It is a musical departure from any of Townsend's previous works, primarily because it is a concept album that features country-influenced songs with blues rock and ambient influences.

A number of guests performed on the album, including Morgen Ågren of Kaipa on drums, Kat Epple of Emerald Web on woodwinds, and Jørgen Munkeby of Shining on saxophone.

[2][3] The Casualties of Cool project was published officially and went into production in 2012, after Epicloud's release, although Townsend had been working on it since 2010.

[5] Later Townsend mentioned that Casualties of Cool features "music closest to his heart" at this point of his life,[6] referring the album to be "a special one",[7] "one of the most favorite things he's ever done"[8] and "really satisfying to do".

[11][12] In August 2013, Townsend stated Casualties of Cool was done and "heading to mastering",[13] but in early November 2013 he noted that the album was still being mixed.

[14] On November 19, 2013, Townsend posted that Casualties of Cool was completed, and next in line was mastering the album and ultimately compiling a bonus disc.

Most of the material was written with the songs on the main disc, such as "Fight," the original version of "Flight" with Townsend on lead vocals and a different ending.

He explains that each track is extended with new ambiance and instrumentals that allow the newly numbered sequence to mesh more fluidly.

The album was re-issued worldwide on January 15, 2016 containing an additional DVD with live footage from the 2014 concert at the Union Chapel in London.