Devin Townsend v. Offer Your Posts

[ChuckSteak]

I didn't dig Higher. I don't like that repetitive chorus "I am, I aaaaam". It has some good parts though.

[jakepriest]

I also have major issues with Z2 and Epicloud, but mostly due to the drums sounding like bad drum machines (which oddly I don't have an issue with on Ziltoid).

The drums on Ziltoid sound better than quite a few other Devin albums unfortunately.

[Metro]

I think Nolly should be a permanent part of the DTP recording and production process from here on out.

[Adami]

I am waiting to hear a good version of these songs, but I am a little worried by the major absence of bass (the instrument) on the songs. I feel like Devin has always been about turning the bass guitar down as low as possible or just giving it as weak of a tone, but it was a bit more noticeable here since, in the past, the drums have added tons of bass frequencues (too many) and now they are more balanced.

[NunoTenniscourt]

I'm going to go ahead and say "Stormbender" is an instant classic. Hopefully, they'll play it when I see them September 11th.

[KevShmev]

I am waiting to hear a good version of these songs, but I am a little worried by the major absence of bass (the instrument) on the songs. I feel like Devin has always been about turning the bass guitar down as low as possible or just giving it as weak of a tone, but it was a bit more noticeable here since, in the past, the drums have added tons of bass frequencues (too many) and now they are more balanced.

It won't bother me, probably because I am so used to the bass guitar rarely standing out at all in his music (notable exceptions being Pixillate and Drench).

I'm going to go ahead and say "Stormbender" is an instant classic. Hopefully, they'll play it when I see them September 11th.

I like that one a lot, too. 

I suspect it will get written off by some as one of his "pop" songs, but I think Offer Your Light is pretty killer.

[cramx3]

Offer Your Light and Transcendence are killer tracks.  Honestly think the whole album is very good from start to finish. This year of music just keeps adding up.

[Metro]

Speaking of Bass, here's part Four of the Documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awQihX8gtAw



Also I just bought my tickets for DTP/BTBAM in Maryland September 13th 

[ChuckSteak]

I'd love to see a chorus of men (nah, I am not gay) singing the first part of the song Transcendence. It would be amazing to see live.

[Adami]

I'd love to see a chorus of men (nah, I am not gay) singing the first part of the song Transcendence. It would be amazing to see live.

Well, as long as you're not gay. That's the important part.




Total change of subject, does anyone else wish Dev would try to perform songs live a bit differently? As it stands (at least based on the DVDs) he tries to make the live versions sound as close to identical to the studio as humanly possible (with the addition of Dev berating himself between verses and joking), including every single backing track from the record. Sometimes I wish he would do a stripped down version. Get rid of the click/backing tracks, whatever your band can play, play that, if it's missing layers, cool! Sometimes hearing a different version of the song is really cool.

[Mosh]

Yes. I'm seeing Devin Townsend live for the first time this year because he's with BTBAM. I haven't bothered seeing him on his own because of how overproduced his live performances are.

[Adami]

Yes. I'm seeing Devin Townsend live for the first time this year because he's with BTBAM. I haven't bothered seeing him on his own because of how overproduced his live performances are.

I can't remember which DVD it was (maybe even all of them) but there were plenty of songs where I honestly had no idea what was being played/sung by Dev and the band and what was backing tracks because it was just soooooo much backing tracks going on. There were times when Dev just stopped singing and let the backing tracks take over. That's basically the reason I've never seen him live. As fun as it would be and as cool as he is, I already know what the studio versions sound like and don't need to hear them perfectly replicated live.

[Mosh]

I know in the Addicted performance there's a moment where one of the guitar solos is used as a backing track, despite the fact that there were 3 guitarists in the band capable of playing it. That was enough to completely turn me off from seeing him live.

[KevShmev]

Eh, to me, those are silly reasons to not go to the concert, but I go to rock out and have fun, not worry about everything being played the way I think it should be.

[Adami]

Eh, to me, those are silly reasons to not go to the concert, but I go to rock out and have fun, not worry about everything being played the way I think it should be.

I also don't like going to concerts haha, social anxiety and all. I just think it would be more of a pull for me if it had less of a duplicate the album vibe.

By the way, it's totally cool to not like something Dev does and still be a big fan of his. We don't have to like all of it.

[KevShmev]

Hey now, I have no problem saying what I don't like when it comes to Devin (Dark Matters, the sound of Physicist, the speed metal tunes on Deconstruction, etc.).  I do think he goes a bit overboard with the backing tracks live, but if I ever saw him, I doubt that would interfere at all with my enjoyment.  Take a song like Universal Flame; there is simply no way to do that song live, even if he did have Anneke there (too many Devin voices in the chorus).  And a different arrangement wouldn't be as good, since the one it already has is pure joy and made to be killer live. 

[Adami]

Hey now, I have no problem saying what I don't like when it comes to Devin (Dark Matters, the sound of Physicist, the speed metal tunes on Deconstruction, etc.).  I do think he goes a bit overboard with the backing tracks live, but if I ever saw him, I doubt that would interfere at all with my enjoyment.  Take a song like Universal Flame; there is simply no way to do that song live, even if he did have Anneke there (too many Devin voices in the chorus).  And a different arrangement wouldn't be as good, since the one it already has is pure joy and made to be killer live. 

And that's totally cool, but it does affect my enjoyment and I am happy I'm not in the majority on this one. I'd prefer everyone enjoy Devin and I would love it if it didn't bug me, but it does sadly.

I'd also point out that most of the bands I love do this, which is the reason I also have little desire to see Dream Theater or so forth live either.

[Mosh]

Eh, to me, those are silly reasons to not go to the concert, but I go to rock out and have fun, not worry about everything being played the way I think it should be.

It's not so much that I wouldn't have fun, I'm looking forward to finally seeing him. But I also don't go to concerts very often so I'm picky about who I decide to see. A lot of footage of Devin live has honestly bored me. Obviously it'll be different in person but it took a bit more to motivate me to check him out live.

[Kwyjibo]

I'm always in favour of playing things a little different in live settings. Completely reproducing the studio record with all its parts and sounds can be nice, but is not what I want to hear in a live setting, especially if the parts are taped backing tracks and not actually played live.

For example Queen sounded a lot more rough in a live setting, because they couldn't reproduce what they did in the studio and they rarely used backing tracks (with the exception of Bohemian Rhapsody). And they were killer live.

There was a bonus DVD with Synchestra I believe, basically Devin and his band playing live in a rehearsal room. The setting was very intimate and lacked the live crowd, but I believe it was just the band with no backing tracks, and the versions of the songs they played were good.

[Adami]

There was a bonus DVD with Synchestra I believe, basically Devin and his band playing live in a rehearsal room. The setting was very intimate and lacked the live crowd, but I believe it was just the band with no backing tracks, and the versions of the songs they played were good.

That's a great example of what would get me more excited.

[Mosh]

Yea that DVD is awesome. Honestly Devin's music would sound fine stripped down to 2 guitars, bass, drums, and no backing tracks. It would probably end up having more energy than on the studio albums too. Not that his albums lack that.

[ariich]

I'd love to see a chorus of men (nah, I am not gay) singing the first part of the song Transcendence. It would be amazing to see live.

Well, as long as you're not gay. That's the important part.




Total change of subject, does anyone else wish Dev would try to perform songs live a bit differently? As it stands (at least based on the DVDs) he tries to make the live versions sound as close to identical to the studio as humanly possible (with the addition of Dev berating himself between verses and joking), including every single backing track from the record. Sometimes I wish he would do a stripped down version. Get rid of the click/backing tracks, whatever your band can play, play that, if it's missing layers, cool! Sometimes hearing a different version of the song is really cool.

I've always found it a little odd as well, as he clearly has no difficulty in adapting songs (new versions of old songs on recent albums, and acoustic versions of a hell of a load of songs that he does live).

[NunoTenniscourt]

I can understand the backing track issue from some of you, but for me, it's such a small part of the equation to let it be a deciding factor in
whether I go to his live show or not. It's not like he's pulling a Milli Vanilli on us or anything.

Plus, for $20.00, there's not a chance in hell I'm missing it.

[cramx3]

I'm with Adami in that I would rather a more "live" sound than trying to reproduce the studio albums.  But I am also with Kev in that it wouldn't have an effect on me in choosing to go or my overall enjoyment of a concert.

Also, doesn't Dev now have a touring keyboardist?  I feel like that alone is a nice step towards creating a more live sound in concert.  I say this because on Retinal Circus there isn't a keyboardist, but there is on the Ziltoid DVD and more of the recent video's I've seen on youtube.

A lot of footage of Devin live has honestly bored me. Obviously it'll be different in person but it took a bit more to motivate me to check him out live.

Him talking between or during songs alone could be entertaining 

[seasonsinthesky]

I'm always in favour of playing things a little different in live settings. Completely reproducing the studio record with all its parts and sounds can be nice, but is not what I want to hear in a live setting, especially if the parts are taped backing tracks and not actually played live.

For example Queen sounded a lot more rough in a live setting, because they couldn't reproduce what they did in the studio and they rarely used backing tracks (with the exception of Bohemian Rhapsody). And they were killer live.

There was a bonus DVD with Synchestra I believe, basically Devin and his band playing live in a rehearsal room. The setting was very intimate and lacked the live crowd, but I believe it was just the band with no backing tracks, and the versions of the songs they played were good.

Agreed, I much prefer when the songs change live. If I wanna listen to the album, I put on the album. Even Tool can change up their stuff!

Safe Zone, the in-studio DVD with Synchestra, still has backing tracks (they're the first ones he made post-flood, so they sound different in spots, like the vocal layers in "Deadhead"). And while it is more interesting situationally, it's extremely, extremely, extremely boring, so much that he dropped in Windows Media visual effects to make it more interesting to watch. And the audio mix is absolutely godawful.

TL;DR: If he did something like Safe Zone again but properly this time, it could be just as engaging – especially if he can get a better mix, like those performances of "Kingdom" etc. he did for EMG.

[KevShmev]

I never cared for the in-studio live stuff from the Synchestra live DVD. In fact, seeing that make me think for years that Devin wasn't a good live singer because his vocals weren't that good on that.  Turns out I was wrong.

But think of it this way, if Devin went all out in every song live like he does on the CDs, he would have no voice left. I am fine with him cheating a little live if it means he has a long career and his voice holds up longer. 

[Mosh]

I think Devin's voice has improved overall recently. He can't hit those crazy high notes anymore but he has better live control and consistency.

Being supported by backing tracks also helps. 

[jakepriest]

He can't hit those crazy high notes anymore but he has better live control and consistency.

Oh man, when I saw him live Fallout was a total mess. He didn't hit a single note in the first verse. I understand it's a hard song vocally, but why play it if he has so much trouble singing it live?

[Lucien]

Devin Townsend is like the Mahler of metal. He bathes in the massive, endless sound he creates

[nicmos]

new track out today

Stormbending

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s9qh77gj6Y

this one isn't quite catching me like the other two, but seems like a grower.

[TioJorge]

I love this so much. Definitely has an AE sound going on.

[ChuckSteak]

He can't hit those crazy high notes anymore but he has better live control and consistency.

Oh man, when I saw him live Fallout was a total mess. He didn't hit a single note in the first verse. I understand it's a hard song vocally, but why play it if he has so much trouble singing it live?

The same when he sings "Storm". He doesn't reach one high note in the end of the song.

[Nel]

Like an idiot, I thought it was out today. Still found some cool stuff at the record store though.

The 9th is going to be a nightmare. There are so many albums coming out that I want.

[Pappy]

Just listened to the "Bonus" album. I'll put it this way. Disc 1 from here on out in my opinion is the bonus album and Disc 2 is the main album.

[goo-goo]

Just listened to the "Bonus" album. I'll put it this way. Disc 1 from here on out in my opinion is the bonus album and Disc 2 is the main album.

How is the production? All I have seen in the tracklist is that the bonus disc is Demos. Are they recorded properly?