5 years ago, I did a review on this album to celebrate it’s half-decade existence on this planet. Just a couple days ago, it has now been a decade since it emerged from the mind of one of the most brilliant yet mad Canadians to have ever been born on this planet Earth. Epicloud is particularly important to me, as it was the album that finally got me to appreciate the work of Devin Townsend, but that is also ironic since it actually wasn’t the first record of his I would buy (That would be Ocean Machine). Regardless, Epicloud is an awe-inspiring release, and to celebrate it’s decade anniversary I feel that the “Looser” style of reviews was more than appropriate for this post!
So, before I go on to the actual review, I think it’s best to hear what Devin was thinking about at the time. As he says on 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.”
That’s a lot to take in, but it also reflects on what Epicloud is. It’s emotional, it’s bombastic, it’s heavy, and in an odd way.....almost opens your third-eye. Due to his bipolar nature, Devin’s music has always gone the odd & strange path, yet there’s also a kind of clarity in it all. A kind of clarity that, once you find it, makes everything in a song make sense. Epicloud also acts as an another evolutionary step in not only the then Devin Townsend Project, but in HevyDevy’s own musical career. There’s this vibrant energy & message of going out into the world & enjoying life, and to reflect this you have powerful choirs, instrumentation from across the board that lifts your spirit up high, and clear yet incredibly heavy & emotional singing from Devin himself. Even some of the demos from the 2nd CD still carry this (More on that later)! So, I can simply describe Epicloud as the living embodiment of what a dear friend of mine calls Soul Metal. The kind of Heavy Metal that’s just filled to the top with positive energy, given a big dollop of hope, sprinkled with love, and a big cherry of good feelings placed right on top! It’s the kind of Heavy Metal that sees you on the ground, picks you up, and says “It’s going to be okay”. It’s the kind of Heavy Metal that perfectly counterbalances all of the negativity of the world, and replaces it with something nice. Enough said!
As to what I think is the best track on Epicloud.....that’s difficult to say. I believe that virtually every song on this album is wonderful. From beginning to end, there isn’t a single note of music that sucks. Now, my favorite tracks would have to go to the duo of Lucky Animals & the closer Angel. It’s funny that I like Lucky Animals, as Devin himself said on a few occasions that he doesn’t like it (He said in Paris back in December of 2012 that it was the most irritating song he ever wrote). It’s definitely goofy for sure, but it’s got that vibrant positivity that’s so prevalent all over Epicloud, and even though it’s not a tune he likes, you can tell that HevyDevy is having fun on it. Over on the other side of the spectrum, we got the song that concludes this experience. Angel comes across like something directly from the Heavens: singing that sounds like it came from an angelic choir, instrumentation that’s loud & bombastic, and Devin is just pouring his heart out as the song plays. There is a bit of whiplash towards the end, as it turns into nice choir singing with soft piano playing. For a moment it does disrupt the flow from before, but that quickly goes away when you realize it works so well with everything else. As a way to close out Epicloud, this was a great way to do it.
Lucky Animals
Angel
But then there’s the 2nd CD. Titled Epiclouder, this is included in the bonus edition of Epicloud, and contains demos that didn’t make it onto the main album proper. For starters, there’s the Country stylings of Heatwave, and it’s just as goofy as Lucky Animals was. The lyrical content is incredibly silly, yet there’s a surprising amount of heart behind them, and the singing & instrumentation matches the overall feeling of the track. Right after it is the wonderful ode to love in the form of Love Tonight. Though the lyrics are perhaps more on the simplistic side for something of HevyDevy’s artistic caliber, and the instrumentation matches this as well, there’s still a heavy amount of positive emotion in the entire thing. There’s a constant rhythm that keeps everything together, and while it’s kinda same-y along the entire time, there’s still a nice quality to it.
Heatwave
Love Tonight
So, for as much praise I’ve been giving Epicloud, I do have to talk about it’s faults, and thankfully there are only 2 points in this regard. For starters, the demo tracks aren’t quite as awesome as I once thought. They aren’t awful by any means, but outside of Heatwave & Love Tonight, they aren’t the strongest Devin has ever made, and they are definitely worthy of being called Demos. Considering that there are 10 demo tracks over all, that’s a little bit of a problem.
The other point, and maybe the most major, is that Epicloud.....has been eclipsed by other records since it came out. Not in terms of quality, because this album is a titan in that regard! I mean in terms of epicness. Again, Epicloud is heavy & emotional, but the releases since 2012 increase this. Z2, Transcendance, and Empath from 3 years ago became increasingly heavier, more emotional, and trippier in some cases. Even the 2nd release in the Devolution Series (Galactic Quarantine) is a heavier & more emotional record than Epicloud. Like I said a moment ago, HevyDevy’s 2012 release is definitely a soul-stirring experience that’s filled with all sorts of emotions, but the output since then has overtaken this one.
At the end of the day, Epicloud is get a 10 out of 10. It still stands up after a decade on this Earth, and even though there are some albums afterward this record’s release that did amp up the “Epic” factor, This release still is a behemoth of emotion & badassery. After a decade of existence, it still is an important release to me, as it finally connected me to one of the most unique musicians that are out there.
So, that was my review for one of the best albums that Devin Townsend ever produced. Epicloud still stands as a testament to one of the most creative minds in all of music.....Heavy Metal or otherwise. With that said, October is not far away, and I’m taking a look at somebody that definitely fits the season. See you soon!
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If you’d like to listen to this album (And the bonus demo CD), then click on the link below:
Epicloud
Epiclouder
Also, that quote I used is the exact same one from my original review 5 years ago. If you’d like to read it, then click on the link below:
Album Review - Devin Townsend’s Epicloud (Original)
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