Devin Townsend — Ocean Machine: Biomech

intothewellsabyss
Jul 21, 2023
4 min read

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

July 21, 1997 — Devin Townsend released his second full-length studio album, “Ocean Machine: Biomech” via Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records, originally released as “Biomech” under the band moniker Ocean Machine.

Background:

Material for “Ocean Machine: Biomech” had been around since the time Devin Townsend was touring with Steve Vai in support of “Sex & Religion”, with some tracks, such as "Funeral", "Regulator" and "The Death of Music", stretching back to Townsend's days with Noisescapes.

The album's basic tracks of guitar, bass and drums were recorded in The Factory Studios in Vancouver during the same time Rob Halford recorded there the “Voyeurs” album of his band Two. Due to Townsend's discontent with the sound, in September 1996, he took the recorded material with producer Daniel Bergstrand to Málaga, Spain, to re-record the guitars, drums, and re-amp the bass. Torrential rains were storming the seacoast of Spain at that time, which prevented them from taking any decent recording of the drums. As a result, the sample for the snare drum on the album is actually taken straight from the beginning of "Sad but True" by Metallica. Due to Townsend's constant dispute with the studio owner, who kept kicking him out of the studio every afternoon to party with his friends, one of them actually being then rising movie star Antonio Banderas, Townsend then refused to pay the studio bill, which resulted in him being denied access to the master tape by the studio owner. Frustrated by that, Townsend eventually decided to sneak in the studio with Bergstrand at 3 A.M. to make a copy of the master tape, accidentally leaving out the song “Ocean Machines” there, thus the song exists only in demo quality.

The Music:

“Ocean Machine: Biomech” featured a mix of Hard Rock, Ambient, and Progressive Metal. The album was the follow-up to the critically acclaimed “City” by Townsend's band Strapping Young Lad. Townsend viewed Strapping Young Lad as a "little project" that he considered a "parody" and not the intended focus of his music, but lamented that “Ocean Machine”, which he described as "the music that was really close to me," was largely dismissed upon its release.

The album opens with a reciting of a poem from 19th century English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Track 7, "Voices in the Fan," ends with an excerpt of the madrigal "Giovane donna il suo bel volto in specchio" from the 16th-century cycle Lagrime di San Pietro by Orlande de Lassus.

Many of the songs on “Ocean Machine: Biomech” have become live staples during Townsend's career; however, "The Death of Music" did not make its live debut until April 2015.

The album is specifically referenced in the demo "Ocean Machines" from “Ass-Sordid Demos” and "Resolve" from “Addicted”. "Sister" is sampled in the ambience ending "Traveller" on “Accelerated Evolution”. "Voices in the Fan" is recalled in "Colour Your World" on “Ziltoid the Omniscient”. A riff in "Regulator" forms the basis of "Om" from the “Infinity/Christeen + 4 Demos” EP. "Bastard" is referenced in "Rain City" on “Sky Blue”. "The Death of Music" reuses the chorus of bonus track "Japan" from the first SYL album “Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing” (also released as a bonus on “No Sleep 'till Bedtime”).

Albums Release:

When Townsend was unable to get “Ocean Machine: Biomech” picked up by a record label, he founded his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records, to release his solo material. On its original Japanese release, the album was entitled “Biomech” and "Ocean Machine" was listed as the artist name; the album was later reissued worldwide with a compound title under Townsend's name. The album was distributed in Canada by HevyDevy, in Europe and America by Inside Out Music, and in Japan by Sony.

The album sold 12,000 copies in Japan in its first week of release. Although musically straying from Townsend's Extreme Metal work in Strapping Young Lad, “Ocean Machine: Biomech” was met with favorable reviews. Metal Hammer praised it as a "concept album akin to the sensuality and escapism of Pink Floyd, as Devin lyrically and musically explores real and not particularly uplifting topics such as death, isolation, and depression." Noise Level Critical wrote that "anyone who heard the Steve Vai album “Sex & Religion” will know that Townsend's voice is top-notch, with the ability to go from aggressive bark, to high-pitched wail, to soft emotional whisper in the space of one song."

On March 17, 2017 a complete live playthrough was made at Hammersmith Apollo, followed on September 22, 2017, by a live performance in the Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, recorded and featured on the band's third live album, released on July 6, 2018, via Inside Out Music.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

▶ Listen to “Ocean Machine: Biomech” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/ocean-machine/1045201332

▶ Listen to “Ocean Machine: Biomech” via Spotify: Ocean Machine https://open.spotify.com/album/7hjBb9Z7o4KO5AMYi5xm66

▶ Follow Devin Townsend on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dvntownsend

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Devin Townsend — Ocean Machine: Biomech

Background:

The Music:

Albums Release:

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Follow Us:

Recent Posts

Comments

Subscribe Form