Devin Townsend - Terria (2001)

The last couple of albums by Devin Townsend had been mostly fast, aggressive and just simply insane, so it was a little surprising that the 5th studio album "Terria" was the exact opposite of "Infinity" and "Physicist". Devin was inspired to do this album since he felt that he ostracized some of his fans on "Physicist", so he took the chance on making a personal record that also was a dedication to his homeland of Canada.

It is instantly obvious that "Terria" is sort of a follow up to "Ocean Machine: Biomech". Both albums have the same humble and soothing sound, but whilst "Ocean Machine: Biomech" was a joyful and happy album, "Terria" has some darker elements in its music (but it is still a positive album though). No matter what, the perfect mix of ambient rock and progressive metal is very exciting and helps lifting the album up to great heigths.

But this is not a album that you will love instantly. It takes a couple of spins before all the songs sets in and presents themselves towards you. Believe me, cause it happened to me. I first thought that the intentional silent parts were slightly annoying and that most of the music was nothing that was impressing. But now I see why Devin put those in, and I got to say that it takes some talent to really get the most of the music and silence, which Devin does. But even if the silence is a big part of "Terria", it is the loudest song that catches most of my attention. "Earth Day" is a great track that mixes the groovy feeling of "War" with the epicness of "Seventh Wave". It still gives me the chills when Devin screams recycle and eat your beets.

It is the epic parts that makes "Terria" such a great album. Some of the great parts are the instrumental rumble plus the quire in "The Fluke", the sensitivity in "Nobody's Here" and "Stagnant", and the doom like part about jury duty in "Canada". Unfortunately, there are also some parts that does not make any sense at all. For instance, the opener "Olives" is just a three minute long haul to the real album. Do not understand why that song is in "Terria" at all. There is also a one minute long complete silence in the end of "Mountain". I can see that silence would be good at the end of the song, but one minute of it is too long.

This is certainly a epic piece that should make every progressive metal fan ecstatic, but compared to the masterpiece "Ocean Machine: Biomech", "Terria" does not have the same quality. Sure, Devin makes the most of the ambient sound that dominates the album, but I do not feel like the impact is as big as it was in "Ocean Machine: Biomech". None the less, "Terria" is an excellent album that feels down to earth and works perfect in the Sunday morning when you are recovering from a hangover. And do not forget, eat your beets and recycle.

Songs worthy of recognition: Earth Day, Nobody's Here, The Fluke

Rating: 8/10 Tiny Tears

https://www.hevydevy.com/
https://twitter.com/dvntownsend

More reviews of Devin Townsend (solo work)
Punky Brüster - Cooked On Phonics
Ocean Machine: Biomech
Infinity
Physicist
Devlab
The Hummer
Ziltoid The Omniscient

Empath