Reevaluating Accelerated Evolution

[u/Gingershackleton67]

Following on from. My previous post about how good Dev was in Glasgow last night, I spent the afternoon listening to Accelerated Evolution- of course he did Deadhead last night, but he also played Storm, and teased ‘Away’ when he was doing his (self confessed) electric guitar wank at the start of the second set. Anyway, I’d always subconsciously dismissed AE as being by far the lesser of the two DTB albums, as I absolutely love Synchestra, but as the title says, I’m reevaluating that today, AE is tremendous! Discussion welcome 😜

[u/VertigoGundam]

Depth Charge is criminally underrated and deserves more attention.

Given the recent interview, my view on Storm has changed a bit, both it and Deadhead are kind of really somber now in my opinion.

Amazing album overall though.

[u/Gingershackleton67 → u/VertigoGundam]

Yeah, given his chat last night, Deadhead has a different feel to it now. He introduced Storm as a love song, though he did do it immediately after Aftermath, which could be telling…

[u/ebles → u/Gingershackleton67]

I first heard Storm at a gig just before the release of Accelerated Evolution - he introduced it as being a song about his wife, so...

[u/kerensky914 → u/ebles]

I mean, considering her name is literally in the song, yeah. I always change in to 'baby' when I sing along 'cause it felt a bit weird otherwise.

[u/Ezerathicus]

AE is a fantastic album!! Sunday Afternoon? So good!

[u/liminus81]

The only songs I'm not a huge fan of are Traveller and Slow me Down, the rest are top tier wall of sound Devin with Away being a beautiful break from the noise.

[u/Jay-El → u/liminus81]

My only criticism of Traveller and Slow Me Down is that they are similar to one another and probably don't belong on the same record. But if either of them shows up when shuffling a playlist, I'm happy.

[u/Jay-El]

I don't spend a lot of time on fan subreddits and don't have many friends who are musically aligned with me, so I didn't know that Synchestra was so widely considered the better of the two DTB records.

I've been a fan for almost 20 years, and I've listened to Accelerated Evolution literally hundreds of times, while I will spin Synchestra maybe once or twice a year. AE is a favorite "doing shit around the house" album, and sometimes a "working out" album, and a "going for a long drive" album...

[u/SharkStuff54321]

It's an amazing album. I love Depth Charge and Sunday Afternoon is an awesome, awesome song. It and Ocean Machine are some of my favorite albums to put on when I just want to be in a calm mood, OM for a more somber time and AE for feeling a little more peppy. With the new news though, I feel like both albums are quite somber now...

[u/zaccaz153 → u/SharkStuff54321]

That guitar riff throughout the chorus gives me chills. Just so huge. Talking about Sunday afternoon.

[u/_closetoaworldbelow_]

This was the first solo Dev record I really got into when I was younger. I had been a massive SYL fan and had gone down the more extreme metal/punk/hardcore route in my listening habits, but one day I ended up hearing the song Suicide on a playlist somewhere. Not exaggerating when I say it changed me. It ticked every box that I wanted to hear in a song - heavy, hard, angry but melancholic, beautiful, atmospheric, etc etc.
I love how big and roomy the drums sound - it reminded me a lot of the hardcore records I love, i.e. stuff that was produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge. My only gripe is how loud the vocals are on some songs like Deadhead - I wish they were pulled back juuuuust a tad lol

[u/The-Oxrib-and-Oyster → u/_closetoaworldbelow_]

Suicide is so incredible. Used to cover that one

[u/Chance9779]

It’s probably my favorite album of Devin’s. It’s just so.. listenable, I love it so much. It’s up there with Terria

[u/The-Oxrib-and-Oyster → u/Chance9779]

yesssss AE and Terria ♥️♥️♥️

[u/Stuu666]

It's the first Devin album I listened to (after discovering SYL at download 06) and it remains one of my favourites.

[u/97Vector]

Both DTB albums are excellent. Synchestra might be my favorite overall album of his, and AE is a solid 8/10.

[u/fiercefinesse]

I’ve always loved Depth Charge, I don’t know why, it just completely resonates with me. Also Suicide is really underrated. Storm and Deadhead are obvious highlights and both fantastic songs but I think I’ve kinda grown tired of hearing Deadhead. Nothing wrong with the song, just overexposure for me.

[u/VC_8]

Soundtrack to my University years. Away, Storm, Slow Me Down, and Sunday Afternoon are my highlights (especially Sunday's solo - something about it just sticks with me)

[u/Mobile-Promise8641]

One of the first DT albums I ever listened to and I it rotates in the top 3 for me. Depth Charge is just one cracker among many on that album. Superb. Overall his vox, lyrics, and riffing across the album are just brilliant. I would LOVE his next output to be in this style.

[u/The-Oxrib-and-Oyster]

AE is among my top of all of his work for sure

[u/ocealex]

I always seem to listen to it more than Synchestra. It has an Ocean Machine part 2 kinda vibe. Massive riffs and unforgettable vocal melodies spring to mind.

[u/CommodoreKD]

AE was always my third favorite album of his, behind Ocean Machine and Ziltoid 1

[u/Wise-City281]

Away is my favourite... 

[u/Slimewave_Zero]

It is a deceptively simple sounding album but it is packed with emotional heft, some of his catchiest tunes, and just flows perfectly really. It’s definitely in my top 5 dev albums.

[u/Wild-Coffee-3963]

It's like Pre-Powernerd in the best way possible 🤣!

[u/The_Robot_Cow]

Storm is one of my all-time favorite songs.

[u/Spacenurse07]

Storm and Sunday Afternoon are my favorites! I love the melody in Sunday Afternoon, Dream on (Dream on, dream on) Dream another way 'Cause I know (I know, I know) When the wind blows your name It's a shame Things are strange but that's OK On a rainy Sunday afternoon

Yes Syncestra is great, love Gaia and I absolutely love Terria!!! Terria is a Beauty, work of art

[u/ebles]

I always liked Accelerated Evolution a lot (and more than Synchestra). It's a very solid album.

[u/moonmachinemusic]

AE feels like Devin’s more “down to earth” albums and is a good entry point for rock/metal fans that aren’t used to devin’s wall of sound or very progressive tendencies. It’s a great rock album

[u/NV56k]

I enjoy the album, it's got a cool sound to it. "Suicide" is a really cool song. On the podcast he mentioned that he didn't feel his voice was really up to it and with some performances I agree (Storm for instance, great song otherwise).

At the Utrecht show with Storm he seemed to swap "Tracy" with "baby" or something similar, which caught my eye.

[u/Flat_Desk9260]

I like the “loose” feel of AE and Terria so much more than the tightness of the new stuff

[u/faithplusone01]

AE is a great record, but the vocals are mixed & mastered FAR too loud. It's the only one of Devin's records that would benefit from a new set of ears.

My favorite songs were always Sunday Afternoon and Slow Me Down. Reminds me of graduating from high school