HEVYDEVY FORUMS

Just wondering what your favourite is and why.

I mean, it depends whether we're literally talking about Dark Matters vs. Ziltoid on its own or the entirety of the two, but either way for me it's no contest.

Dark Matters is a fun continuation, and seems like it could really be a killer multimedia project, but Ziltoid the Omniscient is one of the best albums Devin has ever made. Probably my #5 after OM, Terria, City and Alien for me.

Not to mention that other than Death Ray, I have no idea if any of it will translate to live very well at all (lest they do the whole thing in London)

I think I still prefer the first one but only because I'm much more familiar with it. I've had several years getting to know ZTO as opposed to a few days with Z2. A lot of Dev's albums grow on me over time so that could change...
Also, the first one felt more personal to me because it was all Dev and only Dev. Z2 has so many other voices and participants that it feels much less intimate, if that makes any sense...

Not to say that Z2 is bad by any stretch, its friggin awesome! I just think that it has a similar problem to many of the sequels in Hollywood. Its bigger, louder, everything but the kitchen sink kind of stuff, and as a result a little bit of the magic that made the original so special is lost.

I dunno, I think that question is one that can be answered better over time, for me at least. Comparing it to the first one is more difficult than I imagined it would be...

Octillus wrote:Not to mention that other than Death Ray, I have no idea if any of it will translate to live very well at all

Dimension Z could also work as a "sing together" thing with a larger audience. I honestly don't know how many people there are at his concerts though. But apart from that I also don't see that happening. Ziltoid even had some acoustic versions, that will hardly work here.

djp132 wrote:I think I still prefer the first one but only because I'm much more familiar with it. I've had several years getting to know ZTO as opposed to a few days with Z2. A lot of Dev's albums grow on me over time so that could change...
Also, the first one felt more personal to me because it was all Dev and only Dev. Z2 has so many other voices and participants that it feels much less intimate, if that makes any sense...

Not to say that Z2 is bad by any stretch, its friggin awesome! I just think that it has a similar problem to many of the sequels in Hollywood. Its bigger, louder, everything but the kitchen sink kind of stuff, and as a result a little bit of the magic that made the original so special is lost.

I dunno, I think that question is one that can be answered better over time, for me at least. Comparing it to the first one is more difficult than I imagined it would be...

Couldn't have said it better, although I honestly don't think listening more to it will change my opinion that much. The best way for me to put is is the...let's call it "sing along factor". Almost every song from the first one has some very memorable lines that you almost automatically want to sing along, I don't see that happening much in the new one. War Princess and Dimension Z maybe, not really anything else coming into my mind right now.
As you said, it's bigger, louder, etc.. I think the main thing is that we usually have layered voices - it kind of gives me the impression of some kind of big musical with 100 people singing every line together while dancing. In Ziltoid, on the other hand, everything was more silent.

Just one example: When listening to Solar Winds, I have a picture in mind that is also explained in the beginning of the song: A person alone, looking at the universe through a window in his starship. It feels exactly like that. In Dark Matters, it always feels like there is some army marching or listening to orders. There's not a single song where I don't get that feeling. As you said, this alienates Dark Matters somehow in comparison, it feels less personal.

So, to summarize: I enjoyed Ziltoid a lot more and that's basically because I like the silence of it. In Dark Matters, it's always "march & attack", while Ziltoid dives more into the minds of individuals and has a more dynamic dramatic arc. In general, I feel like Dark Matters is more a fun project and the first one more filled with personal, individually strong songs.

I excluded Sky Blue as that has nothing to do with Ziltoid. I still have to listen a lot more to that one to say if I like it more.

djp132 wrote:I think I still prefer the first one but only because I'm much more familiar with it. I've had several years getting to know ZTO as opposed to a few days with Z2. A lot of Dev's albums grow on me over time so that could change...
Also, the first one felt more personal to me because it was all Dev and only Dev. Z2 has so many other voices and participants that it feels much less intimate, if that makes any sense...

Not to say that Z2 is bad by any stretch, its friggin awesome! I just think that it has a similar problem to many of the sequels in Hollywood. Its bigger, louder, everything but the kitchen sink kind of stuff, and as a result a little bit of the magic that made the original so special is lost.

I dunno, I think that question is one that can be answered better over time, for me at least. Comparing it to the first one is more difficult than I imagined it would be...

Yes, yes, and yes! Quoted for emphasis.

Dark Matters is super cool and a lot of fun. It has some awesome, awesome music. But I definitely prefer Ziltoid, a big reason being simply that it's easier to enjoy as a music record and it's also a bit more varied. Counting both Dark Matters and Sky Blue, though? Then it gets a bit more interesting. I really love Sky Blue.

Sorry,

I was meaning Z1 vs Dark Matters.

I'm excited to hear Dark Matters now with all this talk of it being more akin to a soundtrack. Soundtracks are some of my favorite things to listen to

I don't think you can really compare the two because they represent completely different aspects of Dev's career. Z1 was him proving a point that it could be done with minimal gear at a time when he wasn't sure of where he was going, Dark Matters is an all out onslaught with everything thrown in and summarizes the last few years. It's like Z1 opened the doorway and now Z2 is closing it.

For what it's worth I think Dark Matters has more consistently good tracks on without me skipping over any. But Z1 also has some of my all time favourite tracks out of Dev's whole career, like Colour Your World and The Greys.

I think Dark Matters is far better than ZTO. The snare sound in the first REALLY bugged me and some of the songs dragged.

Also when it comes to Ziltoidia Attaxx vs Deathray, Deathray is so much better because it has at some restraint. They're basically the same song otherwise but approached differently.

Though Dark Matters lacks a killer song like Color Your World or The Greys but is overall more consistent.

I have to agree with the above people saying that, as of right now, I enjoy Z1 over Dark Matters due to Z1s quieter moments. DM is a solid mass of heavy, layered music, which is great, but I love the forlorn-ness (terrible grammer says the current 6th grade English teacher) of Z1. Color Your World and even Hyperdrive invoke this sense of the emptiness of space, the characters, etc, and I'm missing that in DM. DM is definitely a different animal though, and for what Dev wanted it doesn't need to be that.

i just hate there no Solar winds like song on dark matters but other all dark matters is amazing

As a rock opera, Dark Matters wins very easily.
As a regular album (excluding story aspects and the such), ZTO still takes the cup, even with far worse production. It had more variety and a tad more intelligence. It's worth remembering ZTO is probably my favorite or second-to-favorite Dev album ever, so it's quite hard to top anyways.

I also agree with djp132.

ZTO is well-established in my mind and I'm more familiar with its intimacy. Dark Matters is new and still digesting, and while it's heavy and amusing, the quiet subtlety that comes with the former album isn't as present with the latter.

Time will tell but for the time being, my bias leans towards the original.

Bookwyrm83 wrote:I also agree with djp132.

ZTO is well-established in my mind and I'm more familiar with its intimacy. Dark Matters is new and still digesting, and while it's heavy and amusing, the quiet subtlety that comes with the former album isn't as present with the latter.

Time will tell but for the time being, my bias leans towards the original.

This. Very well said