"Biomech" by Devin Townsend's Ocean Machine band, is such a freaking masterpiece it's hard to review. So I'll make this somewhat short:

"Biomech" is sort of a concept album, not really in terms of subject matter, but musical style. Like the name of the album and band would suggest, the music is a fusion of the organic and the mechanical.

In terms of genre it's difficult to describe. Progressive metal? Keyboard-laced Heavy Metal? Power Metal? None of those labels do the album justice. The man himself has called it Devy Metal, which is the most appropriate. It is a record that captures a perfect balance of complexity & simplicity, love & hate, depression & joy. A heavy Heavy Metal record that can reduce the listener to a state of melancholy. The lyrics touch on issues that seem very personal to the artist, but they are also vague enough to mean something to everyone.

In other words, this is 74 minutes of absolute perfection. So damn good it's hard to fully describe without hearing it for yourself. From the powerful hard-hitting "Seventh Wave", to the calm Floydian "Things Beyond Things" this is an album for everyone (even the most jaded Black/Death metal fan), and I can't recommend it enough.

Grade: A+

© 2001 raagoonshinnaah