Review by Michael on July 1, 2001.

What a nice looking CD. A white cover with a smiling Devin Townsend sitting on it. It looks safe….WRONG! Never judge a book (or CD in this case) by its cover. This CD is not what it appears. Being recorded at the height on Devin’s emotional instability this album is a chaotic dive into a mind that has knows no boundaries. It’s every emotion rolled into one brilliant and epic masterpiece. It's hard to explain the feeling you get when you listen to this CD, it's like insanity. Not anger, just pure crazyness.

I can only describe the sound as massive, the power of all the recorded elements together is crushing. Devin’s talent in the production area is only surpassed by his musical visions. "Infinity" has some of the best production I have ever heard, every instrument is clear and fits into the mix beautifully with no masking.

Genre wise, this album covers quite a few areas. The opening number ‘Truth’ is a more traditional Devin-like cyber-thrash track, but as you wade deeper into the album we are presented with some varied styles and moods, obviously reflecting Devin’s sentiments at the time. Tracks like the almost comical ‘Bad Devil’ are a real surprise. With this album you can hear more and more of Devin’s 80’s roots coming through…mainly in the vocals, his vocal talent is more evident on this recording, going from his well known growls and screams to perfectly controlled clean vocals with amazing power. The guitars are wonderful, full of bottom end that combined with the amazing drumming make a powerful combination indeed. This CD is not classic metal by any means. It’s the work of a (at the time) very troubled man who was expressing his complete confusion through his music. Lyrically this album is also a little hard to classify. The words in general a fairly abstract, but with obvious underlying meaning to Devin himself.

Compared to past releases like Strapping Young Lad, this CD is more in the progressive vain of "Ocean Machine", but classifying this album is not only quite impossible but would not be fair to it in any way. The many styles of music that Devin has somehow combined here makes for a very interesting listen indeed.

Bottom Line: This CD is nuts, but brilliant in everyway. If you are at all interested in metal a little left of the norm, "Infinity" is for you.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Michael on July 7, 2001.

I love this CD. Ok I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for great progressive metal and "Ocean Machine" delivers. Forget about Devin’s anger and Devin’s confusion, because this album doesn’t really show any signs of either, rather it's full of great head moving guitar licks and absolutely brilliant vocal lines. This album has a fantastic atmosphere to it, drawing you into it and not letting you go until you have listened to the whole thing from start to finish. It has everything I like about power metal, and more importantly, none of the parts I hate, offering a ‘window’ of sorts back to classic 80’s power metal without the gayness. (no homophobia intended)

Musically, Devin is a God. His ability to produce top quality music of varying genre’s on his own is unsurpassed. For a first time listener, you would assume this CD is from a band who’s been perfecting this style of metal/rock for years, but in reality it's just one skinny, balding guy from Canada who’s doing it all on his own…..and for the first time with this record!!!

I can find no flaws in this recording, the songs are solid, their structure classic and unbeatable. The guitars all sound fantastic, generally tuned down and with a more contemporary bottom-end filled sound (a far cry from the tinny 80’s sound), pumping out line after line of great ‘get the feeling’ type riffs. What can I say about the vocals? Those of you familiar with the man know just how versatile Devin is in this field and this demonstration is no exception. I think the key to Devin’s brilliance vocally is his ability to throw in the perfect backing vocal to add stunning texture to the main vocal lines, and with "Ocean Machine", he has done it to perfection. The drums are also noticeably different with "Ocean Machine". No longer based around speed, these patterns are almost pop-like, creating a whole new feel, and finally offering the listener a chance to tap along without developing some kind of cramp! The keyboards are less noticeable in this recording, but fill any holes left by the other instruments beautifully, making this recording an absolute sea of sound. (pardon the pun)

I’m not even going to bother trying to pick out a favourite track, because the I would not be doing this album justice by soloing any part of it. "Ocean Machine" is a whole made up of many parts…..as apposed to most CD’s which are many parts put together to create the whole. Brilliant.

Bottom Line: This is my absolute favourite vision of Devin’s to date. It has all the elements to please fans from White Lion to Fear Factory. Lets hope he decides to do something else along the same lines!!!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10