Music Radar recently caught up with Canadian music powerhouse Devin Townsend, who discussed crap guitars, dealing with the YouTube haters, and the simple joy of being out of tune. An excerpt from the interview is available below

First Guitar

Townsend: "The first acoustic guitar I owned was made by Sears, straight from the catalogue. It was an absolute, unadulterated piece of crap. When the neck broke it separated from the body but it was still connected by some kind of freak of nature, so I would pull on the headstock and make it act as a whammy bar. The first electric guitar I had was a Vantage Avenger. It was a hideous red, but very functional guitar. My dream guitar at that time was the one that was $50 more than I could afford and I wanted it because it was camouflage.

A few years later my Gear Acquisition Syndrome kicked in and I wanted a white Strat with two humbuckers, because I had seen KK Downing play something like that."

Biggest Weakness

Townsend: "My biggest weakness as a guitar player is that I am not truly connected to the instrument. I have viewed it as a tool and a means to an end from the very beginning. So when I see players like Jeff Beck, guys for whom the guitar is an extension of their personality, that is something that I don't have. For me my connection to the instrument is that it is like a pencil to me. That led to my biggest strength as a guitar player which is that my vision musically is singular enough that when I have an idea I can get it out."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

The latest  episode of Dunlop Sessions features Devin Townsend and Ché Aimee Dorval performing some choice tracks from their Casualties Of Cool project and talking about their inspirations to create, dealing with personal darkness and doing things differently despite label and management pressures.

The running order is as follows:
Interview #1
"Mountaintop"
"Bones"
Interview #2 
"Forgive Me"

Following its original release in 2014, Devin Townsend's debut as Casualties Of Cool saw a full worldwide release on the January 15th, 2016 with the two CDs joined by a brand new bonus live DVD featuring a full set filmed at London's beautiful Union Chapel during the short run of shows that took place around the albums launch.

Casualties Of Cool recently launched a video taken from the DVD; you can watch the live version of “Daddy” below.

Devin had this to say: "Casualties Of Cool is a project that means a great deal to me, and also one that we have only had the chance to play live with three (3) times (!). This DVD we made was the second show we ever played and the first with Morgan on drums, so there's an element of 'warts and all' involved that I take into consideration. However, Casualties is very refreshing for me. No click tracks, no backing tracks, no talking and a hefty dose of live improvisation make this a situation that I believe with some exposure could hold an absolute ton of potential. The idea is to take a typical folky aesthetic and wrap it in a moody, kind of haunted David Lynch type aura. It's great fun and Che is brilliant.

I have always said that having played metal and then trying to do something different is akin to having had done porn and then trying to be a 'legitimate' actor. I love metal and will always play it, but damn... I think given half a chance Casualties Of Cool could be really awesome as a live entity. So anyways, I'm not holding my breath but we took some time and 3 cameras to our second gig ever at the Union Chapel last year in London, and here is a song. I hope some of you enjoy it.” :)

The expanded album tracklisting is as follows:

CD 1
"Daddy"
"Mountaintop"
"Flight"
"The Code"
"Moon"
"Pier" (Instrumental)
"Ether"
"Hejda"
"Forgive Me"
"Broken"
"Bones"
"Deathscope"
"The Field"
"The Bridge"
"Pure" (intrumental)

CD 2 - Ghost B-Sides
"Ghost Wives"
"Drained"
"Dig for Gold"
"Dead Eyes"
"Drench"
"Mend" (instrumental)
"Where You’ve Been"
"Gone is Gone"
"Fight"
"Glass World"
"Aquarius"
"Perspective"
"Moonshine"

DVD - Live At Union Chapel, London
"Daddy"
"The Code"
"Mountaintop"
"Flight"
"Ether"
"Moon / Pier"
"Bones"
"Forgive Me"
"Jam"
"The Field"
"Deathscope"
"Gone Is Gone"
"The Bridge"

Bonus features:
Interview
"Mountaintop" (video)
"Flight" (video)

For Townsend, Casualties Of Cool is an escape - from over 20 years of relentless productivity, of the pre-conceptions of him that come with being one of the biggest names in his sphere. A project over four years in the making, largely at night when home from turning the dial up for the day job in the studio, 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. It provides the backbone of the album that's eventually come to fruition, opening with “Daddy’s” shuffling percussion and bluesy finger-picked motif, resurfacing during “The Code” and it’s sultry twilight atmospherics and “Forgive Me” with it’s hushed ambience. It's a subtly applied but vital part of this record, providing the bones for the flesh to hang from.

"My childhood was full of that type of music," says Townsend. "At Christmas my grandfather would insist on the whole family sitting around singing uncomfortably along to Johnny Cash songs and Irish stuff like the Clancy Brothers. It was a big part of my childhood, it's not like I'm putting on a new hat here."  

The luxuriant vocals of Ché Aimee Dorval have draped themselves over a previous Townsend release - 2009's Ki - and so it was perhaps no surprise that the two would find their way back to each other. Recorded by Aimee herself on her laptop, her voice is as important as the shuffling folk that permeates the record, in acting as a glue for the whole thing - her wistful tones hold together constructs so free-form at times they might disintegrate.

Check out the video for the track “Mountaintop”:

Directed by Jessica Cope (Steven Wilson, Storm Corrosion), Devin had the following to say about it: “Uere is the video for “Mountaintop”, from Casualties Of Cool. I have been a fan of Jessica Copes' work for a while now, and the opportunity to work with her rose for this album and we are thrilled with the result.  Although the concept of the video is loosely based on the concept of the record, we found it worked better as a standalone piece. Ché Aimee Dorval and I therefore decided not to have the characters in the video portray us personally. I hope you enjoy this, I'm so happy to have an opportunity to work with brilliant artists in the career. I'm very proud of this album and video!"

For Townsend, the themes of the record surround what he believes to be a bridge in his career; an acceptance of the artist he is today and embracing the fear of leaving behind what people know of him.