Terria

***Terria*** is the fifth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. The album was released on November 6, 2001, on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.

## Hevydevy.com description

> *I began to find myself in a place of reconciling the whole 'City, Infinity, Physicist' period in my mind, and through small amounts of touring with the SYL guys (playing all manner of my material), had a bit of an epiphany while on tour in Canada supporting a band called 'The Smalls'. It was a simple van tour, middle of summer, idyllic weather, and a new Fender Strat in my world. The songs for Terria (as well as the name) all kind of appeared on that tour and in that frame of mind. When I got home, I began to compile the experience in regards to the tour as well as the drama of the past few years and found myself taking psychiatric medication in order to keep my moods at bay. Unfortunately, I also used that as an excuse to smoke inhuman amounts of Marijuana and the result is this numb, tranquil, yet rather unhinged album.*
> *Production wise, I did most of it in my basement. Gene helped me by playing drums on it, and a friend named Craig MacFarland played bass on it. I used a strange sort of heavy metal kick drum sound as well as a Strat with lots of effects, and at the time when Shaun and I mixed it, it sounded really great to me. Of course, these things age in relative degrees, and now it’s a little kitschy to be honest, but still a powerful thing for me that I was very proud of at the time. It was the first time I had worked with Travis Smith as well, and as a result it was the first album I was TRULY happy with the artwork.*
>
>

## Background

Feeling he had "attracted a bunch of poo" with his previous album *Physicist*, Townsend felt he had the chance to make a more personal and honest record. Townsend was inspired one morning while driving across Canada with his band, and looked to write an "introspective" album dedicated to his homeland. He produced and recorded *Terria*, a "highly illustrated stream-of-consciousness" album, with Strapping Young Lad bandmate Gene Hoglan on drums, newcomer Craig McFarland on bass, and touring member Jamie Meyer on keyboards. The artwork of the album was handled by Travis Smith who considers it among his best work.[1]

## Music

*Terria* has been described as "melodic and atmospheric", with elements of pop and ambience alongside Townsend's trademark heaviness. It features musical themes explored in Townsend's previous albums, such as *Ocean Machine: Biomech*. However, it is more dynamic in its arranging, "using silence as part of the music." It also features more soloing than previous solo records. Townsend cited Ween's *White Pepper* as an inspiration for the album.

## Release

*Terria* was released on Townsend's independent label, HevyDevy Records. It is distributed in Canada by HevyDevy, in Japan by Sony, and in Europe and North America by InsideOut Music. A limited-edition two-disc version was also released in a DVD case, which included the bonus song "Universal" as well as a multimedia element containing footage from *Official Bootleg 2000* and audio commentary about the album.

InsideOut released the album on double vinyl in 2012 on black or limited lime green. Side A runs tracks 1-3, B 4&5, C 6-8, and D 9-11.

## Critical reception

Sputnikmusic gave the album four stars, describing *Terria* as "not a perfect album, but an immense and, if you let it be, absorbing one."[2]

## Track listing

All music written by Devin Townsend.

1. "Olives" (3:21)
2. "Mountain" (6:32)
3. "Earth Day" (9:35)
4. "Deep Peace" (7:34)
5. "Canada" (6:53)
6. "Down and Under" (3:43)
7. "The Fluke" (7:16)
8. "Nobody's Here" (6:54)
9. "Tiny Tears" (9:12)
10. "Stagnant" (5:25)
11. "Humble" (5:30)

**Limited edition disc 2**

1. "Universal" (5:55)

## Personnel

* Devin Townsend – guitar, vocals, ambience, samples, keyboards
* Gene Hoglan – drums
* Craig McFarland – fretless bass
* Jamie Meyer – piano, keyboards

### Production

* Devin Townsend – production, engineering, mixing
* Shaun Thingvold – engineering, mixing
* Scott Ternan – engineering
* Jamie Meyer – engineering
* Lee Preston – engineering
* Chris Crippen – drum teching
* Mike Bellis – drum teching
* Travis Smith – illustration, design, layout
* Gloria Fraser – photography
* Tracy Turner – management

## External links

* *Terria* (HevyDevy Records)
* *Terria* (InsideOut Music)
* *Terria* at Discogs