I have been listening to Devin's back catalogue and his new cd "Addicted" and I have come to MY personal conclusion that Devin is the best song writer of our time. As far as originality,melody, and overall approach, NO ONE spills their heart out and makes you feel like it like Devin. Particularly "Terria", "Synchestra", "Ki", "Ziltoid..." and now "Addicted" are my recent listens that brought me to post this. Yes, I am fan of Ocean Machine, Accelerated Evolution, Infinity and his SYL stuff as well but the titles I mentioned earlier brought me to this conclusion, just try and pigeon hole Devin's style...it really cannot be done! Devin is a true genius in every sense.
Devin Townsend- my opinion.
- Thread starter Wherewolf
- Start date
axehomeyg
Member
I agree 100%. His vocals in Vai's Sex and Religion were fantastic, but, I didn't pay any attention to his stuff after that project. Now, Synchestra is one of my favorite albums anywhere. His songwriting is a breath of fresh air. And, I can't stand growly vocals (Except for November's Doom and Opeth), but, Devin' is a different kind of growly. He just does it right!
TribunalRecords
Record Label(s)/Vocalist
Palabra de Dios
Heavy Metal Weatherman
I love Devin's work. There's not too much I don't like either. Wish I could have seen him at ProgPower a few years ago.
CAlexanderParra
Nocturnal Dream
I'm slowly becoming a huge Devin Townsend fan. His music is so different and refreshing to my ears.
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
Dolamite S. Biffle
Biffliest Person Ever
Sir Exar Kun
Member
I think the songwriting is just the beginning. Where I think Devin really excels is in the production department. No one else has the wall of sound that every one of his discs carry. The guitars have possibly the deepest sound of anyone in the genre, and every other instrument layers in perfectly to complement the whole. He is, almost without question, my favorite producer out there right now.
And I agree wholeheartedly! I would LOVE to see a Vai / Townsend reunion! "Sex & Religion" remains my favorite Vai album to date.
And I agree wholeheartedly! I would LOVE to see a Vai / Townsend reunion! "Sex & Religion" remains my favorite Vai album to date.
BenMech
student of the d'eh
I think I don't need to say much here. My name (as it was previously OceanMech) speaks for itself.
Pellaz
Tigron of Immanion
And Vai guested on guitar on "Triumph" from Synchestra, so it's not like they ain't talkin' or anything......
I pretty much agree with all posts so far...Devy is astonishingly talented. I sponsored him for PPUSA once, and would do so again in a heartbeat.
nomisofsiman
Member
I most definitely agree that he is one of the most unique and his stuff is varies quite significantly. I love all his stuff, especially Ziltoid and Synchestra. There's no one quite like him. However, saying he's the best songwriter, that I don't know. A lot of his stuff can be a bit schizo, but he does have solid songwriting skills. As for metal songwriters, I still put Leif Edling and Jon Oliva at the top.
I'm not a big fan of his screaming stuff and I'm not always a fan of his wall of sound, but he does some great work otherwise. I've slowly picked up his stuff over the years. Personally, Ki is the best album he's done since Terria and I'm looking forward to hearing the new one.
General Zod
Ruler of Australia
If we were rating such things based on categories, I'd definitely award Devin 10 points in the Originality / Creativity category. I'm always intrigued by each CD he releases, but never succeed in becoming a favorite of mine. When all is said and done, his songs just don't do it for me.
Zod
Zod
Devin's music, as much as I enjoy it, doesn't always reek of originality from one song to the next.
As for great songwriters, he ranks up there, but I wouldn't put him in the top 3.
As for great songwriters, he ranks up there, but I wouldn't put him in the top 3.
Force10
Member
Personally I feel that those are 2 completely different categories. You can be very creative without necessarliy being original, imo.
You can still award Devin 10 each though.
PatrickHoyt
The Darkitecht
TribunalRecords
Record Label(s)/Vocalist
i would like to toss DAN SWANO out there for a talented and versatile songwriter/performer. i think he is always overlooked since he began becoming popular while in EDGE OF SANITY in the death metal realms, but his list of material and genres covered is pretty widespread.
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Pellaz
Tigron of Immanion
Totally agree. He's one of the most versatile and prolific muzos to come out of Sweden...and THAT's saying something.
Stuff he's been involved with:
- Edge of Sanity
- His solo work (like Moontower)
- Pan-thy-Monium
- Nightingale
- Bloodbath
- Unicorn.....
Dan Swanö - Vocals, All instruments (Bloodbath (Swe), Brejn Dedd, Darkcide (Swe), Demiurg (Swe), Diabolical Masquerade, Edge of Sanity, Godsend (Nor), Incision (Swe), Infestdead, Karaboudjan, Katatonia (Swe), Maceration, Masticate, Nightingale (Swe), Odyssey (Swe), Overflash, Pan.Thy.Monium, Ribspreader, Route Nine, Star One, Steel (Swe), Total Terror, Unicorn (Swe), Sorskogen, Frameshift, Another Life, Stygg Död, Obliterhate)
*boggle*
chibitotoro
Member
Ever since Ziltoid, and now with Addicted, Devin Townsend has firmly set himself as my music of choice when riding the bullet train. There's something about his massive, melodic, wall-of-sound intensity that is just perfect for screaming across the countryside at 300 km/hr. I'm not kidding, every single time I get on the Shinkansen, Devin is all I listen to.
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