CoC : Devin Townsend - Terria : Review

Devin Townsend - _Terria_
(InsideOut, 2001)
by: Chris Flaaten (8 out of 10)

HevyDevy is back and his presence on this album is almost overwhelming. A bold conclusion would be that he has managed to put his soul and mind on tape. I am assuming a lot here, as I do not know his soul, nor his mind, but it just seems like the obvious observation to make when listening to the music. It is quite apparent that he has written the music he burns for, not following directions from any labels or trends. From that point of view, one could compare this album to _Infinity_ [CoC #36]. Still, the music on _Terria_ is calmer, smoother and more melodic. The same could perhaps be said about the composer himself? The album starts with an appropriately weird instrumental and then leads into the thundering, doom-like opening of "Mountain". Enter Townsend's vocals and you have the combination of heaviness and beauty that he is so renowned for. The songs glides smoothly through soft, hard and even punkish elements (leftover inspiration from the time with The Wildhearts?), yet they maintain their identity as songs. Townsend is playful and experimental, but never loses grasp of the melody. Musically, this is indeed closer to his Ocean Machine project. He even keeps the nature focus intact with songs like "Olives", the aforementioned "Mountain" and "Earthday". Expect to spend a few listens before the music really makes sense. Fans of either _Infinity_ or Ocean Machine should have a field day on this. Those who do not know those projects but think 72 minutes of melody and different metal could be interesting should also check this out.

(article published 19/10/2001)

CHATS
3/10/2005	J Smit	Devin Townsend: Fury & Passion In Extremis

ALBUMS
1/29/2006	J Smit	8	Devin Townsend - Synchestra
1/16/1999	P Schwarz	6	Devin Townsend - Infinity