Casualties of Cool is the final stop on our extensive look into the mind of Devin Townsend (for now). It’s a bit of an anti-climatic ending, considering all the intense, layered music we’ve been exposed to on this little trip. Casualties is quite possibly the most unique album in Townsend’s entire discography. Much like Ghost, there isn’t a trace of metal to be found anywhere, but there were plenty of the trademark Devin atmospherics, just fed through a different aesthetic. Casualties is a similar concept to Ghost, but instead of soft ambient as the main theme, it’s a bizarre form of Johnny Cash-esque country. At first glance, this album seems so far removed from Devin’s body of work (his name doesn’t appear on the cover at all). However, this is still unmistakably Devin Townsend.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t “get” this album until a few days ago hearing Devin’s commentary over it. I’ve been listening to it on and off since it came out, but I never got much out of it other than a thought of “this is nice” and prompt loss of interest. And I thought for a while, hell, maybe this album just isn’t for me. Devin said himself that he couldn’t give a fuck if people enjoy this album or not, and it was an album he had to make for himself. He’s been saying that since it was announced, and that’s totally okay. I don’t have to like Casualties. Nobody does. Fortunately, the tide has turned significantly, and now I consider it to be worthy of being examined to the level of all the previous works.
The first tidbit of information we had on Casualties came from Devin himself, calling it “haunted Johnny Cash songs.” And there’s really no other way to describe it. Sure, you could call it “atmospheric ambient country” but what the fuck does that even sound like? Anyway, the country twang is rather present throughout the album, but there are several songs that sound more like Ki (think Terminal or Lady Helen) such as Flight, Bones, and The Bridge. I find myself enjoying the songs without the twang a bit more, though even the ones that are overtly “twangy” are lovely. The Code has a stomping rhythm to it, Daddy has a nice banjo-like guitar line running throughout, and Mountaintop could be the most “country” song here with its distinctly “Rawhide” feel. Still, Mountaintop’s highlight comes in the utterly beautiful chorus.
Really, that’s what Casualties is all about, for me. There are moments of such incredible beauty littered throughout this album that it’s impossible to dismiss. Casualties is a very lengthy statement, and since the whole album relies on the atmospheric country idea, it can run together a bit. Personally, I liked it a lot more after hearing Devin’s commentary over it explaining the “story” of the album. Basically, it goes that an artist floating through space lands on some planet because he hears the voice of a woman (assumed to be Che). He’s almost possessed by her, and is desperate to find her. He later finds out that the voice is merely coming from an old radio, and the planet is made of the bones of other travelers taken in by the voice. He then finds a phonograph with a message from the voice: “Don’t give up. You can get out.” He then builds a bridge out of the bones and lived happily ever after. It’s convoluted and tough to see how the story flows from song-to-song, but that’s fairly typical of Devin’s concept albums.
Che really makes this album especially special. I enjoyed her work on Ki well enough, but she absolutely steals the spotlight on Casualties, much like Anneke on Addicted. Any time Devin mentions working with Anneke, I get excited based on the premise alone. After hearing how well Che sings on Casualties, I’m extremely stoked for future collaborations. Judging by how well Casualties has been received, I’m sure we’ll see more.
A little addendum that I couldn’t fit anywhere else: Bones is the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard, bar none. Seriously, that shit actually reduced me to tears. That’s never happened before, ever.
We’ll take about a week on Casualties, and then I’ll write up a little retrospective.
Topic: Re: Devin Townsend Discography v. 'Cause there is always time... (Read 52109 times)