01. Devin Townsend – Terria (2001)
If there was one artist that I had give the prize of “biggest musical discovery through DTF” to, it's our favourite bald Canadian (not jingle.boy). Devin is simply a man that can do pretty much every style amazingly well, but even among his prodigious discography, Terria stands high above all the others. The album is amazingly consistent, with every second being amazing in the least, and it has a certain atmosphere that Devin has never recreated since, and, to be honest, I doubt that he could. This album features some of his best vocals and some top-notch guitar playing that shows that while Devin doesn't have to shred to impress, he can certainly impress with shredding.
In fact, I love this album so much that this is the only one on this list that I will do a track-by-track for. Yes, this will get long
Olives is a great opener. It sets the mood of the album perfectly, with some great distorted vocals and some nice guitar playing, both clean and heavily distorted. It doesn't really work as a stand-alone song, but as an intro to this album, I absolutely love it.
And just when Olives ends on a calm note, Mountain hits you in the face with its absolutely crushing opening. The first time I listened to this, I would have fallen out of my chair, if I hadn't been sitting on my bed. After that brutal opening, which features one of Devin's best screams, we move into calmer territory and the song becomes very bass driven and groovy as it trudges along, only to become more brutal again at the end. The lyrics don't seem to make that much sense to me, but who cares?
Earth Day might be one of Devin's most popular songs, and for a damn good reason. That opening riff is amazingly huge, and the song just never lets up, twisting and turning through its nine and a half minutes of runtime. The guitar playing here isn't anything THAT notable (though still great, of course) – in fact, pretty much every instrument here takes the backseat to what I would consider to be one of Devin's vocal performances, ranging from calm singing to absolutely punishing screams, culminating in the often-quoted “WELL IT'S JUST ENTERTAINMENT FOLKS!”. Still, as much as I love this song, I can't help thinking that it's slightly overrated – pretty much every other song on this album is, in my opinion, better than this one.
Deep Peace. What can I say about that one? This is probably my favourite Devin song ever, and Top 10 of all time. It starts of tranquil and calm, featuring just some tasteful nature noises and quiet acoustic guitar strumming. Then Devin's voice comes in, adding to peaceful atmosphere of this one, which just meanders along pleasantly for a while, until the music stops. And then it comes in – the best guitar solo that I have ever heard. Starting out with what seems like random notes on the electric guitar, over the course of its nearly three minutes, the solo gains shape, becoming more and more structured, all the while becoming more powerful and powerful, until it culminates in one of the best musical climaxes that I know, after which the song calms down again, slowly, ending on a tranquil note once again. Out of all of the songs on this album, this is the one that I can always rely on to take me on a journey.
Canada is a little more conventional, if there is such a thing, being more vocally focussed again, but that's by no means a bad thing. The lyrics are a little nonsensical again, but Devin's amazing vocals and the great atmosphere of this song more than make up for that.
Down and Under is a weird one. It's the shortest real track on this album, but it doesn't feel like a lesser song than the others, in fact, it feels just as worthwhile. It's built around a simple but engaging guitar motif and features, like pretty much song, some great vocals again. This song, more than any other on the album, really gives me the earthy feel that I think Devin was aiming for with this release.
The Fluke is another oddball. The first half is pretty straight-forward, very guitar- and vocal driven, featuring one of the best choruses that Devin has ever done and some great riffing. However, after about half of the song, it suddenly calms down and turns into a great ambient piece, complete with a nigh perfect transition into the next track.
Nobody's Here is one of the first Devin tracks that I really, really loved, and it's easy to understand why. Out of all songs on this album, it features what might be the most conventional song structure (well, this or Stagnant), but it's just executed so damn beautifully and has all those small musical twists that you from Devin, like the strange vocals or the weird guitar solo, that I don't really care about the simple structure of this one. The guitar solo and how it builds up into the final chorus especially is a thing of beauty.
Out of all the songs on this album, Tiny Tears took the longest to grow on me, but now it's my second favourite. The opening guitar notes cut right through everything, like falling tears, that I never fail to get chills within the first minute. After that we have some great vocal sections, a nice guitar solo and an amazing build-up after that, culminating in the “Kyrie eleison” section, which fits perfectly into the song.
And finally, we have Stagnant. This is probably the most upbeat song here, and also the most conventional, but again, that's not a bad thing. Devin delivers some great singing here – especially on the chorus, which features some infectious melodies that won't leave your head for days – and the guitar solo is another great example of just what a great player Devin is.
Humble ends the album on a quiet note. It has a more relaxed, jammy feel, but it works perfectly as a closer, giving the listener a chance to come down from the incredible journey that he or she has just experienced, tying the whole thing together nicely.
So there you have it. I could probably rave on about the merits of this album for another page, but this review is already long enough, so I'll just conclude with these four words:
LISTEN. TO. THIS. IMMEDIATELY.
Favourite tracks: The whole damn thing, but gun to the head, I'd pick Deep Peace, Nobody's Here, Tiny Tears and Stagnant
Topic: Scorpion's Top 50 Albums, the 2nd v. All Going Away Now (Read 27296 times)
