The Devin Townsend Discography Thread v2

[cramx3]

Not a fan of Z2 as others have stated.  I'm honestly baffled to why he even devoted a special show and live recording to performing the entire thing.  Who asked for that?  I do have the blu ray and it is overall pretty good in terms of quality, but the Z2 set is a slog to watch.  I've only done it once.  The second set is fantastic though.  It looks like the same backing choir as the Retinal Circus which is cool, but like that "live" album, this one also hardly sounds live.  Definitely worth owning if you enjoy his live shows though. 

Personally, I enjoy Deathray.  March of the Poozers is not as good as it's live attention but it's definitely one of the better tracks.  Ziltoid Goes Home is a fun one too. I actually kind of lump Z2 more into more of  Deconstruction similarity to my disliking of it, as I really enjoy the original Z album.

Sky Blue is pretty good though.  Not on the level of Epicloud, but it certainly feels like it's little sister.  I just don't find it as consistent of an album, but there's some great tracks on it.  I never hear anyone talk about the title track, but Sky Blue the song is one of my favorites from Devin.  I'm also glad his son wanted to hear Universal Flame as I'm not sure how that hasn't become a live staple.  It's just an amazing song to me.  Fun personal fact, I first listened to this album on a business trip to Amsterdam, it was my off day and my first time ever exploring the city on my own.  I had my headphones in, a J, and the album.  Listened to it like 4 times in a row walking around exploring the city.  It was a typical dutch day, raining and cloudy.  Songs like Rain CIty, A New Reign, and Midnight Sun (none of which I'd name as favorites from the album) for whatever reason, really bring back the feeling of that day when I hear those songs and for that, I am thankful fo rthe album.  I'm sure others have similar feelings from music based on a time/place in your life.  Also a huge fan of Before We Die which didn't click until years later.

[DoctorAction]

Never really connected with the Ziltoid thing, frankly.   Seemed dumb when I got exposed to it.  I don't know if there's a larger point to it or not, but it just seems silly to me.  Some good music in there, but it's obscured by, well, the silliness.

I'm the same. If it were a neat, lean EP I think I'd feel very differently about it.

[ReaperKK]

I'm agree with you Stads. I just don't vibe with Devin's silliness with it. Some thing like Tenacious D is a lot more ny speed.

[Adami]

Never really connected with the Ziltoid thing, frankly.   Seemed dumb when I got exposed to it.  I don't know if there's a larger point to it or not, but it just seems silly to me.  Some good music in there, but it's obscured by, well, the silliness.

The first album is silly but the silliness is icing to a cake of metaphors to his personal struggles and introspection.

The second album is silly because he seems to want to make his kids laugh.

[Metro]

To those that don’t care for the silliness, I get it. I would recommend the Raw version of Dark Matters with all the dialogue removed if you can find it. Some of the music is still pretty great even if the story is dumb.

Edit: Found it https://youtu.be/oN1N5jq4lvM

[Kwyjibo]

Sky Blue is like a lesser version of Epicloud and as that record didn't really grab me, Sky Blue didn't either.

I love Z1, one of Devy's best records imo. And the silliness doesn't bother me, because it's done in a good way and is sometimes really funny. Then came Z2 and the question is: why? Z1 doesn't need a sequel just like Operation Mindcrime didn't need a sequel. The music isn't that good and now the silliness is just silly in an almost annoying way.

Two more records that show that Devy's music and my tastes are growing further apart.

[Architeuthis]

Which is Devins best live blu-ray?  After seeing him live at Dreamsonic, he was pretty impressive and I have to get one of his live releases.  Also, what are his must have studio albums?  I allready ordered Lightwork..

[Metro]

For essential albums, it depends on who you ask.

I always recommend Epicloud to newcomers as the best starting point. It’s got a little bit of all the sides of his music.

Ocean Machine is my personal favorite, but might not be the best album for a newcomer.

Transcendence is another one I’ve been digging lately. It’s good if you want the more accessible side of Dev but a bit more progressive.

Accelerated Evolution is a good mix of accessible, heavy, and proggy stuff.

I’m sure others will disagree with my choices 

As for his Blu-Rays/DVDs, keep in mind that a lot of them are out of print go for a high price in the used market.

Your options are:

By a Thread - 4 albums played in full over 4 nights. Hard to find, and expensive.

The Retinal Circus - A setlist spanning his career(up to the that point).

Ziltoid Live at the Royal Albert Hall - The underwhelming album Dark Matters played in full, followed by a By Request set featuring plenty of essential Dev material.

Ocean Machine Live in Plovdiv - Another great By Request set featuring an orchestra, followed by a performance of (IMO) his best album, Ocean Machine.

Order of Magnitude - His most recent live album. Featuring plenty of material from Empath, which I haven’t covered yet. Very fun show with and a great setlist.

I would suggest either The Retinal Circus or Order of Magnitude.

[Buddyhunter1]

The Retinal Circus is more of a spectacle, but if you want something that focuses on the musicians more, Order Of Magnitude is quite good. Retinal Circus has a lot of backing tracks whereas Order Of Magnitude has pretty much none.

[cramx3]

I would suggest either The Retinal Circus or Order of Magnitude.

This for a live concert DVD.

For the album, I'd say Epicloud (it has the newer version of Kingdom which he played on Dreamsonic).  Personally, I wouldn't start on Lightworks even though he played two songs on Dreamsonic and it's his newest.  I just think it's not his best album, although it has really grown on me the last couple months. 

Addicted, Ocean Machine, and Accelerated Evolution would be my next recommendations.

[Zantera]

It's interesting because Epicloud is one of his weaker albums for me. If you want something from classic Devy (think his Images/Awake/Scenes) I think Ocean Machine, Terria and Accelerated Evolution all hit that spot. But there's great newer albums as well, Addicted is fairly easily accessible, I would say Empath is one of his strongest albums (and fairly recent) and kinda sums up the many sounds of Devin. It also has a 23 minute prog epic that owns bones which might be a draw for some prog fans.

Overall I would say most of his discography is really strong though and it's hard to really take a wrong step unless you accidentally end up with one of his weird ambient soundscape albums like Devlab or Hummer as your first full album. Think you can just sort of read a bit about the albums and get a feel for if this might be the pie slice of his sound that you want more of.

In terms of live releases I think the one where he does all of Ocean Machine is pretty darn fantastic, possibly his best.

[Architeuthis]

Awesome,  thanks for all the suggestions.  I can't believe I've turned a blind eye or should I say deaf ears to Devin for all these years.  I'm glad I started listening to some of his stuff on YouTube before I seen him live at Dreamsonic this summer. I can honestly say thank you to Dream Theater for opening my mind to Devin world. I can also tell he's a super cool dude by listening to his interviews.  He's a great musician with a sense of humor and doesn't take himself too seriously.  That even shows onstage..  😄

[cramx3]

  I'm glad to see he won over someone at Dreamsonic

[Metro]

On the next episode of the DTDT, we turn the page and chill out.

[Architeuthis]

I'm glad to see he won over someone at Dreamsonic

Absolutely!   

[Herrick]

Awesome,  thanks for all the suggestions.  I can't believe I've turned a blind eye or should I say deaf ears to Devin for all these years.  I'm glad I started listening to some of his stuff on YouTube before I seen him live at Dreamsonic this summer. I can honestly say thank you to Dream Theater for opening my mind to Devin world. I can also tell he's a super cool dude by listening to his interviews.  He's a great musician with a sense of humor and doesn't take himself too seriously.  That even shows onstage..  😄

I can't recommend an album but this live performance is what got me interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB3jB__ruXM&t=899s

[Metro]

Mini update today...

Only Half There
Released October 2016



“but Metro, this is a discography thread. why are we talking about a book?”
Because it’s my thread, shut up.

Only Half There is Dev’s autobiography, released in 2016 through Rocket 88 Books. It covers his life from the beginning up to the Z2 era.

The book came in two editions: The Classic Edition and The Signature Edition



The Classic Edition includes the book, and an acoustic EP titled “Iceland”.

The Signature Edition includes the book, the Iceland EP, as well as a cassette compilation of old demos titled “Ancient”, which was previously discussed way back in the first Chapter of this thread.
The Signature Edition also includes some doodles done by Dev.



Those who preordered the Signature Edition of the book got their names printed in the book. My name is in there, if you know where to look.

The Signature Edition has long since sold out, but the Classic Edition book is still available in eBook format and in paperback and also comes with a download of the Iceland EP
https://us.rocket88books.com//collections/only-half-there

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Iceland



Tracklisting:

1. Start
2. Let it Roll
3. Solar Winds
4. Ih-Ah
5. Funeral
6. Deadhead
7. Sister
8. End

Full EP: https://soundcloud.com/monolithzeroband/iceland-ep-devin-townsend

Iceland is a solo acoustic EP recorded by Dev at Sundlaugin Studio in Iceland, Sigur Rós' home studio.

There’s a couple repeats from the Unplugged album in 2011, but Iceland is mostly different material. I think Iceland overall sounds better than Unplugged. The reverb is a lot more subtle, and the guitar sounds better since Dev mic’ed it instead of using a DI.

There’s a really raw version of Deadhead here that I love, and this is probably my favorite version of Ih-Ah. 



——————————————————————————————————————————————

On the next episode of the DTDT, we get over it, we say goodbye, and we move on.
Tune in next Monday.

[cramx3]

I have actually wanted to read his book, I just ordered it through your link.  Thank you for sharing and the reminder.

[Metro]

No problem! It’s a great read, and it’s been a great resource for these writeups. Especially the eBook version with the Search function.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

No problem! It’s a great read, and it’s been a great resource for these writeups. Especially the eBook version with the Search function.

I got in too late on the Signature edition, but I did get the regular edition. It is indeed a great read. Very insightful.

[Architeuthis]

Awesome,  thanks for all the suggestions.  I can't believe I've turned a blind eye or should I say deaf ears to Devin for all these years.  I'm glad I started listening to some of his stuff on YouTube before I seen him live at Dreamsonic this summer. I can honestly say thank you to Dream Theater for opening my mind to Devin world. I can also tell he's a super cool dude by listening to his interviews.  He's a great musician with a sense of humor and doesn't take himself too seriously.  That even shows onstage..  😄

I can't recommend an album but this live performance is what got me interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB3jB__ruXM&t=899s

Wow,  I watched and that is way cool!   

[Kwyjibo]

I always find it strange to release a biography when you're "only half there". But I think I might try this one.

[billboy73]

On Z2:

Dark Matters - So I actually really dig this album.  I was pretty pumped for it when it was announced, and I loved it when I first picked it up.  Yes it's a cheesy sci-fi story, and at points the narration is kinda clunky, but I genuinely like this.  In saying that, I do like the first Ziltoid album better though.  It would have been cool to do a reprise or a throwback to something musically from the first one to connect them in a way, but ah well.  Ziltodian Empire, March of the Poozers, Earth, and Ziltoid Goes Home are the ones I really enjoy, but this is one of those albums where you have to be ready to listen to the whole piece. 

The Royal Albert Hall set is fun, and I like the second set, but it would've been cool if they played both Ziltoid albums as the 2 sets. That would be quite the spectacle.

Sky Blue - Not bad for what it is, but definitely not anywhere near as good as Epicloud.  Fallout is an awesome song, with either Devin or Anneke singing it.  Midnight Sun is great and has Terria vibes.  The title track and Rain City are excellent too.  The rest is kinda hit or miss.   

[Architeuthis]

Picked up Lightwork today. I ordered it through the local record store, and the store owner wanted to hear it since he's never heard of Devin Townsend.  He ended up loving it and he blasted disc 1&2  in his store. In the meantime some of his customers asked what he was playing and are now ordering this album.  I kind of needed to get going, but I didn't want to deprive him of listening to the whole thing. 
So it's been a great Devy day up here in Port Angeles Washington..  🐙

[Buddyhunter1]

Picked up Lightwork today. I ordered it through the local record store, and the store owner wanted to hear it since he's never heard of Devin Townsend.  He ended up loving it and he blasted disc 1&2  in his store. In the meantime some of his customers asked what he was playing and are now ordering this album.  I kind of needed to get going, but I didn't want to deprive him of listening to the whole thing. 
So it's been a great Devy day up here in Port Angeles Washington..  🐙

Woah, you have a local record store? And you weren't the only customer there?

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Picked up Lightwork today. I ordered it through the local record store, and the store owner wanted to hear it since he's never heard of Devin Townsend.  He ended up loving it and he blasted disc 1&2  in his store. In the meantime some of his customers asked what he was playing and are now ordering this album.  I kind of needed to get going, but I didn't want to deprive him of listening to the whole thing. 
So it's been a great Devy day up here in Port Angeles Washington..  🐙

Woah, you have a local record store? And you weren't the only customer there?

...and in Port Angeles of all places. That's where my wife is from 

[Architeuthis]

Picked up Lightwork today. I ordered it through the local record store, and the store owner wanted to hear it since he's never heard of Devin Townsend.  He ended up loving it and he blasted disc 1&2  in his store. In the meantime some of his customers asked what he was playing and are now ordering this album.  I kind of needed to get going, but I didn't want to deprive him of listening to the whole thing. 
So it's been a great Devy day up here in Port Angeles Washington..  🐙

Woah, you have a local record store? And you weren't the only customer there?

...and in Port Angeles of all places. That's where my wife is from 

Wow, that's cool!  It's a small world and I'm surprised anyone besides me in DT forums knows about PA.  I live in Sequim myself, which is the next small city over.
And yes, the local record store (Coog's) is still alive amazingly.  Everybody there seemed to appreciate Devy's "Lightwork" today.   

[Metro]

The Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence
Released September 9, 2016



Tracklisting:

1. Truth
2. Stormbending
3. Failure
4. Secret Sciences
5. Higher
6. Stars
7. Transcendence
8. Offer Your Light
9. From the Heart
10. Transdermal Celebration



Japanese Bonus Tracks:
11. Sophie’s Boobies
12. Young Gods
13. Wolves

Personnel:
Devin Townsend - Guitar, Vocals
Dave Young - Guitar
Brian “Beav” Waddell - Bass
Ryan Van Poederooyen - Drums
Mike St. Jean - Keyboards

Additional Personnel:
Anneke Van Giersbergen - Vocals
Ché Aimee Dorval - Vocals (Lexus)
Tigers in a Tank - Backup Vocals

After the Royal Albert Hall show, Dev planned on a taking another hiatus from writing, recording, and touring for a year. However, he changed his mind, and in 2015 started writing the next DTP album: Transcendence. Transcendence is different from past DTP albums in that it’s a group effort this time around. The rest of the band was very involved in the writing process as opposed to Dev just coming in with completed songs. Dave Young describes the album as “very much Devin songs, but with a little extra Project flavor”. The theme of Transcendence is, according to Dev, “Getting over myself”

The album was written in the DTP’s rehearsal space and recorded at The Armoury studios in Vancouver. Anneke Van Giersbergen once again sings on the album, and Dev also recorded a 6-piece choir, the “Tigers in a Tank”, at The Farm Studios. Adam “Nolly” Getgood (ex-Periphery) co-produced/mixed the album with Dev.



Mike Zimmer, a friend of the band, shot a documentary of the making of the album.
NOTE: The playlist is backwards sdrawkcab si tsilyalp ehT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQTlvovdaEs&list=PLpA5ThqzxTYWoNFLutNNiwNlBdzyAuxy_

Truth is a re-record of the song from Infinity. Much like the redo of Kingdom, Truth had become a live staple and Dev wanted to do an updated version of it.
A music video was made for Stormbending
https://youtu.be/YhcoLO8vZZU
Stars was written and demoed during a livestream for ToonTrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bxzr9n_HK8
Offer Your Light was meant for Sky Blue.
From the Heart is based on Baba Hanuman, by Krishna Das.
Transdermal Celebration is a cover of a Ween song from their album “Quebec”, which just turned 20.
Ween is the greatest band of all time and I will not acknowledge any differing opinions.



This list from the writing sessions shows some songs that didn’t make it on the album.

Blowdozer and Knuckledragger were likely renamed.
Time is possibly Time Overload, from the bonus disc.
A song called Starchasm appears on the Puzzle, though I doubt it’s the same song intended for Transcendence. Starchasm, Pt.2 appears on Nightwork, the bonus disc for Lightwork. I think this is probably closer to what was meant for Transcendence.
Gump appears on the bonus disc.
Total Collapse would show up on Tests of Manhood, the bonus disc for Empath.
The Occupation was originally going to close the album. Dev describes this song as “very grim and foreboding”, and ultimately left it out. It remains unreleased.

The Japanese edition of the album came with 3 additional bonus tracks.

Sophie’s Boobies is an excerpt from one of the Ziltoid Radio broadcasts.
Young Gods is Dev rambling over some electronic music.
Wolves is a demo that has a callback to Ziltoid Goes Home, from Z².

Transcendence was released September 9, 2016. Some consider this album to be yet another attempt at redoing Epicloud, like Sky Blue was. I don’t see it that way. In revisiting this album, think Transcendence holds up well on it’s own, and is by far the best DTP album since the original 4. I love the production and atmosphere of this album, and I think a big part of that is due to Nolly. This album just sounds massive, and Ryan’s drums have never sounded better.

Transcendence is not without its flaws, there’s some clunkers here like Stars. Having watched the livestream when it aired, it was cool to witness Dev’s creative process in real time, but Stars as a completed song is just ok. I think it should have been on the bonus disc.
I’ve never thought much of the title track. There’s nothing truly bad about it, but there’s nothing special about it either, and I never listen to it unless I’m listening to the full album.
I really like the cover of Transdermal Celebration, but in hindsight, it’s an odd note to end the DTP on.

Zimmer also went on tour with the band and filmed daily tour vlogs on the road. Definitely worth a watch.
NOTE: Once again, the playlist is backwards sdrawkcab si tsilyalp eht ,niaga ecnO
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpA5ThqzxTYX-RrY2NjqWVty7CbpSfCjS
You can spot me at a meet and greet in one of these videos, if you know where to look.
Here’s a picture from that meet and greet.



Here's a cool little bonus. In 2017, Dev played at the Starmus Festival with Steve Vai, Grace Potter, Derek Sherinian, and Nuno Bettencourt.

Here and Now (From Sex and Religion)

Supercrush

Get the Funk Out (Extreme cover)

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Holding Patterns



Tracklisting:

1. Gump
2. Celestial Signals
3. Support the Cause
4. Into the Sun
5. Time Overload
6. Lexus
7. Farther On
8. Victim
9. Monkey Mind
10. Canucklehead
11. Loud

Transcendence comes with yet another bonus disc of various demos and outtake, titled Holding Patterns

Gump was meant for the main album, but Dev decided to leave it out. The sample in the beginning is from the Making Of documentary.
Celestial Signals was revisited for his 2022 album, Lightwork.
Lexus features Ché Aimee Dorval, from Casualties of Cool.
Victim is a redo of the song from Physicist.
Canucklehead is based on Travelin’ Band by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Loud was meant for Sky Blue.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

The Devin Townsend Project - Ocean Machine: Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv
Recorded September 22, 2017 at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Released July 6, 2018



Tracklisting:

By Request:

1. Truth (Live)
2. Stormbending (Live)
3. OM (Live)
4. Failure (Live)
5. By Your Command (Live)
6. Gaia (Live)
7. Deadhead (Live)
8. Canada (Live)
9. Bad Devil (Live)
10. Higher (Live)
11. A Simple Lullaby (Live)
12. Deep Peace (Live)


Ocean Machine:

1. Seventh Wave (Live)
2. Life (Live)
3. Night (Live)
4. Hide Nowhere (Live)
5. Sister (Live)
6. 3 A.M. (Live)
7. Voices in the Fan (Live)
8. Greetings (Live)
9. Regulator (Live)
10. Funeral (Live)
11. Bastard (Live)
12. The Death of Music (Live)
13. Thing Beyond Things (Live)

Personnel:
Devin Townsend - Guitar, Vocals
Dave Young - Guitar
Brian “Beav” Waddell - Bass (By Request Set)
Mike St. Jean - Keyboards
Ryan Van Poederooyen - Drums
John Harder - Bass (Ocean Machine Set)
Orchestra and Choir of State Opera Plovdiv - Orchestra, Choir (By Request Set)

In late 2016, Dev announced a special show at the Roman Theatre Philippopolis in Plovdiv, Bulgaria celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ocean Machine in September 2017. The band played 2 sets; a By Request set with an Orchestra, and Ocean Machine in full without the orchestra.

John “Squid” Harder, who played bass on Ocean Machine and Punky Brüster, reached out to Dev after the show was announced and asked to play bass during the Ocean Machine set. John has MS, and played sitting down for the show. Marty Chapman, the drummer on Ocean Machine, passed away in 2014. The tombstone on the left side of the cover art says “RIP Jesse”, referring to a childhood friend of Dev’s who was killed in a fight over a hat. This event inspired the song Funeral.

This album was meant to be called “ERAS”, but due to a mix up, that title instead went to a series of vinyl box sets comprised of Dev’s past albums. (Not covering that in this thread )

(Why didn’t they just call this “PlovDev”? It’s right there.)

This is another excellent live album. The By Request has plenty of deep cuts, like OM, Gaia, Canada, and A Simple Lullaby. One of my favorite moments is seeing the orchestra watch in amazement as the DTP plays the outro to By Your Command. My biggest complaint is the mix. The drums are way too loud and drown out the other instruments.

The Ocean Machine set is great too, and it’s nice to have an updated version of this album, as a remaster is impossible. Would have been awesome to have the orchestra during this set.

Reflecting the Chaos, a behind the scenes documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UttJS1xXoZM&list=PL0v1KRwun7397WJAhbNq5AwuYcLFIn1DW&index=22

——————————————————————————————————————————————

The End of the DTP

Dev announced on January 31, 2018, that he was putting the DTP on hiatus to focus on other projects he had been putting off over the years. He also announced he was working on 4 different albums. Never say never, but even though this was announced as a hiatus, I think it’s unlikely that the DTP comes back.

Ryan and Beav went on to start a new band, Imonolith, along with Jed Simon and Byron Stroud from SYL. Over time, Jed, Byron, and Beav all left the band. Imonolith is still active with Ryan on drums

Beav has since retired from being a professional musician and now owns a sushi restaurant in Vancouver with Ted Kamizato, another childhood friend of Dev who played bass on Dev’s teenage demos on the Ancient cassette.

Dave Young is mainly a session musician nowadays, and has a production company with his brother, Mike.

Mike St. Jean works as a stage lighting designer for bands like TesseracT, and still works with Dev frequently.

As we bid the DTP a fond farewell, let's rank the albums.

1. Ki
2. Ghost
3. Deconstruction
4. Transcendence
5. Epicloud
6. Addicted
7. Sky Blue
8. Actually getting sucked into a wormhole for real and getting stuck on a distant moon.
9. Dark Matters

[Zantera]

I didn't get to hear Transcendence until quite recently but I must say it's a really great album. I don't like it quite as much as Empath for example but I do like it a fair bit more than a lot of the albums he did just before.

[Buddyhunter1]

Transcendence starts off fantastic but really peters out in the second half for me. It's also his only album where there's a few songs on the bonus disk that I think should have replaced songs on the actual record - I'd take Gump, Into The Sun, or Farther On over Stars or Offer Your Light any day. Still, there's some real highlights here, especially Stormbending and Secret Sciences.

It's funny you mention the drum mixing because holy shit are the drums loud on this album. You can still hear the other instruments fine, but the way the drums are mixed makes them feel like the lead instrument in spots (especially on Failure) where I don't think that was intentional.

Rankings:

Addicted
Deconstruction
Epicloud
Ki
Ghost
Transcendence
Sky Blue
Dark Matters

[The Curious Orange]

I'm surprised to hear anyone say that Sky Blue sounds like Epicloud, and even more that Transcendence does. I love Sky Blue, but to me it's more of a straight-ahead mainstream rock album (in Devy's signature style, of course), and while it doesn't quite work, and isn't up among his best stuff, when I'm in the mood for it I love it. But it sounds nothing like Epicloud.
Trancendence has some good stuff on it, but also some right clunkers. Failure and Higher are two of my all-time favourite of Dev's songs, but the album just doesn't sustain it's length.

Impossible to rank the DTP albums because it depends what mood I'm in. Today would be:

Epicloud
Addicted!
Ghost
Transcendence
Sky Blue
Ki
Deconstruction

Tomorrow will be some different order entirely.

[cramx3]

Transcendence is probably a better overall album than Sky Blue in terms of consistency, but Sky Blue has the higher ups.

The album release times with my first time seeing Dev live, at ProgPower with Anneke (the only time they performed together in the US). Absolutely epic concert that included a very rare performance of Offer Your Light which is a top track from Transcendence for me.  Also he opened with a cover of Summer of 69 with altered lyrics to relate to the DTP.  And of course a beautiful performance of Angel. That night I went from enjoying his music, to being a really big fan of Devin.

If I had to rank them...

Addicted!
Epicloud
Transcendence
Sky Blue
Ki
Dark Matters
Deconstruction
Ghost

[Mosh]

Transcendence is a pretty solid album, definitely a step up from Z2 (both discs) and it shows that the album is more of a collaborative effort. It feels much more like a band effort musically than Z2 or Epicloud did. I don't think the three albums sound similar necessarily, but they're all kind of in this proggy pop metal vein, though Transcendence leans way more into the progressive. It always surprised me that Stars made the main album. Wasn't that a last minute decision? I feel like I remember it getting added to the tracklisting after the album was announced and that it was initially going to be on the bonus disc. Not sure how that happened, it's pure bonus disc quality and a significant step down from the rest of the album.

As for everything else, the opening set of Truth into Stormbending into Failure is one of the strongest opening runs he's had. Just a really great flow of songs that covers a pretty wide range without sounding disjointed. The redo of Truth is an improvement. I also really like Secret Sciences and Offer Your Light.

Overall Transcendence is a solid album but I don't find myself going back to it a whole lot. When Devin announced the end of DTP it felt like the right time. It seemed like he wasn't really saying anything new with the DTP music and, again, Casualties of Cool felt so refreshing compared to what the DTP was doing. This album is a good way to cap off that era of his music and I was happy to see him moving on to other things.

[DoctorAction]

There are some bits of Transcendence I like but its never grabbed me, unfortunately. Another forgettable one for me.

I quite like Stars, mind you. And Offer Your Light. But it's not an album I have any urge to revisit.

[cramx3]

I don't dislike Stars.  It's not a great song by any means, but I'm not a hater of it.  I do wonder if the "making the song live" has something to do with why people don't like it, like maybe it ended up being rushed or didn't get the proper personal love from Devin?  I never actually watched the making of it.