Title: Biomech Artist: Ocean Machine Label: HevyDevy Records Release Date: 1997 Rating: 5 Skulls
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Reviewed by Solomon:
"Ocean Machine" is actually just another name among many the infamous Devin Townsend has used in place of "Devin Townsend's band" or "The Devin Townsend Project." After clobbering metal afficionados worldwide with the hyper-aggressive antics of Strapping Young Lad, "Hevy Devy" decided to tone things down a little and introduce the "softer side of metal" with the weighty but melodic toolings of Biomech, a style the man has contiuned to exploit on later albums such as Physicist and Terria. Songs like "Seventh Wave" and the ballad "Bonus Track" point to King's X as a serious influence on the proceedings, even though Devin takes certain cues from this band and creates his own signature brew of crushing, ambient, metallic drive and sing-songy vocal hooks. You could call this album "progressive" in the sense that you don't hear much else like it out there, but Biomech doesn't rely on guitar gymnastics or over-complicated rhythmic and harmonic changes. If the intent here was to convey the emotions brought on by big bodies of water, then Biomech is a success. Bowel-loosening passages like the last few minutes of "Bastard" make you feel like you're slowly sinking into the Atlantic, feeling the water engulf you and the pressure start to crush your skull. Lighter fair like the upbeat "Life" can put you in a hang-glider, skimming low over the Gulf of Mexico. If you're talking about "atmospheric" metal, than this is your benchmark release.

Biomech, like all good metal records, doesn't do just "metal." It takes the aggression of the power chord and melds it with something else to create a new, stronger concoction. Townsend orchestrates guitars, keyboards, and vocals to produce music that can appeal to fans of both Metallica and Enigma (?!). The echoing, rolling guitars in "Seventh Wave" are punctuated with a truly angelic chorus. The tuneful arpeggiation in "Greetings" gives way to the massive slam-dunk "Regulator." The atmospheric groove of "Funeral" is a high-point, and the doomy, whale-call riff in "Bastard" is a prelude to the kind of romantic crush later to be found on "Earth Day" (from Terria). Fans of Devy probably already know all about this stuff, but any curious seekers should do themselves a favor and track down a copy of Biomech, and see where Townsend's more melodic side really took off.

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