DEVIN TOWNSEND — Terria (review)

Album · 2001 · Progressive Metal

5/5 · 2013-09-06
arcane-beautiful

Having released what was a disappointment to most of his fans, Devin felt a bit lost. Then an idea hit him...why don't I make an album about myself and my native land of Canada.

To most people, this idea would seem barking mad, but because it's Devin behind the wheel, he has made what I think to be one of the most beautiful albums I've ever heard in my life.

Musically this album is a sonic step in the right direction. The loud parts of Devin's music are even more like a giant wall of sound, with the production being spot on. But, with the loud comes the quiet, with some moments of this album being some of Devin's most prettiest and beautiful musical work to date.

On this album Devin has gone into more personal territory, especially lyrically. But, the lyrics throughout are very vague at times, making the album seem a lot more personal in nature. The album themes also cross into native territory, with Devin showing signs of homesickness to his native Canada. The artwork in this album is also astounding, with artist Travis Smith, creating some of his best artwork to date.

The opening track “Olives” is a rather comical opening to the album. Some nice instrumental work throughout too. In many ways, the song reminds me of something Pink Floyd would have done during the late 70s.

The weakest song on the album for me would have to be “Mountain.” I kind of feel this song is almost the intro of the album, but to be honest, “Olives” is already the perfect intro to this album, so it seems that it's not really needed.

“Earth Day” has to be one of my all time favourite Devin Townsend tracks. If you haven't heard this track you need to here this one. This is definitely one of the more diverse songs in Devin's catalogue, fusing metal with more groovy orientated rock. Lyrically the song is also rather humorous, which makes the song even more enjoyable.

“Deep Peace” is a song that has it's roots grounded in its instrumental work. With some stellar guitar work from Devin showing off a wide spectacle of Devin's guitar work, moving from Pink Floydian moments to neo classical showmanship. A pinnacle of the album.

“Down & Under”, the album's instrumental shows off a lot of compositional skills. Building upon a simple acoustic guitar riff, the song explodes with a lot of power and energy.

“Nobody's Here” is very much the ballad of the album. A very simple song for Devin, but behind the simplicity, the beauty shines forth even more.

One of the album's epics “Tiny Tears”, it has a very beautiful feel throughout. In fact, how it builds up without the need for a giant explosion is very smart, and works very well in the songs favour.

The album closer “Stagnant” is a brilliant ender to the album. A song that pretty much ties a lot of strings together musically, it has a more relaxed feel with some stellar vocal work from Devin.

In conclusion, this is an absolute beautiful and odd masterpiece. This is a must have for fans of Devin;s music, because pretty much everything great about his musical talent and skill is all here on this album. A progression is also seen to what would soon become his more standard sound. While “Ocean Machine” birthed his musical sound, this was a step in the right direction and a further progression into Devin's musical world.

8.8/10

more than 2 years ago
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arcane-beautiful wrote:

more than 2 years ago

sadly i dont have accelerated evolution. always regreted never buying it, even though ive seen it in cd shops many times. ive heard it and i really like it. and storm is an absolute tune

Diogenes wrote:

more than 2 years ago

This, along with Accelerated Evolution, sound the best of any Devin Townsend albums in my opinion. He's always had the "wall of sound" thing down pat but it's executed just beautifully on this one.