Style: Progressive metal?, atmospheric metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: Self discovery, interpersonal relationships, reflections life and the meaning of it all
Thoughts: This is going to be the first of many HevyDevy records to be posted in the coming days. I was recently made aware of one of the greatest box sets in existence. Apparently I missed the boat on the Era box sets that came out in 2018 and 2019. They contain a majority of Devin's works until that time. Era II is the box set in question, and it contains every. single. album. that I consider essential from Mr. Townsend.
Ocean Machine. The album that gave me a taste of the music that Devin Townsend really wanted to make. Of course I had heard Strapping Young Lad's City before this, but this was something very different. Biomech is more focused on atmosphere and large than life riffs than SYL ever was. Instead of chaos we have peace, instead of 50 riffs per song we have 2-3, instead of harsh vocals we have a wide range of vocals. Clean, shouted, belted, soft, and yes even some screams like Devy uses in SYL.
The main star of the show here though is the riffs and the atmosphere. I suppose this could be called progressive metal in that the riffs progress over time, but this is hardly a technical showcase. This is more like massive riff after massive riff that fills the entire audio spectrum... a wall of sound if you would.
To balance this out Devin has multitracked his vocals on nearly every occasion possible. This only adds to the massive sound that the riffs have. On top of that it was the first time I heard Devy give us a taste of what his amazing vocal choirs could be like. These things range from angelic to demonic in their execution - though Biomech tends to lean more towards the ethereal end of that spectrum.
I think out of all the Devy albums I own this one may be the most chill. There are of course chill songs on the other albums, but this one has that nice groovy sway to it throughout. That combined with the continuous wall of sound, a heaping ton or reverb on the guitars, and Devin's emotive vocals... you get one hell of an album.
Easy highlights for me are Funeral and its infectious groove, Bastard and it's minor key shift from the rest of the album, Sister and it's odd inclusion in between songs. There's really something worth listening to on each of the songs on here, but not all are of the highest quality. If I had to choose one Bastard is a clear favorite for me, it hints at some of the styles that would be explored on future albums and sends the album off on a powerful note.
Biomech is the start of Devin's true music era. It's a clean album, but it still has a couple of rough edges. The thing is, if it didn't have those rough spots it would feel too clean, too polished - and that's one of the things I love the most about Devy's music - it feels decidedly human. The emotions he evokes from me come from a place deep within. There are very few artists that can do what he does on a consistent basis.
Written February 5th 2024
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