TERRIA

Terria has quite a pastoral feel to it. It is apparent almost immediately in the opener Olives, which starts with some almost electronic and lush acoustic noises before keyboards, guitars, and heaviness show up in the last minute or so. That heaviness continues into Mountain and Earth Day (which has some really humorous lyrics and is one of my favorite Devin Townsend songs) before the pastoral feeling returns in really heavy doses throughout the album. Even amongst the heavy moments, there's plenty of lush atmosphere and acoustic guitar work that makes the album cover seem to describe the music perfectly. Devin mixes his usual heaviness with almost pop-like structures. Well, at least Devy's take on pop sensibilities. Songs like Stagnant really add a bit of diversity to this album as well, being mostly gentle acoustic pieces. Stagnant is also one of the more accessible songs on the album, but it works well here. I happen to have the bonus track for the album, Universal, and while it doesn't fit in that well with the rest of the music (I understand why it's not a part of the regular album), it is pretty quirky in a funny way. I can see how some refer to this as a masterpiece of experimental metal, and I would have to agree. There's just a certain touch here at times that feels lacking at times on other Devy albums. Perhaps Terria has the diversity and more acoustic instrumentation that I wish Devin would employ more often in his other work. I'm not really sure what it is.

Out of all the albums I've heard so far in this site's experimental/post metal category, this is easily one of my favorites and one that will continue to be spun for years to come. Even though this album is from almost 10 years ago, the production is simply gorgeous. Giving this album anything other than 5 stars just feels wrong somehow. If you want to hear a master of experimental metal at work, I suggest you purchase a copy of this album.

As a side note, I initially thought Terria was one of the weakest Devin Townsend albums, but it's so multi-layered even by his standards that it takes repeated listens to truly capture the meaning of this record.

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