After understandably lukewarm reception to 2000’s Physicist, and feeling like he “alienated a bunch of fans,” Devin got straight to work on a follow-up that would undo any damage created by his last experiment. Conceived mostly while on a road trip across Canada, Terria has a much more personal touch to it, much like what we experienced on OM and Infinity. Devin not being afraid of writing about his feelings or topics that are important to him is probably the most quintessential property of his music. The title, “Terria” immediately generates an image of perhaps a lush countryside or towering mountains, you know, earthy shit. Much like Ocean Machine’s production gives it the sound of the ocean, Terria’s production very much gives it the sound of the earth. It’s jagged and loud, but at the same time it has a gentle, calming atmosphere. It’s peculiar, and like OM, can be slightly off-putting at first. This album took me a long time to get into because, again, there’s just so much to take in.
Right off the bat, the strange intro of Olives sets up a more conceptual feeling than any of Devin’s previous offerings (including the original mix of Infinity). Starting with odd voices and strange sounds, it eventually builds into the crushing Mountain. With its angular guitar riffing and layered vocals, Mountain had me hooked pretty much instantly, and by the time the clean interlude comes in, it’s clear that we’re dealing with something much more mature and profound than Infinity.
Earth Day. Good fucking god. If you’ve ever had a conversation with a Devin fan, this song has come up multiple times, I’m sure. Regardless of people who e-mail Devin personally outright DEMANDING that the song be played at live shows, this song fucking owns. In a way, it’s kind of like a condensed version of the entire album. Every style that Terria touches on is represented in Earth Day at least a little bit. The iconic screams of “RECYCLLLLLLLLLE” are humorous without being cheesy, and the song is structured perfectly. I could probably write an entire college class on why Earth Day is a perfect progressive metal song, but I’ll try to give the rest of the album the credit that it very much deserves.
Another fan favorite, Deep Peace immediately follows. The mid-section of this song, with its sweeping guitar solo and gradual build of keyboards and more aggressive drums, is a fantastic section of music, segueing back into the beginning motif seamlessly. Canada goes through an interesting progression as a song, with the first and only truly abrupt transition on the entire disc occurring about 2 minutes in. It doesn’t detract from the album at all, but on an album so lauded for its flow, it seemed odd to throw such a wild curveball before getting right back into the meat of the song. Thankfully, it quickly jumps into the most “fist-raising, lighter-waving” section on the album. Down and Under is a lovely, folksy tune that breaks up the chaos flawlessly.
The trifecta of The Fluke, Nobody’s Here, and Tiny Tears is where I tended to fall off in my first attempted listens of this album. The layers can get extremely exhausting, and all three of these songs have a tendency to meander a bit. The Fluke is more of an upbeat song with a lot of rhythmic intricacies, and Nobody’s Here takes the power ballad route. Tiny Tears is a lovely song in its own right, but it’s a MASSIVE grower and at 9 minutes it can be quite hard to sit through. Fortunately, Stagnant rights the course with a triumphant ending that ties the album together very well.
Even though it can be hard to sit through because of the ridiculous amount of layers and how much ground it covers, Terria works best as the cohesive whole it is. While it’s a daunting listen, the ending leaves me with so much comfort. A lot of the lyrical themes on the album deal with depressing subjects (not belonging, hurting the ones you love, dying pets, etc.), but it ends with the ode to life from Stagnant and it feels like everything’s okay. It can be a very powerful experience if you let it. Terria is one of those albums that I can listen to in the worst mood of my life and come away smiling like a lunatic.
The ship has righted its course. Welcome back to some of the best music you will hear in your life.
Topic: Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. 'Cause there is always time... (Read 51990 times)