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Devin Townsend is a genius. By now, I'm certain many have noticed that statement is becoming cliche among the fans of this man's work throughout the years but that doesn't make the statement any less true. I've been into his music since I was in school (my introduction to his work was via his time as Steve Vai's frontman, followed closely by Terria which was the first Devin solo album I heard) and I'm even more of a fan now that I've learned more about music as a whole and what it means to me, personally. I've been slowly collecting his albums over the years, starting with the more abundantly-present releases by Devin Townsend Project (most of his newest material, including the incredible Deconstruction and phenomenal Transcendence), and building that collection over time by introducing his solo stuff, his work as The Devin Townsend Band, and more. When I saw this collection of his earliest works (some of his best works, I might add), I knew I had to go for it. I have had the worst luck trying to find any of his albums prior to Devin Townsend Project (though I got lucky enough to find used copies of Ziltoid and Accelerated Evolution Special Edition at a local music store). Finding his first four albums plus Accelerated Evolution all in one package immediately sealed the deal for me.
This package is both for the long-time fans of Devin's work AND for those who may not be familiar with his music and want to learn where he started. While these albums aren't as accessible/radio friendly as the Devin Townsend Project works, these albums happen to be some of the greatest pieces of atmospheric prog. metal in history (if not THE greatest). This collection is an incredible deal, and while it doesn't include the albums in a jewel case as many of us certainly wished for, it does include full, high-quality CDs and the slip cases the CDs are in are sturdy enough to last if you're not rough with this. I, for one, just rip the MP3s from the CDs and use the music that way so that the collection can stay in good shape.
Since this is a bundle of five different albums with entirely different approaches, I will review them all, but I will keep the reviews within a paragraph each to keep things less cluttered. So basically, I'll be summarizing the albums in a paragraph to give you an idea of what you're getting into. Each album has so many layers to it that a full review won't do it justice; you just have to listen to them a few times over with a good pair of headphones to let it all sink in.
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OCEAN MACHINE: BIOMECH - This album, as the name suggests, is heavily themed around water and how it relates to life's many ups and downs. This is applied musically while the lyrics do the storytelling of the ups and downs. The album flows like water, beginning with a more triumphant and happy feel, but descends into murky depths. As the conceptual themes get progressively darker, the music follows suit. This album literally gets better each listen and is probably one of the best albums ever written for any genre, EVER. The sequence of songs from Funeral through The Death of Music is probably the greatest moment in music history. And as for this album's bonus track, Thing Beyond Things, it's a beautiful ballad but just a warning: turn the volume down right after the music ceases. If you don't, you'll be in for a very, very loud surprise. 10/10 all the way.
INFINITY - While Ocean Machine compared water to flowing along in life's trials, Infinity is a more experimental, slightly less serious attempt at looking at life and the purpose in life. This album definitely inspired his most recent release (at the time of this review), Transcendence, to the point that it almost feels as though Infinity was the beginning and Transcendence was where he came full circle (the opening track of Infinity was re-recorded and made the opening track of Transcendence). The album has a very wide plethora of musical styles unlike Ocean Machine which was quite focused in its overall feel. This album goes from a triumphant opening to an excellent radio friendly single through some goofy-feeling tracks like BAd Devil, Ants, Wild Colonial Boy, Noisy Pink Bubbles, etc, to serious tracks like War (I interpret War as Devin's observation on the confusion of life), Life Is All Dynamics and Unity. Yet somehow, despite the experimentation, through all this album Devin is able to still convey that theme of, "Yes, life can be comical, but finding purpose in this world can be difficult. You just have to keep going, keep searching, never give up. Find hope and find humor, it'll keep you going." This theme hits an incredible peak in Life Is All Dynamics (or just "Dynamics" as some copies list it) and Unity, both of which are essentially one song split into two tracks. 9/10, some tracks felt a little out of place despite the fact that they DO make sense for the overall feel of the album.
PHYSICIST - Devin considers this to be his worst album to date and I'd say it's one of my least favorite of his, but I can't really say it's bad by any means. Devin appeared to be experimenting by mixing his ambient, contemplative and thoughtful solo work with the chaotic, angry, thrashfest feel of his music under Strapping Young Lad. This album starts energetic and pretty much stays energetic until the last track, not really giving you any kind of break from this energy which can make this a tiring (or motivating, depending on your situation) listen. While this did give us excellent songs like Kingdom (which was re-recorded for his 2012 DTP album, Epicloud; I prefer the Epicloud version personally), The Complex, Jupiter and Planet Rain, it also had a lot of songs that simply weren't very memorable. If you're in the mood for heavier, thrashier songs, then this would be a good album to listen to but don't expect many of the slower contemplative/beautiful parts because those are reserved mostly for Planet Rain, which was an incredible finale that appeared to continue on the sound and feel of Ocean Machine. 7/10; the album was solid and can be a good listen if you're in a more energetic mood, but as I listen to Devin's work for deeper reasons than just getting me pumped, I find his other work more enjoyable to listen to. It had some memorable tracks but not many. Not bad, just not excellent.
TERRIA - The album that REALLY got me into his work, Terria is a gorgeous album through and through. As the name suggests, this album is a tribute to the beauty of our earth, particularly Devin's homeland Canada. This album is almost entirely serious with a bit of Devin's strange sense of humor intertwined lyrically. The album has an earthy feel musically, with heavy and solid riffs, ambient bits to resemble wind and water, peaceful sounds to mimic life, it's all just incredible. Songs like Deep Peace and Nobody's Here just make me shake my head in wonder at how amazingly they're written. It's a long, labored listen but it's worth every single second. This album, in and of itself, is one of the best experiences you can have in this life. When we're tired of the chaos of cities and civilization, contemplating the absolute beauty of nature is a great escape. 9.5/10, I personally rated it that only because there is a good deal of foul language on this album while the others on this list have minimal language. I don't care to hear that kind of language but if you're fine with it, then you'll probably see this is a 10/10.
ACCELERATED EVOLUTION - Literally every. single. song on this album is perfect. This is, in my book, the pinnacle of Devin's creations so far. All of his work is phenomenal but Accelerated Evolution takes it to a whole new level. He struck gold with this one, as he somehow combined the more accessible, radio friendly feel of his creative side that would eventually become Devin Townsend Project and blended it with the artistic, masterful, beautiful work that he's done just under his own name. The album begins energetically but just ebbs and flows through various different soundscapes and textures. Songs like Depth Charge, Storm, Random Analysis, Suicide, Traveller and Slow Me Down are more upbeat tracks with bits of ambient and contemplative moments intertwined. Meanwhile Deadhead, Away and Sunday Afternoon are very deep, labored listens but leave me feeling great every time. Deadhead is possibly one of Devin's greatest songs yet, possibly one of the most open-ended love songs ever; perfect for individual interpretation. Meanwhile Away is predominantly instrumental and has some excellent guitar work that reflects old memories (there's a part that is strikingly similar to Deep Peace off of Terria) while paving the path for new memories to be created. As its name suggests, it's a song that takes you away as you just think of things in life. And I can't even say how many times I've listened to Sunday Afternoon on a rainy Sunday afternoon and ended up feeling calmed and refreshed after listening to it. This album has to be an 11/10 because it's just perfection through and through. If you could only listen to one album out of this collection, go for this one. It's accessible enough that you don't have to listen super deep to enjoy it, but for those who wish to listen to it deeper and often, it has those layers that would just keep you coming back time and time again. Phenomenal release.
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To summarize all this, this is a collection of five EXCELLENT albums that are criminally underrated by the music world yet have done more for advancing the definition of music than the past two or three decades of popular music have done as a whole. This is an incredible deal and I can't do anything less than wholeheartedly recommend it. If you're a new Devin Townsend fan or have never heard his work before, this is perfect for you to learn about his music. If you're a long-time fan as I am, unless you already have these albums, definitely go for it. It's just worth every penny, really.
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Opiniones destacadas de los Estados Unidos
Ha surgido un problema al filtrar las opiniones justo en este momento. Vuelva a intentarlo en otro momento.
Calificado en Estados Unidos 🇺🇸 el 26 de junio de 2017
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Opiniones más destacadas de otros países
Chris Sherren
Hidden Gems from the Great White North
Calificado en Canadá 🇨🇦 el 12 de julio de 2017
valerio
ottimo rapporto quantità/prezzo
Calificado en Italia 🇮🇹 el 4 de mayo de 2017Ramses
Perfect for discovering Devin's music - awesome, powerful, complex yet immediately addictive.
Calificado en Reino Unido 🇬🇧 el 22 de mayo de 2017
