I like him best when he

Imo, I prefer musicians who aren't overly serious, because I start losing my patience with those who only portray one facet of emotion.

Imo, I prefer musicians who aren't overly serious, because I start losing my patience with those who only portray one facet of emotion.

I like it that Devin was never overly serious and always had self-ironic elements in his performances. SYL had always some distance to itself, thats why i never felt it was overly "negative". But sometimes he seems to "sabotage" his songs, even the serious ones. I think he said something about it in one of the By-A-Thread-commentarys, but i forgot what it was. I

Imo, I prefer musicians who aren't overly serious, because I start losing my patience with those who only portray one facet of emotion.

But sometimes he seems to "sabotage" his songs, even the serious ones. .

Yeah, I think Devy can even attest to this.

I think Type O Negative are one metal band who did humour very well, the fact they played doom metal makes that all the more impressive. I don't find much of Devin's humour that biting on the albums at least. I think his off-the-cuff stuff at clinics and in interviews far superior.

[Octillus]

Type o, who are in my top 3 bands ever mind you, only went for really base humor and some cd manufacturing jokes. While what dev does is more complicated it's really not all that different

Big Grey was the best performer all night out of everyone. I miss him so much now. I'm almost close to tears over it. He was so Brummy some of the Canadians didn't even know he was English.

interesting setlist. not great, but good. would've liked more of a variety and thought he would throw in a rare demo or something but can't wait to hear this. i'm sure itll make more sense in the context of the "narrative" so happy that he played wild colonial boy (one of my absolute favorites)

Yeah, it followed a story. I was surprised that Seventh Wave was left out, but the songs in order do make sense.

Type o, who are in my top 3 bands ever mind you, only went for really base humor and some cd manufacturing jokes. While what dev does is more complicated it's really not all that different

Would've thought the opposite myself. Type O's humour is pitch black whereas Devin's are silly fart jokes to me.

Whilst I do like Devin's humour and how he jibes at how silly his whole show/catalogue is, I think he over does it a little bit to the detriment of the show. Yes it is a bit of a laugh, it is macho and cheesy, and the whole scene is a bit weird; but it is exactly the intensity and quality of the music that draws people in. He'll always attract the biggest crowds who want to see him play metal, but I get the feeling that he's sort of mentally matured past the genre now and goes to great length to parody himself as a result. He doesn't need to go on and on about everything being a metaphor, or blabber incessantly during sections of his songs. I know it's silly, but I still want to rock out and have a great time without him ripping into half his tracks.

Ultimately I feel that it could prove to become a barrier between himself and any real success within the 'mainstream' metal world. He wants to attract more attention and draw in more money so he can invest it into realising his whacky visions of giant Ziltoids and whatnot. But if he always treats a large bulk of his discography in such a way that it comes across as just being goofy, then people aren't going to take him seriously and won't part with their cash.

Maybe it all connects with what he said at Retinal and in a couple of interviews lately, how he's afraid of the change that success brings just as much as he is afraid of failure. Maybe the way he approaches his live shows is conducive of that. Who knows. But personally I'd like it if he did strike more of a balance in how he acts on stage.

mentally matured past the genre now

There's nothing mentally immature about metal music. I listen to lots of different types of music and it's probably one of the most intelligent and skillful.

I meant specifically in terms of his own music. A lot of the metal he's written is pretty bombastic and over the top and it clearly makes him cringe when he talks about it/plays it. Which is why he feels the need to drive home how silly it is. He emphasises how everything is just about making a good time out of things, but the way he treats his music can make things a little awkward sometimes and actually get in the way of enjoying it.

I wasn't trying to put down the genre by suggesting that it's immature. Obviously some sub-types are, but there's just as much incredibly well crafted, intelligent stuff out there.

Ultimately I feel that it could prove to become a barrier between himself and any real success within the 'mainstream' metal world. He wants to attract more attention and draw in more money so he can invest it into realising his whacky visions of giant Ziltoids and whatnot. But if he always treats a large bulk of his discography in such a way that it comes across as just being goofy, then people aren't going to take him seriously and won't part with their cash.

Problem. If he attracts big audiences for being serious, there will suddenly be an intense pressure for him to drop the goofiness altogether. Let's face it. Either you are mostly yourself and a cult phenomenon or mostly not yourself and a pop icon. I understand the desire to have him not to self-efface so much and I can say I do believe his self-effacing would mean more if he didn't do it with every album. Dev, like anyone else, is a work in progress (40 or not) and seems to be still learning how to express his emotions optimally.

in such a way that it comes across as just being goofy, then people aren't going to take him seriously

I think that's the point. he spent the last 20 or so years of his career being pissed off and high, now he's just having fun and doing what he enjoys. he doesn't want to be so serious all the time. personally i enjoy fart jokes but can understand why some may be turned off by it; just don't take it so seriously, it's just entertainment! though I wouldn't call his humor complicated. type o's humor is more subtle and creative for example.