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Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine - Biomech CD (album) cover

OCEAN MACHINE - BIOMECH

Devin Townsend

 

Experimental/Post Metal

4.01 | 364 ratings

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Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
4 stars This is a difficult album to write about really, I don't have any reference points to offer you either. It starts off with four tracks that are powerful, energetic, melodic and catchy, then we get flooded with samples, atmosphere and emotion the rest of the way. Yes we still get these heavy, powerful tunes but the mood has changed. In fact from that fifth track ("Sister") to the final song "The Death Of Music" it's pretty much perfect. I can't get over the production on this album either and the layers of sound, this is so epic. Many of these tracks seem to blend into one another as well which is cool.

"Seventh Wave" opens with someone quoting a poem then some heavy guitar kicks in which turns even heavier as the sound gets fuller.The tempo picks up up then the vocals join in. Hell yeah ! The tempo continues to shift. Great sound 5 minutes in and I like the atmosphere to end it. Excellent track. "Life" is the only ordinary track on here in my opinion. I know many who list this as their favourite but it's too commercial sounding and upbeat. Still a good song though and I understand how it fits in. "Night" opens with guitar as a full sound kicks in quickly and the tempo picks up. Vocals join in. This rocks out pretty good. "Hide Nowhere" is nice and heavy with a few screams from Devin. "Sister" is interesting as we get this noisy atmosphere with voices and other sounds as Devin comes in barely singing "Sister" as he strums his guitar.Thunder and crickets late. "3 AM" sounds like the start of a FLOYD track with the voices and atmosphere as spoken vocals come in. Emotion. "Voices In The Fan" has a catchy mid paced rhythm as the vocals join in with some passion. This is so good. A calm after 3 minutes then these operatic female and male vocals come in.

"Greetings" is guitar led as vocals join in. It turns more powerful. Nice. These last four tracks are freaking amazing. "Regulator" is heavy duty and vocals come in around a minute. Love how he screams "I'm regulated" again and again.The heaviest track on here. "Funeral" kicks in around a minute and the vocals come in after 2 minutes. I adore this song. Gulp. Nature sounds 6 minutes in as it settles. It turns powerful again. "Bastard" opens with atmosphere and percussion.This is a mechanical beast. Incredible ! "The Death Of Music" is more Electronic than Metal. A beat with atmosphere and sampled voices. Vocals after 2 minutes. Atmosphere and whispered vocals a minute later and they will come and go. So much tension when the vocals return. It's haunting at times as well. This has to be heard to be appreciated. The bonus track "Thing Beyond Things" is a nice addition. A laid back but powerful song.

I have to thank Negoba for convincing me to check this out. I feel like I should have listened more before reviewing this album because the further the album plays out the deeper it gets.Yeah, just like an ocean. 4.5 stars.

Mellotron Storm | 4/5 |

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