An excellent reply Zyprexa!
mail it to him/her!

the review didn't bother me that much, what did bother me were the comments that followed
especially "Badass review. Won't even consider downloading the album now."
....based on a single persons opinion???

?!?!?!?!?

*sigh*

and the fact that he/she said 'download' just inflates the ignorance...

I love Ziltoid, and I got all my friends into it, and i'm buying my closest friends Ziltoid t-shirts, we'll be the Ziltoidian army heheh

Is not insulting the other people's opinion or not respecting it, it just the review isn't a objective review, it sounds more like a "wrangle" against Townsend than a professional critique, that's the reason of the angry reply, at least mine.

I still think the reviewer is a mong and sputnikmusic sucks ass.

ziltoid was a streach in a new direction as a solo album, he was doind something different to the usual and it worked.

i feel that the album encompases some very good traits in townsends musical style, the album is light airy and dark heavy and it flows superbly from track to track, i cant fault it! it goes from form to form, like clouds that shape themselves and go....

chris the sound tek

hah 2bad for him that his job will make him do another review of Z2.

I love how nearly everyone in this thread cried over such a simple issue as someone else's opinion.

I disagree with him, but so be it. I loved Ziltoid. And even Ziltoid had flaws (production quality to name one).

I love how nearly everyone in this thread cried over such a simple issue as someone else's opinion.

Welcome to the internet.

[Octillus]

Well Nightshine's opinion is clearly the most valid on the forums, as he's so goddamn frivolous with his use of authoritarian language.

Well Nightshine's opinion is clearly the most valid on the forums, as he's so goddamn frivolous with his use of authoritarian language.

The only way anyone gets their point across in today's society is by using such authoritarian and extremist language.

Saying "in my opinion" weakens the statement :3

I use sputnik and for most things it is really good. But, tbh, they often hate on things that don't appeal to thier little streamline & straightforward fetish. Except BTBAM.

Its like a little tavern for bandwagons, good and bad.

This thread is worse than that article. With the exception of a few posts, every single reply has been along the lines of "omg dis guy is a fool lolol". Seriously, if you disagree with somebody you should really give grounds as to why, not just insult the fact that they're probably fat idiots who know nothing about music. Belittling them personally does nothing for the integrity of your argument. I disagree with the guy but for all I know we could get along very well if we did meet one another, despite the fact that I quite enjoy Ziltoid and he clearly doesn't. And he could well be quite dashing, even if my mental image of him is currently a pimply obese splodge.

So without hesitation, here's my response to the review.

In the summary, he describes it as uninspired (using this same adjective twice in these two lines. Irony?) and boring, says that there are too many production techniques and it lacks any sort of life, as well as saying that it is generic and tepid (he meant foetid). How could it possibly be uninspired if nothing remotely like this has been done before? Seriously, correct me if I'm wrong but it isn't even a trifle comparable to anything else I am aware of. It is a concept album of a totally different calibre. The production techniques are pretty much limited to the mixing of the instruments and a bit of touching-up (because every single artist in the world doesn't synthesise at least a fraction of their music? Oh wait. They fucking do.). And I think that an album featuring a full-length song about time space continuum ('Solar Winds') couldn't possibly be described as lacking in life.

The mere fact that Dev does all the music himself makes it uniquely his own masterpiece, and the reviewer says that this element results in a "distinct lack of personality in the performance". But how could this be true? The personality is entirely Devin's. The comments about Devin not "sing(ing) any interesting melodies" are absolutely untrue when you consider the haunting lyrics of 'The Greys' or 'Colour Your World'. Instrumentally, it does for parody albums the same thing Martin Luther King did for black emancipation. It doesn't even need to have such beautiful tunes considering that it's a skit on the music industry; but in my opinion, it does. But I suppose art is subjective. I do agree somewhat that it lacks in purpose; the structure of the storyline is rather jumpy when you consider that Devin is responsible for Punky Brüster's 'Cooked on Phonics' (which could be made into the punk version of Spinal Tap).

This reviewer is obsessed with the fact that Devin did this album alone "he couldn't hire any musicians to inject some life into this?", the point is that it was a solo project. Instead of most metal solo projects which touch on becoming ambient, over-produced musical disasters; Ziltoid is rich in the elements which make metal awesome - consistently heavy drumming, melodic keyboard to set a certain tone and best of all, beautiful guitar ('N9'). He compares it to Ocean Machine - Biomech, a completely different type of album which uses lyrical prowess as a foreground and is backed delightfully by enchanting melodic echoes. Ziltoid is more in-your-face melodically and of course, as a concept album telling a story, uses a completely different strategy lyrically. Speaking literally instead of figuratively can make all the difference to the more fickle of the fan base, it seems.

The reviewer can't think of any other pseudo-intellectual witticism and so he resorts to insulting Synchestra: "As good as that album got in some places, Townsend's downward slide was in the cards--just doesn't have anything new to say, so instead he's making jokes and love letters proclaiming how happy and content he is with his life." Devin ALWAYS made jokes, his first studio album was City for fuck sake (can anyone remember 'Oh My Fucking God'?)! Alright, he's happy and it's reflected in his music - do you want him to lie just to make you happy? If all you want is shouting and anger, get lost and find an angsty emo band to follow instead of one of the most prolific, poetic, musically talented and not to mention under-appreciated musicians in 2009.

Forgive me if I ask how any of the lyrics in Ziltoid fall under the reviewer's category of a "predictable song-writing technique". Maybe he has a problem with the fact that there are verses and a chorus in each one? "the songs never really get genuinely intense" - I profusely disagree, on the grounds that I find the musical intensity culminates to a climax in every single song; in 'By Your Command' the "gone too far from the universe..." passage reverberates in my mind, gives me goosebumps. Although again, maybe the reviewer just has impeccably high standards set in lieu of Dev's previous albums. As for it "sounding the same all the way through", anybody who has studied music even in the most primitive degree will know that the key signature continually changes throughout, the rhythm diversifies in each 'stanza' of the album and the lyrics represent a different paragraph in the story for every single track. I call bullshit.

The reviewer ends on the note that Devin is taking a break from the music industry for a while and says that he's glad. Personally, I can't wait for Ki and I hope it blows this faggot's pink sock off.

You've made quite a beautifull review of Ziltoid yourself in here, buddy. But in the end, despite what you're saying about making a point before insulting a person (reviewer), your opinion on this matter is exactly the same as ours. That this guy is probably a frustrated jackass who didn't even take the time to make a proper analysis of the album. It is pointless on my behalf to analyze it now, I just want to say this:

I've read tons and tons of articles saying that Devin is on a downward spiral since Ocean Machine and City, that everything that followed these two albums was a pile of crap, unworthy of listening. About that Djskrimp has made a very relevant comment. Many poeple expected Devin to make more albums like OM and City but were disappointed when records like Synchestra or Alien were released because they didn't sound like the previous two.

But what these guys missed is that what characterizes Devin's work is it's complexity and it's diversity. And that every album is quite different from one another, if not completely opposite. Take for instance Physicist and Ki completely different...

I, personnally, think that every single song in every single album has a taste of genious in it. God, Devin's a genious without even trying. Even when he is just casual he's great. I'm thinking for instance of the hidden track at the end of Terria. Or Goat for that matter. Or Punky Bruster or Road Kill... it's a long list.

Ok, so my point is made, I think that bastard reviwer is a fucking retard, frustrated and probably virgin motherfucker, well too bad for him. And I dont't see why we should not insult him when he's shamelessly insulting one of the greatest musicians of all modern history.

So help yourselves fellas. Shoot the fucker!

And I might add: now that Devy's pulled off the entire Ziltoid album live, none can say that it isn't intense enough. That whould be plain lie!

no comment on the review itself, but i rofl'd at the commenter who said he knew a girl who looks like devin.

fuck that! ziltoitd is easily in my top 5 favorite albums of all time right up there with meshuggah, sabbath, iron maiden and porcupine tree. it's like listening to a comic book. i don't care what kind of music a person likes, ziltoid has something on it that will catch your attention. if it doesn't, you may want to check your pulse.

Ziltoid was the album that introduced me to Devin, and it's still the one that gets the most listens from me. I think that there is plenty of intensity (By Your Command has me doing everything but headbanging on the train), but also plenty of lighter moments as well, which is nice in a generally serious genre of music.