Devin Townsend, certainly a very unique individual with a flare to constantly adapt and shake things up no matter what project he may be a part of. Whether its producing albums or creating them with his numerous projects one thing is for certain. The man can not be pigeon holed into any one particular genre. He can do just about anything he puts his mind up too and for me on this record certainly holds true. The reason i chose to review this particular album is simple. Although it doesnt hold the comedic feeling of "Ziltoid" or the scientific induced craziness of "Physicist". Nope, "Terria" to me holds something even more special. It has ATMOSPHERE. Sure, you can hear atmosphere probably on any particular song in Devin's long storied catalog of songs but never one whole particular album.
Im not just talking about a certain sound either. Nope, im talking about genuine atmosphere encased in cloudscapes of bizarre and beautiful arrangements of thought provoking music. I often compare this album to a Pink Floyd album based off this feeling and emotion when listening to this record. Devin's ability to experiment and toy with the listener just shows how underrated as a musician he really is. Dont get me wrong, "Terria" has plenty of bite that SYL fans will still love but he is able to incorporate it to work in the structure that he has put together here. Take a track like "Mountain" for example. The song starts out with a thunderous boom but then becomes layered with the harmonic vocals of Devin and company. Midway through the song it takes a progressive leap of unsuspecting proportions before returning to Devin's high scream and the thunderous booming again. All the while he continues to have mixed different sounds behind the music itself for added effect.
The next track "Earth Day" is a more peppy 8 minute or so song that continues with the common theme of the album. "Deep Peace" is a more mellow tune but features what i think is some of the best things that Devin does on his albums to incorporate into his music. Just like the Star Trek solo from "Material" and the horse screeching of "We Ride" Devin is able to mix in the sound of orcas singing behind the music being presented to you which to me adds a surreal effect. Not to leave out the outstanding solo work done by Devin this song is one of my favorites off this record. With "Canada" Devin continues to add crazy and unique sounds while still keeping the songs intact and without drawing any attention away from the main riffs and lyrical content. Something i feel that Pink Floyd was able to master throughout their career hence the comparison. By far my favorite song on this album is "The Fluke" which is also the heaviest on here.
It has the total vibe of SYL but still manages to stay within range of the rest of the tracks and doesnt get lost in the shuffle. The only thing i dont really care about is the useless drag at the end of the song that adds nothing to the song or album. Devin has a tendency to do this on other albums as well which still makes no sense. But then again, this is Devin Townsend we are talking about here. The songs "Nobody's Here" and "Tiny Tears" are excellent and well written ballads that hit home without fault. Again the solo work on "Tiny Tears" is exceptional in every way and really showcases a whole other side to Townsend. Finally, there is "Stagnant" that ends the album very well filled with great lyrical content and more interesting arrangements both vocally and musically throughout. To me, you simply cannot be a progressive fan and not really enjoy this album as it truly reaches outside the boundaries of the ordinary progressive arrangements.
This album doesnt go out and try to wow you with overly technical playing. It (as with most of the music by Townsend) is too create emotion and deep feeling within the writing and playing. To this day, this album is still my favorite outside the SYL circle. I believe it showcases everything that Devin Townsend is as a song writer and performer. As Devin says "Its just entertainment folks!" and this album is very rewarding to the listener. While you will never say that Pink Floyd would actually put an album out like this you will say "Wow, i need to get some LSD and put this record on!" as it is a beautiful and bizarre musical journey that will enlighten the senses in every way. Pretend that your sitting in a IMAX theater and this is the soundtrack, then you will know where im coming from. A perfect masterpiece that just simply cannot be overlooked.
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