Yeah I've not really been too fond anything post Devin Townsend Project, I can hear the ambition in this but the execution leaves a lot to be desired and I think seeing how much it was hyped didn't really help much either.

Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off

His acoustic sets, from what I've seen & heard are very good performances in their own right. Especially if he's playing stuff from Ghost, CoC, Ki, and a mix of other renditions. Is there a setlist for that tour. Hopefully you still have a great time.



I just got done listening to his Patreon ambient record. Not much to say, it's some expansive chords, over field recordings of nature in Thailand, some sound of food being cooked, moving between rooms and streets, people talking. It came out on there in Jan this year. Can't say I'd listen again, but it was rather pleasant.

Album Rating: 3.0

Devin is one of my favorite musicians of all time but he does release a lot of nonsense from time to time.



Empath was one of my favorite of his tbh, not quite on Ocean Machine or Terria territory but close. The Project stuff, Casualties of Cool and other albums like Accelerated Evolution and Infinity are all fantastic, so I can forgive him.



I also like Lightworks and Powernerd tbh



My main problem with this is that there are like only a couple actual songs, there's not much to grab onto here

Album Rating: 2.6

The Shit

Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off

he sings his lungs out when doing acoustic shows don't worry

Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off

Check out the vinyl booklet artworks, people posting photos of their sets on Reddit. Pretty well made art, but all of it is dick & cum jokes. So a guy laying down with jizz coming out, men duelling each other with their huge cocks, an angel appearing to a man but men in the background in the air suspended by their extremely long cocks holding them in the air.

I haven't commented in a million years, but I wanted to add my two cents regarding this album.

I feel like what most people miss about it is the production, which for me was a bigger letdown than the music itself. The album sounds very harsh, brittle, and sterile, with a noticeable hole in the low mids. I also think one of the vocal lines in the first track has an audible click. Listening to it on a good system was honestly fatiguing. The Atmos version is slightly better, but it still has the same issues.

I understand this album was a gigantic undertaking and probably a nightmare to mix, but so were Deconstruction and Empath, and those sound way better to me. Maybe that is because they were handled by people like Jens Bogren and Nolly; I don't know who mixed this one.

As for the music, I love Devin, but I don't love everything he has done. Ocean Machine, City, Alien, Terria, the first four DTP albums, and Empath all have a clear focus and a cohesive narrative, even when they get intense or silly. You can usually tell what the work is about in a sentence or two. This one, to me, feels like a big nothing burger.

I know he started thinking about this around 10 years ago, and my relationship with music has changed a lot since then. Maybe I just do not connect with something written from the perspective of an almost 60-year-old man dealing with his parents getting older, his kid leaving the house, and life becoming a big grey blur. Maybe that is what the album is about. But for now, it does not speak to me, while still demanding a huge amount of attention.

I also suspect Devin may be surrounded by too many yes-men at this point. The whole AI visuals situation around the Moth shows gave me that impression, especially from the way some staff reacted online. In the Strapping, DTB, and DTP eras, he seemed to be surrounded more by long-term friends and collaborators. Now it feels more like internet personalities and hired guns. Of course, I cannot know for sure, but that is the impression I get. Maybe working again with someone like Ché Aimee Dorval, who could challenge him a bit, would be good.

In a way, I feel like this album is to Devin what Death Stranding is to Kojima.

Anyway, just my two cents. TLDR: album is boring; will listen again when I get old to help with sleep.

Also going to see his acoustic show in September and really looking forward to it. I think his acoustic stuff is where he really shines recently.

The devin and kojima comparisons are apt actually, like they are very good at what they do but their desired art appeals to only dedicated super fans or very niche select few people

I know what you are feeling, despite me not having heard this one yet. He definitely has tendencies that i'm not in love with, like overly silly music and that

Album Rating: 2.5

"I feel like what most people miss about it is the production"



Agreed, the prod on this (and most of his recent albums in all honesty) is kinda bad.

I just checked some of the live versions of the songs from the gig in the Netherlands, and it seems to me that they may be the superior versions, at least mix-wise. Warmer, less grating. I may force my wife to watch the whole live stream with me; at least it would give her an excuse to leave me for good if it is as boring as the studio version!

Great take @Ordinary

Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off

"Maybe I just do not connect with something written from the perspective of an almost 60-year-old man dealing with his parents getting older, his kid leaving the house, and life becoming a big grey blur. Maybe that is what the album is about. But for now, it does not speak to me, while still demanding a huge amount of attention."



You basically described Powernerd lol. I don't think any amount of bombast can compare to Goodbye, which is just an epic rock song about his kid going off to become their own person.

I only quoted what he said in an interview. I actually did not listen to Powernerd. Last thing I listened to was a couple of songs off Lightwork.

who?

I guess i wish devin would go back to not-so-theatrical approaches to making music. i like his serious stuff a lot more

I think he is pretty much locked into this sorta stuff now and no one really reigning him or saying "thats cool but maybe not for this". Some people need another person to play off or run ideas by to help streamline their brilliant insane talent into something more digestable or clear for everyone else thats not the artist.

Album Rating: 4.5

I KNEW this wouldn’t get great reception, because it’s not what the majority of Devy fans want, but as someone who’s been sitting with these songs for over a year and has been so hyped to get a studio version, it’s so sad to see the very negative reception. I think this record is incredible and appeals to my love of theatrical, orchestral, chamber and soundtrack music. I’ve jammed this nonstop since release and it’s been a pleasure to enjoy on my beach vacation, taking up all my music listening time. I can’t expect people to listen to a record multiple times, especially if they don’t get much out of it the first time, but I really think this albums grow better after repeated listens. Even the shorter tracks have a lot to offer with large amounts of ear candy hidden throughout. I felt similarly about the Puzzle, but I think this is much more coherent and easily digestible and overall better. In fact, I think this is his best release since Empath and personally in my top 10 Devy records (around #9-10 atm). From the Electronic Pop of Lexin to the Anthemic Rock of Orion or the Symphonic Prog Metal of Big Snit, there’s so much of what has made Devin so great over the decades distilled into a wonderfully weird 70 min record here. I IMPLORE Hevy Devy fans to give this a couple listens, because Devin himself created this as a labor of love and it shows. Ok long rant over and I hope everyone is doing well— Believe in yourself, Orion!

Ooh a new one. Is this the masterpiece that he has been working on for years since before lightwork??