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 46256
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #28 on: May 25, 2014, 05:48:14 PM »
If Ocean Machine doesn't make you feel at least something, you have very little hope as a functioning human being. Though, I don't think there's a single album we'll be covering that sounds like any of the others. It will certainly be a unique and varied journey if you wish to take the plunge.  :tup

Yeah, I don't think I have Ocean Machine, but I think the ones I don't own, I'll give a listen to online.

I think I have;


Accelerated Evolution (2003)
Synchestra (2006)
Ki (2009)
Addicted (2009)
Deconstruction (2011)
Ghost (2011)
Epicloud (2012)

I may have another older album, I'm not sure.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Offline Ultimetalhead

  • The Mighty Masturbator
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 7029
  • Gender: Male
  • .ay rof dab s'ti dna...
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #29 on: May 25, 2014, 05:53:55 PM »
That's a good bit of his discog. You're missing 3 absolutely crucial pieces in OM, Infinity, and Terria though. It'd be wise to get on that.
Orion....that's the one with a bunch of power chords and boringly harsh vocals, isn't it?
LOOK AT THIS AWESOME SHIT AHHHHHH

Offline wolfking

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 46256
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #30 on: May 25, 2014, 05:55:53 PM »
I'll be sure to listen to those online as the thread progresses.  I'll try and start with Ocean Machine tonight.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Offline billybobjoe1881

  • Posts: 67
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #31 on: May 25, 2014, 11:57:38 PM »
I've been trying to get into Strapping Young Lad and Devon Townsend for the last 4 or 5 years because I know a few people that say they are amazing.  This thread might finally help me break into it.  I'll dig deeper tomorrow.

Offline Scorpion

  • Unreal Heir
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 9908
  • Gender: Male
  • Ragnarök around the Clöck!
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #32 on: May 26, 2014, 12:20:20 AM »
Pro-tip for getting into his stuff: his name is spelled "Devin". :P
scorpion is my favorite deathcore lobster
Hey, the length is fine :azn: Thanks!

Offline aprilethereal

  • Posts: 3746
  • Gender: Male
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #33 on: May 26, 2014, 02:15:55 AM »
OM is my second favourite Devin album after Addicted. Great stuff :tup

Offline Nihil-Morari

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 5328
  • Gender: Male
  • Check out the Zappa Discography thread!
Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. It's like a death becomes musical
« Reply #34 on: May 26, 2014, 02:42:50 AM »
I'm somewhat weird in terms of Devin lovin'. I've only got the Contain Us boxset. I loved the idea of having 4 totally different albums coming from the same guy but being totally different. I like the albums too, but I think I like the idea and the boxset more than the music.
Apart from those 4 I've never really gotten into Devin. I like Ziltoid, and I listened to The Hummer for a while, but that's mainly it.

But the positive thing is that I'm listening to OM now (Hide Nowhere to be exact) and I like it. I don't know if I can become a big fan or something, but we'll see. I'm looking forward to the last half hour of the album, judging by your discussion that should be something.
The FZ Discography Thread! https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.0
Nihil-Morari is generally considered the resident Zappa person.