Ain't it obvious that notes from africa and love are supposed to be counterparts?
By the way this is my first post so hi to everyone

As danceswithchickens noticed, it is true that there have been similarities between older Devy's projects and it never bothered me before...

So why now?

I dunno, but I must confess that this is the very first Dev record that I don't ABSOLUTELY LOVE... I've been listening to Synchestra for an entire week now, 3/4 times a day and...it's great but...

Some of you reminded that it was meant to be an "end-of-an-era" album...well, I look forward to see what the next era is going to sound like, but for the first time I feel scared...

I'm scared to be disappointed by Dev's music because I've grown up and he is the only artist that's remained untouched by mediocrity IMO..

Right, I DO enjoy Synchestra, but I can't help but think that Dev and his pals of SYL and DTB should take some time to consider what to do next and to do it flawlessly... I don't know for all of you, but when I read that SYL is already writing some new stuff I thought: "Man, it's too soon!!"

Alien's first 5 songs are killer but the rest is way below in quality IMO...And Synchestra is below AE (again IMO). But still, maybe with some time I will enjoy it more that now (even though I already like Synchestra)

I wonder if there is a "somewhat disappointed by Synchestra" topic somewhere...

Some of you reminded that it was meant to be an "end-of-an-era" album.

Sorry for my bad english. what does that mean?

Verdo, if you think Dev is running short of ideas, then this probably means he has been doing so for his whole career. Consider the following:

...

As you can see, the recycling of themes and melodies is nothing new. You can let it bother you, or take it for what it is.
.

If you listen to the song Funeral on Ocean machine, at about 3 minutes in, the riff from the chorus of the song "I am" from the ass sordid demos comes in.

Just thought I'd point that out for anyone who's interested and hasn't noticed already! Far from being a bad thing, I thought it was pretty cool when I found that.

I don't see anything wrong with reusing ideas, and putting a different spin on them later though.

Verdo, if you think Dev is running short of ideas, then this probably means he has been doing so for his whole career. Consider the following:

...

As you can see, the recycling of themes and melodies is nothing new. You can let it bother you, or take it for what it is.
.

If you listen to the song Funeral on Ocean machine, at about 3 minutes in, the riff from the chorus of the song "I am" from the ass sordid demos comes in.

Just thought I'd point that out for anyone who's interested and hasn't noticed already! Far from being a bad thing, I thought it was pretty cool when I found that.

I don't see anything wrong with reusing ideas, and putting a different spin on them later though.

I wouldn't exactly call that re-using idea's though, cause ass sordid demo's isn't really an official release. It's just as it says, demo's. It's something for the hardcore fans.

As danceswithchickens noticed, it is true that there have been similarities between older Devy's projects and it never bothered me before...

So why now?

I dunno, but I must confess that this is the very first Dev record that I don't ABSOLUTELY LOVE... I've been listening to Synchestra for an entire week now, 3/4 times a day and...it's great but...

Some of you reminded that it was meant to be an "end-of-an-era" album...well, I look forward to see what the next era is going to sound like, but for the first time I feel scared...

I'm scared to be disappointed by Dev's music because I've grown up and he is the only artist that's remained untouched by mediocrity IMO..

Right, I DO enjoy Synchestra, but I can't help but think that Dev and his pals of SYL and DTB should take some time to consider what to do next and to do it flawlessly... I don't know for all of you, but when I read that SYL is already writing some new stuff I thought: "Man, it's too soon!!"

Alien's first 5 songs are killer but the rest is way below in quality IMO...And Synchestra is below AE (again IMO). But still, maybe with some time I will enjoy it more that now (even though I already like Synchestra)

I wonder if there is a "somewhat disappointed by Synchestra" topic somewhere...

After one listen I was lukewarm on Synchestra. Afer three listens I was basking in it's brilliance, as I still am. It easily ranks among his best work. I think you just need to set your expectations aside for a bit and enjoy it...I can't believe that you think "Zen" and "Thalamus" are way below in quality...

I wouldn't exactly call that re-using idea's though, cause ass sordid demo's isn't really an official release. It's just as it says, demo's. It's something for the hardcore fans.

I would, since I meant reusing musical ideas that he'd thought up earlier, rather than musical ideas he'd used before in his career.

...well, I look forward to see what the next era is going to sound like, but for the first time I feel scared...

I'm scared to be disappointed by Dev's music because I've grown up and he is the only artist that's remained untouched by mediocrity IMO..

I wouldn't worry that much. I don't agree with everything he's done over the years. I've never really enjoyed OM or AE - but I cannot overlook the fact that those albums are high quality stuff.
And that's what matters. isn't it? That he puts effort in what he's doing (well, maybe with the exception of "Punky Brüster", but that turned out to be a classic anyway).

I think I know where your worries might come from though... Since OM, Devin's solo albums have all been able to categorize as guitarbased, progressive rock/metal. And maybe he's getting tired of that?
For example, i think that a song like "Let it roll" hints a singer/songwriter longing to emerge. And his experiments in electronica have also shown us a rather different side of him.

Maybe the ending of an era will see him leave the musical field he's explored and come to dominate for the past eight or nine years? Maybe it's time to move on? Maybe his next album will be a collection of bossa nova versions of his favorite SYL-songs?

@ verdo: same here, don't worry. as i read that you consider AE better than synch, iwas like "ah, okay, give him a few weeks" see, i'm a long time devin fan, and when the syl-s/t came out, i didn't like it at all. took me more than a year to get into it. now i like it as much as the others. same with OM which is now my favourite record of all times. synchestra is extremely complex and dense, so i guess your opinion will change over time.