Devin Townsend... Oh how many accolades I could throw out for what he
does. Truth be told, I'm a bit of a Devin Townsend fanboy, but I like to think
there's a very good reason behind it all. This man is a genius. Living with
bi-polar disorder, he cannot focus and write in the way most people do, so his
magnificent creative brain takes over and he just spews out what's in his mind
and tweaks it. The result? Truely progressive music. Every album is completely
different than the last, so much so that many people consider each effort a
different band. Here we come to Devin's sophmore solo release: Ocean Machine -
Biomech.

This album is intended to be what the ocean would sound like if it was put to
music. There's really no way I can do it justice with mere words, but I will
have to try. Firstly the guitars are dense, very dense, and the rifs are slow
and melodic. The result of that is a sound which creates heavy imagery of being
underwater surrounded by whales and massive expansive beauty. The drums are
crashing and heavy, which adds to the effect by creating imagery of waves and
crashing chaos. The bass works with the drums and guitar to add to the dense
sound; really you cannot hear it very distinctly throughout the album, but it's
always there adding to the atmosphere. The result is a masterpiece. I have more
than once just sat in the dark with my eyes closed listening to this album so
that I could be whisked away to the world Devin has created.

I feel I should highlight some of the tracks, but I do not recommend downloading
one or two random songs from this album; the true experience can only be
realized when you listen to it all at once. The album starts off with an
interesting quote: "Oh earth, what changes hast thou seen... There where the
long street roars hath been the stillness of the central seas. The hills are
shadows, they flow from form to form, and nothing stands like clouds that shape
themselves and go..." This quote in and of itself gets you intrigued, then the
guitars start, progressing to the drums and bass with a crash, with a soft
melodic chanting in the background. Suddenly you're not in your room anymore,
you're in the Ocean Machine. This is the magificent opening track, "Seventh
Wave." Really, every track on this album is perfect, but some of the others
which stand out include the fast paced "Night," the slow acoustic "Sister," and
the epic "Bastard."

If I was asked to pick one album which defined everything I liked about music, I
would pick this one. It has everything: Thrash sessions, melodic ballads,
musical progression, originality in songwriting, and so much more. This album is
Devin's genius expressed perfectly in music. Highly recommended to anyone who
calls themself a music fan.