other titles...
- Daddy
- Mountaintop
- Flight
- The Code
- Moon
- Pier (instrumental)
- Ether
- Hejda
- Forgive Me
- Broken
- Bones
- Deathscope
- The Field
- The Bridge
- Pure (instrumental)
Casualties Of Cool
Casualties Of Cool
insideout music
For Canadian metal vocalist Devin Townsend, the founder of Strapping Young Lad, ‘‘Casualties of Cool’’ is more than just the latest release of a prolific career to-date.
A project many years in the making, ‘Casualties of Cool’ has seen Townsend look at himself in order to go forward. Digging out a battered old Fender amp and telecaster, he revisited the rootsy country and North American folk music of his youth. However ‘Casualties of Cool’ uses these familiar troupes as leaping off points. It is a chance to switch off from our hyper-accelerated world, its relentless rush of 24/7 communication, and the competing voices that jostle for attention as they threaten to submerge our own. For Townsend, the themes of the record surround what he believes to be a bridge in his career; embracing the fear of leaving behind what people know of him. The record also features the luxuriant vocals of Che Aimee, who have draped themselves over a previous Townsend release – 2009’s Ki. Like Townsend, drummer Morgan Ågren is a country boy who’s found his career pinning him to the city. Having drummed for everyone from Frank Zappa to Meshuggah’s Fredrik Thordendal, the Swede found himself similarly keen for a respite from the relentless productivity that professional collaboration required. Townsend cast back into his past in asking flutist Kat Epple to feature on the record while ‘The Bridge’ features a 50-strong Swedish choir, who come together to provide the surging climax of the album.