I made a brief mention about this album earlier this month, but given that it’s turned 5 year old today, I couldn’t help but give this record some well deserved praise. The release that finally got me into the world of Devin Townsend, I’m still thoroughly enchanted by the music & how the mad Canadian can weave his oddness and wonder into everything. I’ve managed to get a small few people to like Devin Townsend, and 9 times out of 10, it’s usually because of something off of this release. With that said, let’s celebrate with a look at Devin Townsend’s 2012 hit, Epicloud. Let the review begin!
Background
Straight from Devin Townsend’s mouth (A.k.a. his website):
“Epicloud is what I believe the result of all of these albums are to this point. Truly, more pedestrian and less art than the others in many ways, it nonetheless flies in the face of expectation and I believe, (hopefully) that will end up defining it. I believe that yes, there will be some people that cry foul and think that this album is too simple, but in my mind, it’s past due to sacrifice some of that ‘expectation’ into the furnace of rock. I wrote this record for others, while writing for myself. In the face of negativity. In terms of my connection to all the previous records, Epicloud is an example of a sober mind on autopilot and being willing to accept what came from that. If it’s a little more simple that what came before, then honestly…so be it. Epicloud is a naked album. It has much less covering than some of the prior records, yet ironically is almost entirely hidden in other ways. It’s a ‘spiritual’ record in the sense that it has a gospel choir on it, (singing about love and beauty), but it is also absolutely unaffiliated with religion. It was not intended to even be a record in the beginning, (let alone part of the DTP), but while writing for the next Ziltoid record I realized that I needed a break from all the ‘thinking’. (It took me by surprise when it started appearing more than anyone). I have always wanted to make an accessible record, and perhaps the fear of doing so and being seen as ‘simple’ has been a bigger hang-up than I recognized. Epicloud is a pure statement for me in that sense. I love it and I didn’t second guess it. However…the story doesn’t end here: Underlining Epicloud is a sense that things may have been moving too quickly, that the quest for gains that propel the project to bigger and more elaborate things may be counterproductive (or at the very least, frightening). But at this point, time will tell, (and I honestly have a good feeling). In some ways, Epicloud mirrors ‘The New Black’. The ‘Empty Suit’ in the record I think is meant to imply that as immense and emotional as Epicloud is… me, as an artist , is actually hard to find on it. It’s a kind of distillation of all the elements of what I’ve done before in one place. The ‘Wall of sound’, the ‘Big echo-ing Lydian chords’ the ‘multitrack vocal harmonies’…all that stuff that if I continue to do, will be completely played-out. It was important to me to put it all in one place before that happens though, and wrap it around structures and songs that lend themselves to a sort of ‘size’. I studied pop songs, I tried ‘time tested’ chord formulas… all that. I tried to get big, current rock sounds. -Consciously trying to make a statement about excess that on one level may be a bit ironic, yet on another…was the only way to truly make honest, important personal statements about LOVE. It seems that in a ‘quest for silence’ I believe I’ve found a level of output, excess and entitlement that is absurdly loud. Epicloud is almost a deliberate reflection of it all in what I perceive is an ‘acceptable’ and totally excessive way. I am still figuring out the record, to be honest, but really… I love it and it really breaks my heart if I listen to it in the right frame of mind. Totally tears me up with a kind of punishing beauty. I have found it almost as intense in its aftermath as Alien was, yet in a completely opposite way.”
Basic Description
Sweeping, Epic, Mind-Altering.....Beautiful.
Up until this album, I didn’t have the best experience with Devin Townsend’s work. His time with Strapping Young Land gave me the impression that he was incredibly obnoxious, and what little I heard of his work outside SYL just came across as pretentious to me. With this album......something finally clicked. I’m not sure what it was, but upon finally listening to Epicloud, a connection was made. A connection to some of the most powerful music I’ve ever heard in my life, and considering how much I like Power Metal, that’s saying something. I have never heard metal songs that were able to capture pure joy, or any other positive emotion. Truly an incredible feat!
Best Track
Got to give it to Lucky Animals. Ironically, Devin himself said on a few occasions he’s not fond of the song, which is actually quite surprising. It’s got the same high quality as everything else on Epicloud, and despite it being a bit on the goofy side, it’s actually a really energetic track. The beat & rhythm are fun but intense, and Mr. Townsend has a great set of pipes as he sings. It might not be one of his favorites, but it’s definitely one of the fans’s favorites.
Lucky Animals
My second favorite song from Epicloud is a redo of sorts. Originally on Physicist from back in 2000, the 2012 version of Kingdom is a much heavier outing this time around, but at the same time almost comes across as gospel-like in certain parts. Even more at the same time, the pacing of Kingdom 2012 really isn’t all that different from it’s predecessor, and some of the beats weren’t changed either. The end result is a remix that’s true to the original track, while at the same time creating an identity all of it’s own. Pretty impressive if you ask me.
Kingdom
My final favorite tracks come from the bonus CD of the deluxe edition of Epicloud (Titled Epiclouder), and this was tough. I’ll talk about it a little more in the “Worst Track” portion of the review, but the songs on this second CD are impressive. Ultimately, I decided to go with the combo of Heatwave & Love Tonight. The former is a fun country track with plenty of twang & humor, and the later is a heartwarming metal love song. While lyrically it doesn’t really change, and the instrumentation & vocal work almost doesn’t change, something about the emotion within really makes it all work.
Heatwave
Love Tonight
Worst Track
If I had one complain, it would have to lie with the 2nd CD on Epiclouder. Not with the music itself, cause it’s fantastic! It has to lie with the fact that all of the songs on the 2nd cd are called “Demos”. Are you kidding me!? The high quality that was put onto the primary disk can be readily found CD number 2 as well! Each track has an incredible amount of quality put in, so to call it a demo almost seems disrespectful. That’s just me though.
Other
If you’re interested in listening to this album, click the link below:
Epicloud
Overall Impression & Rating
Epicloud is an album that could only come from the mind of Devin Townsend. Equal parts insane & insightful, it’s incredible how skilled the mad Canadian is at capturing so many emotions in his music. Even when his voice is high, it’s incredible at how shockingly clear Devin is, and even when the instrumentation gets nice & heavy, it never loses sight of it’s goals. There are no other words to describe Epicloud.....other than to go get it.
Epicloud gets a 10 out of 10. Highly recommended to fans of Progressive Metal, or just Metalheads in general.
So that was my look at Epicloud. A fantastic offering from Devin Townsend, it gave us a glimpse of what was to come in the 2010s, and it will probably continue to do so in the 2020s. This concludes my posts for September. See you all in October, when I’ll start cranking out some spooky goodies for you! Until then, stay epic!
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