Platinum Awarded Engineer Reacts to Devin Townsend - "Spirits Will Collide"

Dennis Ward is tutor at HOFA-College, the online academy for audio engineering & music production || hofa-college.com
Song: "Spirits Will Collide" by Devin Townsend
• DEVIN TOWNSEND - Spiri...

[@MenkoDany]

Devin said this song is him fulfilling his dream of writing a heavy *Enya* song

[@trendmassacre8423]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@brianvillage9649]

Menko lol he was probably dead serious too

[@ResistReact]

That was exactly the description that went through my head... so a success then! :P

[@rokzakrajsek9864]

That’s just awesome :)

[@Schatje79]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/raHNhGqja71nnpY

[@OrthodoxPole81]

Devin Townsend straddles the line between mad genius and brilliant insanity. He builds an impenetrable wall of sound that demands every aspect of your attention. The layers, the sensitivity, the brutality. His musical complexity is the essence of what the complexity of the human person is. You don't try to figure out Mr. Townsend, you stand back and understand that this man is giving the human experience a score.

[@RDK1L]

“Layers upon layers upon layers... and spaceships!” Townsend in a nutshell.

[@chriscasseday7707]

They were flying the space ships. (someone was going to say it. might as well be me.) :)

[@DreamsxofxDeath]

Ziltoid...that is all.

[@lord_queso]

hahahahha, Ziltoid approves

[@wtglb]

Electra Women’s Choir is excellent!!!

[@wtglb]

Devin Townsend is the Phil Spector of Progressive Metal

[@bygon432]

Haha, he thinks he's gonna listen to "some more" songs... See you 15+ albums later, it's a wild ride X D

[@poljakov13]

see you in 2020

[@RyTrapp0]

And a variety of different bands - 90% of them his solo albums with his Canadian neighbors thrown on some instruments [ain't hatin' - big fan of his standard touring/studio-ish guys, it isn't just Devin putting on these over the top live performances]

[@brentbowman4498]

Discovering Devin’s Music right before Covid was the greatest thing ever. Especially since I was able to see and meet him the week before everything closed.

[@Rickkelley365]

Brent Bowman well that’s a super cool quarantine gem. Townsend is certainly amazing at what he does. But gives me serious ear fatigue lol It’s a once or twice a year listen for me.

[@Rickkelley365]

Markko so it was your fault

[@hulkslayer626]

"The drums are a little too much even for me..." well yeah... look at all those Elephants drumming!! Hahahaha 🤣

[@RyTrapp0]

What's absurd is that you know that the whole concept had to have come from Dev dreaming that shit or something. Like, the recording/mixing of the song probably actually included consideration for how loud it would be if an earth full of elephants were beating on drums in unison - I have no doubt in my mind

[@SLevinCinema]

Devin is the Deadpool of metal. He's easily one of the greats, IMHO.

[@asmodeo111]

the "frank zappa of metal"

[@Quiltfish]

>Sound engineer >Loves prog >Hasn't heard Devin Townsend I mean I GUESS it's technically possible.. J/K, loved the vid!

[@auracle6184]

+ hasn't heard of Nolly :D I guess he's more prog rock than prog metal, fair enough :)

[@furryz666]

Had my head in post pro and mastering house duties for almost 3 years with only 2 projects to work on and just last week heard Billie Eilish for the first time, point is you can be working, touring, writing or wood shedding and not come up for air, there are still acts that I’ve heard good things about that our actually working with related labels, producers and a&r relations that I haven’t heard one note of,,that being said Devin is a veteran from at least the late 90s kinda hard to miss that kind of talent and body of work if you dig the genre also awesome personality everybody loves the guy he’s larger than life (or just as big anyway)

[@Quiltfish]

@@furryz666 >Billie Eilish I'm so sorry.

[@Siriusblck3]

I only heard a Devin Townsend song this year, and I like prog metal, but I was caught in the Dream Theater &Symphony X loop

[@benjamingroves1703]

@@Siriusblck3 That's a pretty decent loop to be caught in, to be fair.

[@KhordLizardMage]

Welcome the world of Hevy Devy! The rabbit hole is DEEP but filled with wonderous things.

[@justinc.7742]

Truer words have never been spoken

[@thejanglesheep2408]

Best artist ever in my book. Been listening to him for over a decade now :)

[@anderovesen3458]

Been listening to Devin for 6 months by now, never looked back. I'm still absolutely amazed by the amount of talent contained in just one Canadian guy. He is beyond exceptional and probably the most underrated artist I've ever heard of.

[@chelfyn]

"it's music, and everybodies allowed to do what they want to do". What a great statement, I couldn't agree more.

[@dkba52]

i find it hard to criticize. i know what i like. if i dont "like" i dont listen, at least people are moving forward with their passion, although under questions of motive. it takes alot of guts to put ones soul on trial in front of the world. i hope and pray it continues without censorship. lets keep moving with love and support trying to get through this mystery. turn off corporate media and read/watch all of the amazing music tutorials and learn an instrument no matter what and the planet will resonate with invocations of love. help your brothers and sisters and DO NOT WATCH OR BELIEVE ANYTHING CORPORATE MEDIA "NEWS" "I AM THE SLIME FROM THE VIDEO" TRY tHE WHOLE FRANK ZAPPA CATALOG ITS PRETTY FREE COLLEGE AND ALIEN KNOWLEDGE DEGREE. ieveryone love this world IS AN IMPROBABLE MIRACLE😂 NO MORE WAR

[@kevinbuffington4008]

Me: _Can't hear the resonance_ Dennis: Let's boost it Me: _still can't hear it_ Dennis: I'll EQ it out Me: _don't hear much of a difference_ Dennis: That's worse. Here let's solo just that resonance frequency... Me: _now I can't hear anything else but the resonance_

[@designator7402]

It was similar for me. I was thinking "Well, yeah, okay, I think I can hear roughly what he's talking about", and then he isolated it and all I could say was "holy shit, yeah."

[@notu9315]

I discovered my tinnitus is around 500htz thanks to this video.

[@eliasstraat]

Too real haha

[@samblandford6858]

It's almost like his job is to listen out for and hear things like this lol

[@3Clod]

the man got a great ear XD it's his job after all

[@mgunter]

Devin is known in some circles for his "wall of sound" producing style.

[@AshShearer]

Some circles?😄 I think most people know these days ☺️

[@FanaticDrummer]

Gojira Shearer You’d be surprised how most, dont.

[@ParadoxalDream]

You mean he basically invented the style in the 90's with Strapping Young Lad? lol

[@charlescraig8994]

@@ParadoxalDream Devin is a massive fan of Phil Spector's production and he was known for his wall of sound production.

[@TheSanctionextremis]

It's more refined nowadays though. He's evolved

[@therealthannis]

I think you might have a field day if you stepped into his more erratic songs, Devin is a downright mad-scientist with his music sometimes. "Devin Townsend - Genesis" or "Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction"

[@danmarshall5895]

Oh, Genesis. There is an insane amount of stuff going on in that song. I think he stated he had well over 100 tracks on that song.

[@War624]

Deconstruction is still my overall favorite album from Devin. There's just so much going on. And when it hits "Poltergeist"? God damn.

[@ChuckBeefOG]

My favourite is Kingdom. The live by a thread in london version on YT. If it doesnt give you goosebumps your probably not human.

[@Reginaldbust]

SYL - ALIEN

[@danmarshall5895]

@@ChuckBeefOG As a performance it's awesome (That whole album is), but less fascinating from a production perspective.

[@MagnoLudovicusSunCitySound]

""Majestic!" The perfect definition to Devin Townsend's music.

[@avolite719]

You spelled "Shitty!" wrong.

[@nickwiederhold]

@@avolite719 Why are you here? Scurry along.

[@wakjob961]

Adam "Nolly" Getgood came out of nowhere and became a legend in his own time...respect.

[@djstringsmusic2994]

Well to be fair he was the bass player in periphery and mixed their stuff and expanded off of that. He obviously enjoyed mixing more.

[@InnerAnimate]

devin hired 3 drummers for this project "empath" great great stuff , thanks for doing this.

[@TheHeadown]

66samus for the fast parts. (:

[@Leotardoification]

Which is not to say that the drums sounds weren't eventually replaced or heavily dubbed with samples.

[@FanaticDrummer]

Been watching Sammus for years. He has earned it. Because of Devin he now made the jump to do music full time, no more 9-5. Thats the dream.

[@TheHeadown]

@@FanaticDrummer Indeed

[@djstringsmusic2994]

@@Leotardoification Going based off of how nolly is with periphery he's extremely proficient at getting amazing sounding drums micing up every little thing going way over the top. I highly doubt there is a bunch of sample replacment

[@derekbender]

This rules. Really love hearing someone talk about a mix without holding back. Even when you found a resonance, you were kind and kept it positive. Thanks!!

[@Voidhowl.]

Layers upon layers upon layers of majestic layers....and he plays this live with an acoustic and a 3-piece choir. Love it.

[@pronginator]

AAAAAnnnnnnnd I just learned I'm deaf and could never be a mixer....and that's...ok

[@lalakuma9]

I know right 😭 And on top of that, I'm listening to this on my inferior laptop speakers, lmao what am I doing

[@Kraklin]

its about training and working a lot on mixes, you will get it someday, but yeah, this requires a lot of experience

[@fruitlessworship]

yeah you would not be able to tell 600Hz quite like that without training yourself, and it's definitely made a lot easier by a treated space and good monitors

[@exscape]

@@Kraklin Aside from the experience you also need a set of proper speakers. Any cheap set won't do, and even expensive speakers that are built to sound good versus sound neutral (as you typically want in studio monitors) might not cut it.

[@ScrappyCoco11111]

Same AF hahaha deaf as a post here, can't tell the different at all

[@jasonvarricchio2511]

Hands down the best reaction video I've seen. I went to school for audio engineering, but sadly simply couldnt find steady work. So I know a bit about this stuff. In any case I love that you explained everything while showing the real time adjustments. Also, you got a set of ears on you man! Awesome!

[@CinematicSoundDesign]

Devin Townsend is such a gem to humanity.

[@vernonbear]

‘Wow that’s majestic’, a phrase that applies to the whole of Empath in my opinion. Love Devin, he takes his music on a journey.

[@jamesbarron7568]

As soon as he mentioned the frequency, I couldn't unhear it.

[@davidlofgren6358]

Would love to hear an Audio Engineers input on Wintersun - Time or Sons of Winter and Stars, the Remastered Sonic Pump studios version of course

[@trendmassacre8423]

I would LOVE to hear his input on the St. Anger album, HAHAHA! I think we would be watching a 4 day video of him remixing it!

[@flampy1]

Wintersun - Time I (live sonic pump) !!

[@jamesonmourafetis1780]

Or Jari’s remaster on bandcamp

[@joshwilford4555]

I've never seen a KZbin channel reacting to the mixing of different artists work and especially the parts where you go into the flaws and try fix them... It's a really cool concept for a video and I love seeing this stuff, especially with Devin's work! Love the video 👍

[@MaartenFranken]

Devin 'Never Enough Reverb' Townsend! :P He does totally his own thing and all by feel and ear (and a lot of practice, of course)! He knows very little theory, as musician and also as technician, but Ive been a fan of his personal vision for a long time, for both musical and technical skills. His best comment on making music, Ive heard so far:"I dont like options!" Lol

[@CriticalRoleHighlights]

Don't forget his constant ping-pong delay repeater as well ^^

[@davesutton9624]

Yes, Martin, very true and that is why he is so unique. In his world there are no boxes to think about at all, no limits, no rules. So damn refreshing in a music world full of recycled crap.

[@electromancer2645]

Devin has a ton of musical education....

[@SyntheticFuture]

Devin's uncompromised vision is something otherworldly. I'm glad he got the time and space to do this project. It definitely brings something new to the table.

[@HRRRRRDRRRRR]

Ah yes, uncompromising... Except for all the collaboration involved.

[@HRRRRRDRRRRR]

@Neon Rogue Man, Devin's fanbase is almost as bad as Tool's...

[@ilovedev169]

I had recently deleted my KZbin account but had rejoin just to comment and subscribe because of this video. Thank you 1000 times for critiquing Devin’s work. He’s the most underrated musician/ composer on the planet and is by far the greatest artist I’ve ever heard (IMHO). Please, for the love of God, critique his song “Why?”off the same album. It’s heavenly. His entire album “Ghost” is just as majestic and epic and is not metal whatsoever. He’s very bold and isn’t afraid to incorporate different genres and this album is testament of that.

[@gocsa]

Please please please do more Devin Townsend! :) Love these videos!

[@OyvindBjorgo]

"So many things goin' on at the same time!" Yeah, that's Devin Townsend for you, there. He's no stranger to having 40 vocal tracks doubling and harmonizing each other - on top of a full band with a three part guitar melody.

[@steveazulay8233]

I love how you loop sections. Makes it easier to see/hear/understand

[@frankisfunny2007]

This is my favorite song off "Empath" because this is an anti-suicide song. He is not saying "life as a whole is not sunshine & unicorns, but don't kill yourself over it. Just solder on". The whole album is like this song: just "what is happening sound-size?"

[@Tharrun.]

Time to read Camus.

[@timrober75]

As a fellow sound engineer and a loooong time Devin fan I think this is an awesome introduction to him for you Dennis. Lovely to see you responding to the track with emotion and physical movement... so much power in all that Devin creates. I love how he plays with reverb and delay, and the emotions he creates with his voice as instrument (depth, thickness, harmonies, power, intimacy). Truly beautiful. Try Grace, Higher, Supercrush, Universal Flame, Fallout... if you want to start with an album, his latest one "Empath" is awesome. Addicted might be one to look at too. Thanks for what you do sir :)

[@daveprimmett7429]

Enjoying your reaction videos but, really like the ones where you demonstrate audio production techniques in your DAW. Keep up the good work

[@mindmachinepsy]

"Layers and layers upon layers". That pretty much describes Devy as a whole. :D

[@mikal]

To quote Greg Gutfeld on Devin Townsend's production style: "Maybe the entire POINT is that it's so over the top."

[@maltelundell]

Very Impressive how you spotted that frequency! Subbed!! Can you do Fear Inoculum by tool? That mix is something else! :)

[@wbwillie]

@boomy the thing that annoys me is showing pulling the frequencies out of the end mix... you want to tame the choir track only, otherwise it WILL affect everything else

[@schottmusic9]

@@wbwillie he said several times that it was doing more damage than good, but obviously he doesn't have access to the full session so what do you want him to do?

[@wbwillie]

@@schottmusic9 I understand, that, but I think if he DID have access to the full session, he might see more than just a choir in that part, and maybe that frequency he finds annoying isn't the choir itself, but perhaps an electronic "celesta" sounding instrument. Obviously I can't be sure any more and anyone, but with headphones on, that's what I'm hearing

[@sinking1902]

Yeah but he butchered it! It's supposed to resonate there.

[@erakattack]

@Neon Rogue lol. silence, child..

[@jimm7346]

I love how he can pick out the chorus' resonance and know exactly what hertz its at. Reinforces the idea that I'm deaf

[@schmidtnolan]

I agree that's impressive how he knows the hertz... I think he missed a good educational opportunity to state that if he was indeed the engineer he could fix the resonance on the individual choir tracks vs. the master... that's a mix problem not a mastering issue

[@gashyrawr]

I actually enjoy that Devin tends to put his vocals not too much to the front, not too "dry" as many other metal bands do. His singing works so nicely as more of a glued-in atmospheric instrument than THE main thing up front trying to get the most attention. Devy's always been huge on atmosphere. I think partly he does it this way because, as he mentioned in many interviews, he never was a fan of the chore of singing and hearing his voice a whole lot and always considered himself a guitar player/composer first.

[@stevecampbell9670]

Yeah, Devy loves his wall of sound. Here he adds a wall of visuals as well.

[@KyleS.1987]

Loved this breakdown of Devy's more-is-more production style! :D

[@th3n3wc4d]

I'm a simple man, I see a Devin Townsend reaction, I watch

[@bork750]

Definitely more Devin Townsend, he is cosmic!

[@mincentprice1041]

Thanks for checking this out, and giving your honest opinion. I would love for you to react to Devin Townsend " Why" It has a ton of symphonic blend Thanks Again and The Elecra choir

[@fatsuperfly]

With Devin music, just enjoy the experience. He does produce a lot of that music, but also, his productions is what I want from my music.

[@jacksonk6293]

Wow, not only do you react, but you actually showed us in the DAW what you're talking about. Deffintley going to subscribe, hope you do more progressive metal stuff, since as an amateur producer, this is learning for me.

[@elmotastic578]

This is the best professional reacts to X I've seen. Not only commenting on the piece, but the cutaway to show your work and thoughts make this top quality. It's especially hard in this instance, as what we hear is not exactly what you do in the studio, so the extra explanation and examples really make it. Bravo!

[@RetroMediaRoom]

Devin's mixing style is what he calls a "wall of sound" and yes he has been mixing and mastering his own work for decades.

[@ShteebVS]

Devin is hands down the biggest inspiration and influence for me. Absolute mad lad. Love the video!

[@andrestricker4118]

Nolly and Devin. THE FAT SOUND TEAM!

[@Ravelle17]

Andre Stricker a match made in heavy metal heaven

[@MM-jh6tf]

Thicc sound

[@ekirstein89]

I may have an addiction to watching reaction videos to people discovering Devin Townsend just to watch their faces when they hear the "Wall of Sound" for the first time.

[@rustyshackelford4503]

Evan Kirstein same. I look for Townsend react videos constantly just for that first reaction. I had the same face when I saw the kingdom video the first time

[@KjetilRG]

I bang this album everyday, for me its the album of the year. I listen to alot of different music and genres aswell!

[@DanielGlenTimms]

Cool concept of having an engineer react to tracks. Glad I found your channel!

[@demantim]

Awesome that you just pick out the frequency by ear - I'd be swooping up and down a bit to find it ;) . I think this song is quite tiring on the ears for some reason, like there's noise in the higher frequency range. It's probably all the guitars and distorted vocals in the background adding up. I think Genesis, another Devin song, is very interesting to check out as well because it spans a lot of moods and styles while staying cohesive. It's a bit long though ;) . Great video!

[@ladislavmalak444]

"Layer of layers upon layers".... Welcome to the world of Devin Townsend! ;)

[@TrulyStucker]

Not sure people are saying this is a bad song to be introduced to Devin. BS to me. Video is amazing, the song is a masterpiece. Everyone is watching / reacting to Kingdom/Deadhead. Now finally something different.

[@Galacticat_]

Exactly. While I love those two songs, I am burnt out on the reactions.

[@Dauntius]

Kingdom and Deadhead are great songs - but Dev has so much amazing music beyond just that. PS I love your profile pic

[@beastabuelos6421]

Definitely not the best song, but not the worst to start with either.

[@sebabuffa7741]

Exactly! Honestly, i love those songs, but ma boi Devin has A LOT MORE to show

[@Kaoskadosk]

Not only that, it's also a good example of his thick, heavy wall of sound which is interesting from an engineering standpoint. It's also an important factor that this is his own studio mix, most people are introduced to Deadhead which is a live show or Kingdom which is from EMGtv, not really great examples for this purpose.

[@Osoch]

Duude Devin's productions are always suuuper interesting to listen to, you have to react to more of his songs!

[@PerceptionsofFate]

Genesis by Townsend has amazing audio engineering. less choir but more impacts of sound. it's intense

[@KevinWale]

Devin is beyond phenomenal.

[@mgunter]

I can describe this as Heavy Metal Enya.

[@RedHotBagel]

So much this!

[@JDzele]

You wouldn't be the first, but it's cool if you've come to that yourself.

[@AncientDirtbag]

You know this guy's a proper engineer, couldn't make it 2 minutes into the song before he started fiddling with it. 🤣

[@RL-im1bz]

Devin is nothing less than a genious. He's known for keeping the vocals low in the mix (I'm sad to say), and reverb "is da shit" for mr Townsend :) . He's done a ton of albums in a ton of different genres. As commented before, this song is good but nothing compared to most of his other stuff. By the way he started his career at a very young age as singer for Steve Vai. Please check out and react to more of Devy's stuff, you won't be dissapointed ! :-) Take care ! Cheers !

[@scottiejordan1064]

Genious How Ironic

[@NicMG]

@@scottiejordan1064 🤣

[@Jaymzmiller]

The sound engineer would be the only one on KZbin with a good enough set up to not need headphones. Nice.

[@blazejecar]

you should definitely check more of his stuff, like genesis off the same album Also, I'm really curious what you'd think of the band Wintersun. Particularly the songs "Sons of Winter and Stars" or "Time". It's mostly all created by 1 guy and just the VST orchestral layers of the songs are thick, very layered, complex and could stand on its own as classical music pieces, and that's before the band is even added. Would be interesting to hear your perspective on it

[@SyntheticFuture]

Used to be a huge Wintersun fan, but Jari is just an ass on social media and in general. Lost all respect for that band. Damn shame because that debut album is something special.

[@blazejecar]

@@SyntheticFuture i dont really care about the people behind the music, i just enjoy the product. If the person is an ass or not, i can still enjoy their songs and respect what went into them. I can't stand the sight of yngwie malmsteen as a person but dammit his playing is world-class and i enjoy it. Also i guess you cant blame him for having some ego after creating something as massive as the time album

[@FeelingShred]

A bunch of strings is not "classical music", and I'm not even into that stuff, but even I have self-respect holy crap

[@blazejecar]

@@FeelingShred you clearly are not a musician by any means... there's so much more than "just strings" in there, there's brass, choirs, several percussion instruments, piano, traditional japanese instruments, layers of electronic sounds and the list goes on. And even if "just strings" was true, full orchestra pieces in classical music aren't that common, most pieces are written for 1-4 instruments. It's their complexity, dynamics, technical mastery and intricate use of musical tools that makes them classical pieces. in the case of wintersun, there's way more going on than just strings. For example the counterpoint in both SoWaS and Time is borderline genius and something I still struggle really hard to achieve after several years of composing

[@FeelingShred]

Fair, you convinced me. I cut my losses and retreat with my head down not able to look anyone in the crowd directly in the eyes. I will listen to this guy that everyone is talking about, it got me curious now.

[@christopherjackson8958]

I remember a recent comment from Devin Townshend, in which he credited his good friend Chad Kroeger with saying that his material is great, but that he needs to have his vocals louder in the mix. Great to hear an esteemed engineer say the same thing.

[@Kaos1989]

I would be curious to have you react to Genesis from Devin Townsend because it has so many genres and he said mixing the cd was difficult since the music changes genres like every 10 seconds.

[@simondaniels4176]

Kaos89 Have to agree. Genesis would be the one from Empath to react to in this way since it’s about as diverse as a song has ever been. It must have been a monster to get mixed correctly!

[@alxnf]

Excellent.Please do more Devy, everybody needs more Devy in their life, they just don't know it yet.

[@sorak185]

Devin is an absolute master of layers. His ability to completely fill a soundscape without being overkill is unrivaled.

[@Metzae]

Okay, the best aspect of this brilliant song is how he makes the listener the central point of the whole thing. After they repeat the chorus a few times in unison, they split into harmony. But they leave out the main melody, which is the melody you (the audience) has been singing the whole time. Then, you become the central piece to the full chord with a massive choir surrounding your vocals. And thematically, it makes perfect sense. If this isn't genius songwriting, I know nothing about everything.

[@bradmodd7856]

Enya with guitars! how can that be bad?

[@GeorgeLuiz94]

Brad Parker Pretty Devin himself agrees with this

[@fredericdubrule1425]

now that you pointed out the frequency, I keep hearing it now !

[@girshin]

Frederic Dubrule thank god im a pleb so I hear shit :P

[@willowsparks4576]

The drums are very real. Devin had 3 different drummers record on the album, each one for a different purpose.

[@haroldaling5422]

Yes, but the audio might be Superior Drummer instead of acoustic drums.

[@willowsparks4576]

Harold Aling watch 66Samus' video because he showed the recording stuff and they recorded it live. They might have used some triggers but the heart of the performance is live

[@haroldaling5422]

Live, but probably with triggers. Exactly what I've said before.

[@Kyp031]

No it's not. He didn't spend all this money at a high end studio with three drummers just to use superior drummer.

[@haroldaling5422]

@@Kyp031 why not? His budget was tight, especially with the orchestra and choir involved.

[@parksed24]

“So far so good” killed me hahaha

[@Virtuoso80]

Just found this channel, subscribed, hoping one day you could analyze some Mr. Bungle.

[@rickbendel]

Devin is often asked why he buries his vocals. He’s an amazing quirky artist. He’s also very down to earth and one of the best as responding to questions on social media. Check out Deadhead live or Funeral

[@snowdog90210]

The one thing that bugs me about Devin is that he has one of the most powerful voices ever, and he hides it behind all this layering of sound. Check out deadhead or the death of music from the Royal Albert Hall and see what the guy can actually do.

[@War624]

It kind of depends on what album you listen to. "Ki" for example, you really can hear his angelic vocals a lot more. And at least for me, it's the most emotional album he's made.

[@MM-jh6tf]

Saw him live with just an acoustic guitar. His voice is insane.

[@FeelingShred]

Agree, his latest albums sound like there's "too much" in the mix (stereo alone can't handle all that) and the vocals sound a bit muffled out. Production-wise, his peak must have been "Synchestra" and "Accelerated Evolution" (his vocals really shine upfront on that one for the Freddie Mercury fans!!!), but Ziltoid also blows my mind being that it was recorded by himself with digital drums and Pro Tools

[@FeelingShred]

No, I don't think Devin is a "cunt" in any shape or form. Talking about the mixes, I don't have an issue with "wall of sound", the issue we're talking about is the final mixes seem to have "too much going on" as of lately. For example, if you watch his 3-hour Toontrack stream where he records an entire song in that time, the song itself is called "Stars" and it sounds GLORIOUS on that demo. When the album was released, the final version of "Stars" lost all its energy and sounded too over-produced, too "tame" compared to the demo. That is a perfect example of what we're talking about, it's subtle but it's noticeable.

[@MM-jh6tf]

Neon Rogue Adam Getgood has been producing his albums for a while now. Lots of speculation in your post.

[@MJ-mh9zu]

I loved this video way more when he pulled that program up on his computer. Fascinating stuff. Great video, first time viewer and definitely and new subscriber!

[@asmodeo111]

listen "Why?" from the same album, it's the best "disney song" made ever

[@LibriumMusic]

So are we not gonna talk about how this dude was like "probably about 600 hz" and then being pretty much spot on? That is some really fucking impressive hearing. I didn't even notice it was resonating in the first place...

[@jeanmanguy7900]

that's a weird song to start with Devin Townsend, I hope you will like more of him, great stuff

[@simondaniels4176]

Jean Manguy This is what I though. I love this song but it’s a very atypical example of Devin’s work. Hope we see some more.

[@FeelingShred]

If dude was impressed by this, he can't even imagine what he's about to dig out xDDDDD Enjoy while it lasts

[@FlipperWolf]

I totally want more Devin Townsend reactions on this channel!! :D The insights given are awesome :D

[@bryciferal]

**silence** "so far, so good"

[@Ibanezer21]

Really loved this, the in depth EQ explanation was very cool

[@sikckaputten]

You should try his live version of "Deadhead" from Royal Albert Hall.

[@mikekiss648]

Sickest track ever !!

[@Hellosonic-kw3mo]

Oh yeah, I love that song 😍

[@MetalliBucket]

He’s doing videos for the purpose of looking into the production of the songs.. not just random reactions to songs. Live shows wouldn’t work because they’re not formally mastered and produced.

[@sikckaputten]

@@MetalliBucket Except that it's from an official live DVD, thus being actually mixed and mastered.

[@MetalliBucket]

watman it would make more sense for him to just do the studio version.

[@mesadrums375]

Please look more into this man. He put almost all his money just to make this album the way he wanted, he deserves all the support he can get!

[@jipsigal]

"Ah, that's majestic!" Yes. Yes, it is. ;-)

[@titaniumman_22]

Dennis Ward is a genius. I see his name on the credits in so many CD’s I buy.

[@hazardeur]

There might be a lot of layers in the song. But there are even more layers in that beautiful beard!

[@agrojim1975]

Layers upon layers upon layers... and spaceships. Yep, welcome to the Devin Townsend rabbit hole.

[@lodougherty]

Adam Nolly Getgood is one of the best engineer's on the planet. Listen to Northlane - Talking Heads, or the entire album White Bat by He is Legend.

[@alvarobassworld2550]

Vector by Haken too

[@jesperbonde571]

Also played bass and produced for Periphery. They are absolutely amazing.

[@thombakker2835]

Or the entire holy hell album by architects

[@gotd4m]

Devy is all over the spectrum. Im not gonna lie and say i love everything he had made..... in fact, i only like about half or so.... BUT!!!! The stuff i do like is my absolut favorite, and he has released so much material that there is something for everyone.

[@grankpeq]

Nolly Getgood, he's the bassist from periphery, and he also owns "Get Good Drums". He's a sound engineer and producer. Periphery produce all their music and albums and are they're own label for themself. He's good.

[@MetalMamaMist]

Majestic is the perfect description for Devin Townsend 🙌😍

[@ezet]

Have you checked out Steven Wilson's latest? song Pariah for example. IMO one of the best sounding recordings

[@speckon]

It amazes me that you never heard of him before. He is like the epitome of music producing. He did so much producing and mastering for so many other bands but for now he isn't willing to do that stuff anymore. And if you never heard of Adam "Nolly" Getgood I may say you have to check out Periphery. Not only was he the best guitarist in the band while he was playing bass but he also had a huge influence in the sound of the band and especially the bass sound, which is why even he isn't a member of the band anymore he still records the bass tracks and does a lot of mixing and mastering. He is a beast and you should definitely check him out!

[@JbfMusicGuitar]

This is really great stuff; reaction, critique, education and incredibly well explained! Awesome. Subbed :)

[@bakalaudia5620]

Devin Townsend is a master of the wall of sound

[@morbidangel989]

I'd love to see you check out the engineering on one of his songs from the Terria album. Maybe Deep Peace, Canada, or Earth Day

[@poonberrymcfly3013]

I am not an engineering student, but I found this video absolutely fascinating. I hope you make more. I also wish they had chosen a Townsend song that shows more of what he is actually capable as an artist than this song.

[@skald9]

So you filtered out the fequenty of the Ziltoid spaceship?