TERRIA

This site is costing me a lot of money, which isn't a bad thing. $600 and 35 albums later I have renewed my waning interest in music (but not the industry). I'm finding artists I never would have heard of before and rediscovering artists I had long forgotten about. Devin Townsend falls into the latter category. As soon as I saw the name, I remembered Steve Vai's Sex and Religeon album as Devin was the singer. I didn't care for the album, but that has more to do with me being bored with Steve Vai's work.

Terria took me by surprise, quite litterally. I didn't know what to expect. What I got was a real treat. I like odd music, strange compositions, and generally anything that bucks conventional styles of music. This is an area that Devin truly accels. The first time I heard Earth Day, I knew it would be an instant classic in my collection. I know some people take exception with his screaming vocals, but to be honest, when he screams it fits. He's conveying power and madness when he sings that way and I think it works perfectly. This isn't Death Metal screaming like Mikael Åkerfeldt in Opeth (a band I'd love except for the grunting). For songs like Earth Day, the screaming just adds to the insanity of the song. If viewed from that standpoint, it makes perfect sense. Listening to Ayreon's The Human Equation also helps. In addition, Devin writes some truly bizaar lyrics that just add to the insanity of the compositions.

Terria is a pleasant departure from my years of thinking prog-metal was strictly the domain of Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Tool. I recommend this album to anyone that can appreciate the essoteric side of prog-metal.