I can't help but to think to his lyric "We all rip off Meshuggah". And he does show his inspirations in his own music. I mean if it wasn't for Led Zeppelin's "Friends" to inspire him to play in Open C, Dev would be a very different musician today.

the part right in the middle of Socialization sounds like something off an A Perfect Circle album...gave me the nostalgia's

the disc didn't blow me away on first listen, so i'm giving it another spin since i usually have to do that with anything by Devin in order to appreciate it. "Epicloud" and "City" have been the only exceptions to that

Really blows that this album wasn't given the full blown production of the first disc because I kind of adore it. I think it's much more interesting overall though I can see why these songs weren't lumped in with the others, with the exception of songs like Happy Birthday I don't think most would fit the big bombastic production style. Damn shame so few will get to hear these gems. I like it much more than Epicloud.

Well, plagiarism was the wrong word, but you get the point. I just think his habit of rehashing his own material (and other people's) so much does more bad for his work than good. And whether or not you think it's a good or a bad thing, he does do it a lot. I mean, he put two snippets of two of his past works in one song, within seconds of each other (Color Your World). I can't think of any other artists who have done that. It's just in instances like that I think it's a bit too much really.

Annihilator maybe the worst. There's literally no point in listening to anything after King of the Kill. Sometimes Devin can do it in a cool way - there's some song on Epicloud(er) were he does the metallic clinking sound at the beginning of Velvet Kevorkian that I thought was good - and it was subtle too. Other times it can be annoying though, like Sunset, Hyperdrive and Hyperdrive!. Maybe he doesn't feel that he utilised a riff or idea right first time and tries again, but personally I think doing that works to the detriment of all sources.

To add: When it's other sources I'm happier since I rarely know the original music but I did find his two Pink Floyd-ish songs slightly annoying (Little Pig and Two Weeks) because I'm usually thinking of the originals during playback, and PF songs are very well known to metalheads. Although in fairness I'm not sure how aware he is when composing the tracks. Also, the last riff in Two Weeks is identical to an Anathema song on their Silent Enigma album (Nocturnal Emission I think) but I'd be very surprised if he ever heard it, so I'm sure there's some coincidence sometimes.

This is pretty much what I meant. At times his subtle little nods towards influences or past works are pretty nifty, but other times they're blatant and really gauche. Like with my previous example, Color Your World, it just feels like he threw in a few bits and pieces of other songs to bridge any gaps he couldn't be bothered to fill with original stuff. I don't know if that is the case, but that's what it feels like.

Also, somebody mentioned the "gotta keep rollin'" line in Heatwave, but I'd just like to point out, that isn't the only bit taken from Eddie Rabbit's "Driving My Life Away;" the entire verse is lifted directly from it. And a lot of the bridge revolves around that same melody too, so it ends up that it seems like the song is more Eddie Rabbit's than it is Dev's. It's the same thing with "Radial Highway." At first I thought it was just those first two lines he nicked from "Radar Love" - fine, I thought, a nod towards a song he likes that still fits perfectly with the song. Except the verse melody is essentially the same too. And the beat that carries both songs is identical.

I didn't mind when he was just making subtle nods towards his other stuff/other people's stuff, but it's starting to shift from him making subtle, intelligent nods (the Synchestra/SYl references, for example) to just taking songs he likes, mixing 'em up a bit, and releasing them under his own name. Which is a completely different thing, and he's doing it a lot. If I wanted Eddie Rabbit, I'd listen to Eddie Rabbit. If I wanted Golden Earring, I'd listen to Golden Earring. When I listen to Dev, I want Dev, not a Dev chorus thrown in somebody else's song.

Nevertheless, Heatwave rocks.

Well, plagiarism was the wrong word, but you get the point. I just think his habit of rehashing his own material (and other people's) so much does more bad for his work than good. And whether or not you think it's a good or a bad thing, he does do it a lot. I mean, he put two snippets of two of his past works in one song, within seconds of each other (Color Your World). I can't think of any other artists who have done that. It's just in instances like that I think it's a bit too much really.

Annihilator maybe the worst. There's literally no point in listening to anything after King of the Kill. Sometimes Devin can do it in a cool way - there's some song on Epicloud(er) were he does the metallic clinking sound at the beginning of Velvet Kevorkian that I thought was good - and it was subtle too. Other times it can be annoying though, like Sunset, Hyperdrive and Hyperdrive!. Maybe he doesn't feel that he utilised a riff or idea right first time and tries again, but personally I think doing that works to the detriment of all sources.

To add: When it's other sources I'm happier since I rarely know the original music but I did find his two Pink Floyd-ish songs slightly annoying (Little Pig and Two Weeks) because I'm usually thinking of the originals during playback, and PF songs are very well known to metalheads. Although in fairness I'm not sure how aware he is when composing the tracks. Also, the last riff in Two Weeks is identical to an Anathema song on their Silent Enigma album (Nocturnal Emission I think) but I'd be very surprised if he ever heard it, so I'm sure there's some coincidence sometimes.

This is pretty much what I meant. At times his subtle little nods towards influences or past works are pretty nifty, but other times they're blatant and really gauche. Like with my previous example, Color Your World, it just feels like he threw in a few bits and pieces of other songs to bridge any gaps he couldn't be bothered to fill with original stuff. I don't know if that is the case, but that's what it feels like.

Also, somebody mentioned the "gotta keep rollin'" line in Heatwave, but I'd just like to point out, that isn't the only bit taken from Eddie Rabbit's "Driving My Life Away;" the entire verse is lifted directly from it. And a lot of the bridge revolves around that same melody too, so it ends up that it seems like the song is more Eddie Rabbit's than it is Dev's. It's the same thing with "Radial Highway." At first I thought it was just those first two lines he nicked from "Radar Love" - fine, I thought, a nod towards a song he likes that still fits perfectly with the song. Except the verse melody is essentially the same too. And the beat that carries both songs is identical.

I didn't mind when he was just making subtle nods towards his other stuff/other people's stuff, but it's starting to shift from him making subtle, intelligent nods (the Synchestra/SYl references, for example) to just taking songs he likes, mixing 'em up a bit, and releasing them under his own name. Which is a completely different thing, and he's doing it a lot. If I wanted Eddie Rabbit, I'd listen to Eddie Rabbit. If I wanted Golden Earring, I'd listen to Golden Earring. When I listen to Dev, I want Dev, not a Dev chorus thrown in somebody else's song.

Nevertheless, Heatwave rocks.

If you get the CD of Epicloud with the bonus Epiclouder disk in the description of each song on Epiclouder he says that Heatwave is basically, "Driving My Life Away". But I think when he sings a familiar verse like in Color Your World, it's because he specifically wants to reference that point in his life. I know Dream Theater does the same thing with referencing other songs of theirs. It's pretty common in bands.

I didn't mind when he was just making subtle nods towards his other stuff/other people's stuff, but it's starting to shift from him making subtle, intelligent nods (the Synchestra/SYl references, for example) to just taking songs he likes, mixing 'em up a bit, and releasing them under his own name. Which is a completely different thing, and he's doing it a lot. If I wanted Eddie Rabbit, I'd listen to Eddie Rabbit. If I wanted Golden Earring, I'd listen to Golden Earring. When I listen to Dev, I want Dev, not a Dev chorus thrown in somebody else's song.

Nevertheless, Heatwave rocks.

One of Devin's rules in writing these days is to not over-analyse what he writes, and just go with the flow. I think in cases like this he was going for a certain vibe and for some reason or other those songs fit what he wanted better than anything he could come up with.

To me, it really isn't all that different than doing a cover, and I have no problem with cover songs. I'm always up to hear how my favorite bands or musicians reinvent songs I've heard a million times.

I think it's cool when he throws in a bit of another one of his songs. To me it's almost like an easter egg - a little bonus to discover and go "hey wait, I recognize that part!"

If it were a sign of an artist who's run out of ideas and is simply rehashing old shit because they can't come up with anything original any more, then it would be discouraging. But I don't think there's any doubt that Devin is a continual wellspring of cool ideas.

Also, considering that some of the parts that were reused were on demos or bonus tracks, then that shouldn't really count against him, so to speak.

So who wants to put together a list of Devy songs that reuse sections?

I don't care, I just like what I enjoy and turn off what I don't

So who wants to put together a list of Devy songs that reuse sections?

We tried that, but it's really hard to define what is a reference and what's coincidence. Nobody denies, say, the Voices In the Fan/Color Your World thing. But after a while, it starts to get tricky. Is Dev using the word "Winter" in this song a Winter reference, or not? This part kinda sounds like Terria, does that count? etc

The way I see it, songs are all individual, living, breathing organisms. Just because a melody was used by someone else in another song doesn't automatically make it not fit whatever song you're writing. Key example: Sumeria's chorus. It fits the song like a glove, but it's practically blatant plagiarism. Same goes with the SYL/DTB references. The "oh what a feeling" part of Love? fits very well in Notes From Africa, and Color Your World takes everything to a whole new level. Even the lyrics match the thoughts expressed in the song perfectly.

Back to a previous note...I put the songs into Audacity and there's a blank (no music) spot at the beginning and end of each song. So i cut those small parts out, saved, and exported them back to iTunes and the album plays perfectly smooth.

Back to a previous note...I put the songs into Audacity and there's a blank (no music) spot at the beginning and end of each song. So i cut those small parts out, saved, and exported them back to iTunes and the album plays perfectly smooth.

I'm doing that now, going as far as to zoom in as much as I can to get those transitions right

So who wants to put together a list of Devy songs that reuse sections?

We tried that, but it's really hard to define what is a reference and what's coincidence. Nobody denies, say, the Voices In the Fan/Color Your World thing. But after a while, it starts to get tricky. Is Dev using the word "Winter" in this song a Winter reference, or not? This part kinda sounds like Terria, does that count? etc

for reference: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=10368
nobody ever really compiled a text version, though i have a basic/incomplete one on file.

Managed to edit most of the songs to transition seamlessly, other than the Happy Birthday/Quietus transition. Cannot seem to get that to go smoothly because it transitions in the middle of someone coughing

Managed to edit most of the songs to transition seamlessly, other than the Happy Birthday/Quietus transition. Cannot seem to get that to go smoothly because it transitions in the middle of someone coughing

same here ! i got everything to also transition seamlessly but that goddam cough just did not want to.