TERRIA

With Terria, Devin Townsend created what is often recognised as one his best, and it's no surprise. It's a powerful, personal, flowing journey of a style of progressive metal unique only to Devin - one that relies on feels over technical prowess. What helps make Terria stand out is, complimentary to his typical reverby wall of sound production, an abundance of layered nature sound effects and atmospheric keyboards that add so much to the experience. The tone is one of anger at times, but it somehow fits well with the more dominant uplifting and blissful tone.

Terria occurred as part of a healing process after a rather chaotic and difficult time for Devin. A few years prior, with the help of hallucinogens, a Christ complex and accompanying bipolar diagnosis had formed throughout the creation of the album Infinity, and a period of intense depression and regret followed during Physicist. Terria was a time of 'acceptance', as Devin would put it - an acceptance that he is just an ordinary human being like everyone else, whose art isn't the centre of the universe but something to do for a living and enjoy. Life goes on, man. Devin even begun dressing in beige like a regular citizen, hence the man on the album cover. It wasn't necessarily happy times but an emotional numbness that said 'yeah, it's ok. I'm ok.' The tracks 'Nobody's Here' and 'Tiny Tears' act as quite vivid depictions of this time lyrically.

The concept of Terria - the earthy song titles, sounds and album cover - came when Devin was driving through the Canadian countryside on a tour. It acts as a bit of an ode to his home country in all its natural beauty. 'Terria' itself isn't a word, but it sounds right. It gets the feel across.

The album begins with the instrumental 'Olives' and what an incredibly intriguing way to open an album. The very strange tone and textures building to a fuzzy onslaught of heaviness is so satisfying. The voice saying 'olives' throughout... why? Because why not. The complimentary atmospheric synths established here and heard throughout the album brought Close to the Edge to mind upon first listen.

Other highlights from the album include 'Deep Peace', a softer track with a brilliant mid-section of a more typical prog rock vibe, featuring one of the most memorable guitar solos Devin's ever done. 'Down and Under,' a tribute to Australia, is an uplifting instrumental. And then there's 'Nobody's Here' and 'Stagnant,' two simply structured tracks that indulge in being super unapologetically dramatic and almost cheesy, the former track especially. I love them very much.

The only issue I have with the album is the choice to make the bass drum very prominent in the mix, cutting through everything else. But it's no deal breaker.

9/10