Terria

Artist: Devin Townsend
Label: Inside Out U.S.
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 2

UPC: 693723416427
EAN: 0693723416427
ASIN: B00009KUAR

Release Date: 2003-06-03

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DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND - Ranked

Tracks:

Olives
Mountain
Earth Day
Deep Peace
Canada
Down and Under
Fluke
Nobody's Here
Tiny Tears
Stagnant

Tracks:

Universal
Intro (Unity) [Multimedia][Live]
Seventh Wave [Multimedia][Live]
Regulator [Multimedia][Live]
Truth [Multimedia][Live]
War [Multimedia][Live]
Hide Nowhere [Multimedia][Live]
Audio Commentary on the Making of Terria [Multimedia]

Similar Items:

Ocean Machine
Accelerated Evolution
Synchestra
Infinity
Physicist

Customer Reviews:

A treasure chest of emotion and musical variety........2006-09-06

Well, one things for sure. You never know quite what to expect with a Devin Townsend album. After 2000's very heavy and crushing "Physicist" album really surprised me with how lacking it was in Devin-like progressiveness, experimentation and craziness, I figured he'd maybe shelved that side of his music for a while. Along comes "Terria" and it's obvious that I was mistaken in that assumption. This album holds a plethora of treasures and defies both genres and description in general. For fans of his earlier albums, I'd describe this as containing characteristics from all of them. The experimental madness of "Infinity" is present although it doesn't contain the cabaret circus freak nature of that album. There are occasional sections of heaviness that remind me of "Physicist" yet it's nowhere near as constantly barraging as that release. Finally, Devin has also utilized his slightly industrialised rock sound that made "Ocean Machine" so awesome. So there's plenty to offer on "Terria" for any fan of Mr Townsend.

But that's not to say that this is a completely successful release. A few tracks here and there are really great. "Deep Peace" could in theory be labelled a ballad and yet the lead guitar is just beautiful, the track exuding so much feeling and emotion. "Down and Under" is a fantastic instrumental based on acoustic guitars and a full sweeping symphony of sound. Yet tracks such as "Nobody's Here" and "Stagnant" just don't do a lot for me. They are solid enough yet lack the uniqueness and entertainment value that is normally a requisite of Devin's work. I guess they're just a little too straight forward for my liking.

But these are minor qualms as "Terria" is generally a solid album filled with over an hour of music that will be of interest to anyone into pretty much any of Devin's prior releases. It's not my favourite Devin album, yet after reading a fair few reviews of his work it would appear that I'm part of a minority of his fans that enjoy "Ocean Machine" and "Physicist" far more than "Infinity" and "Terria". But I guess that's the beauty of opinion.

Mountainous recording from Devon Townsend.......2006-07-05

THE BAND: Devin Townsend (vocals, guitars, keyboards & samples), Craig McFarland (fretless bass), Jamie Meyer (piano, keyboards), Gene Hogian (drums & percussion).

THE DISC: (2001) 10 tracks (plus 1 untitled hidden track) clocking in at just under 72 minutes. All songs written and produced by Townsend. Included with the disc is an 18-page booklet contain song lyrics, some neat dreamy futuristic landscape type photos, one picture of Townsend, a listing of the musicians, and thank you's. A 2nd 'bonus" multimedia disc is included as well - containing 3 chapters for your PC - an album picture gallery; a "Listen to Devon" introspective - Devon himself telling the behind the scenses stuff, making of, people involved, artwork, etc; and video footage of Townsend in concert Tokyo 1999 (5 songs: "Seventh Wave", "Regulator", "Truth", "War", and "Hide Nowhere"). "Terria" recorded at various studios in Vancouver B.C. Canada. Label - InsideOut Music.

COMMENTS: A monumental album. An art rock/metal masterpiece. A journey by the man... the musician and the businessman. Life experiences put into music. One of my two personal favorites from Townsend; the other being the more mainstream "Acclerated Evolution" (2003). "Terria" is quite simply creative, aggresive, daring, emotional, soaring, original and consuming. "Terria" starts out with the short and mellow intrumental "Olives", some light guitar strokes, some mumbling, and birds chirping in the background... building up to the other band members joining in for a typical Townsend heavy metal ending. "Mountain" as you'll hear on disc two is about life and his dog "Happy" who had cancer. If you listen closely, you can hear him howling on this track. "Earth Day" is nine-and-a-half minute melodic rocker - one of my favorites here. The slower songs - "Deep Space" is a power ballad (if you will) and perhaps the softest song - along with "Down And Under", and "Nobody's Here"... some beautfiful moments on each (acoustic and electric guitars galore). The album closer is "Stagnant" - mid tempo rocker and catchy as all Hell. The untitle bonus track is a minute-and-a-half clowning around acoustic track followed by 4 minutes of wasted static and space. An incredible album filled with originality... like nothing else you own. Buy "Terria" and "Accelerated Evolution" together. They may not leave your CD player for weeks (5-stars).

4.5 out of 5.......2006-06-28

This album, unlike Devin Townsend's other good albums, will take several listens to get into, as it may seem mostly boring at first. However, there is a wealth of complexity to be found in it. The bonus disc has a fun new song, Universal on it, though the live content is pretty much worthless, unless you really want to see a show that has Devin shaved bald. The commentary is interesting, though, so the bonus disc is worth it overall.

The album has a very good flow, like most of Devin's solo stuff. It begins with an atmospheric track, and then goes into the heavy "Mountain", but the album doesn't really "start" until "Earth Day". The first two tracks are good, but they are more introductory pieces for me. Earth Day was the only song I really "got" on first listen, and boy is it a good one. Devin is at the top of his form vocally, and there is some really memorable drumming, riffs and lyrics (which do have a meaning, but not on the surface). Deep Peace is, well, very very peaceful, and one of my favorites on ths album. Canada is also a good one. Unfortunately I am drawing a blank and cannot remember the songs Down and Under and Tiny Tears at the moment, but I know Tiny Tears is a good one, and since I can't think of a point where the album gets boring, I would say the same of Down and Under. Fluke and Nobody's Here are great, and Stagnant is the perfect ending song to the album. To sum up, this album has great, original vocals and production, the lyrics are deep, and the rest of the music is great as well. Devin calls Terria his first mature work, and though I love Infinity, I would have to agree.

Great Disc!.......2006-05-17

I put off buying this for quite a while but I don't know why since the previous reviews are quite accurate. This double disc has a smidgen of everything and gets better with every listen. Pounding heavy riffs on "Mountain" and "Earth Day" (quite intense), the progressive "Deep Peace" (tasty guitar break), "Down and Under" that begins laid back but peaks into a thunderous storm, "The Fluke" a rock-cruncher with an intricate break, a mellow (sort of) "Nobody's Here", and the popish "Stagnant". There is some ambience between tunes (birds chirping, bells, synths, voices, etc.) that's tasteful but I usually skip this, and the vocals can change to a growl or scream quickly.

Disc one has a hidden track that sounds like a demo that segues into more ambience that's not essential. Disc two includes a "Making of" narrated by Devin, that is very interesting and well done, some live tunes playable, unfortunately, only on computer and another bonus track.

What an album.......2006-03-14

I have just recentely recieved "Terria" and "Synchestra" by Devin Townsend (although the latter flys under the moniker of "The Devin Townsend band). As my review suggests, this album has definetely captivated me:

Devin's vocals, as everyone knows never fail to impress. For those who know Strapping Young Lad, Devin has an incredible range for heavy vocals; his solo material still incorporates these harsh vocals, but in a much more "melodic" manner and his clean voice is among my top 5. The other members all have shining moments, especially Gene Hoghlan (Death, Dark Angel, etc.). He doesn't necessarily take a backseat on this album, but his drumming does not interefere with the delicacy of these compositions. The album still retains much heaviness though :). Craig McFarland's contribution will most likely be underrated, but his fretless bass adds to the "natural" atmosphere that pervades this album. As with every Townsend album, heaviness is key and no pun inteneded Jamie Meyer plays a key role with his keyboards. Many of Devin's heavy drop tuned guitar riffs are followed by Jamie's keyboard to bulk them up, adding a new dimension to the music, instead of just using a second guitar.

Lyricly, this is Devin's most mature and true albums. He even says so himself on the bonus cd. The lyrics are of a conceptual nature and are in fact about natural things that we experience everday: ex) track 5 - "Canada".

The only real drawback is not "Terria" itself, but the Bonus CD. It contains an interview conducted by Townsend himself which is quite useful and eye opening. The only problem lies within the live performances included. They have a default player that only fits a small portion of the screen and it is only CD-ROM friendly (you cannot play it on a DVD player). The footage is pretty nice and the band plays songs from previous album (Ocean Machine, Infinity, etc.) This is really dissmisable though unfortunately.

4 stars

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Bobby St. Vincent

Give 'Em Hell ~ Witchfynde

There Is No Such Thing As the Bogeymen ~ The Bogeymen

Latinas: Women of Latin America ~ Various Artists

Giornata Storica ~ Paola & Chiara

My Gentle Harp ~ Various Artists

Ramshackle Beauty

Everybody Jam

Negima! Mahoragakuen Chutobu 2-a ~ Japanimation

Technics Chainsaw Massacre ~ Jeep Beat Collective