Id Iota Updates & Tour Fallout, New Woods Of Ypres Video Finds, And More!!

The last full week of October is upon us, so let's kick things off in style with a stacked news post! Today, we have a new Sault Michigan cover video, and surprise archive videos from a dearly departed local metal band, and leading off, the latest videos and coverage of a fast-rising local hard rock act, so here's what you need to know!

Let's start by tackling some overdue recent notes and updates from local alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota, who recently wrapped up their Ontario tour run with ex-Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus! While in Ottawa earlier this month, Mike and Id Iota recorded an interview and some in-studio songs for Carleton University campus radio station CKCU FM 93.1's program Carleton Music Showcase, with the episode airing last week, but if you don't live in Ottawa, you're in luck, as the episode is online! The hour-long program is largely a music showcase (naturally) of various artists, notably leading off with fellow Sault Ste. Marie-native Renee Landry, while the local band portion begins about 5:57 in with Mike's debut pop rock solo single "Drowning Crown", followed by a brief interview by co-host Andrew Knox with both Mike and Id Iota frontman Christian Lemay. The interview proper features discussion about both acts' music and background, how both joined forces to tour, and more, and while it's brief, it's an amusing clip!

For reference sake, Christian did bring up The Pixo Control in the interview when referencing how he and Mike met, but nothing was elaborated on regarding their demise. Also, Mike's new solo band features Pixo Control holdover & Id Iota guitarist Dustin Goodall on bass alongside Mike's old Fever Tops bandmate Mitch Harris on drums, so followers of his whole music career will be right at home! The interview is followed by one more new Mike Mikus original (the laid back "Figures as Much") and two Id Iota songs ("Permanence In Pencil" & "California Wasted" from their debut EP "Maudlin Fair".) Solid performances overall, so definitely check out the full interview and episode at this link, and get ready, as the Mikus/Iota segment runs for 22 minutes! As for the tour proper, Id Iota had their cameras rolling for three video uploads on their Facebook page, all 1 minute or less in length, including this video in Toronto, and this heavier song from London.

Embedded below is the only song they titled in the descriptions, namely their newer track "Seas Envy Skies", with Christian manning some type of beeping effects board early during this portion of their set in Ottawa. I wish the filmer had shot longer videos, but kudos for what they did get, and remember, the technical last stop of their tour comes on November 26th at LopLops Lounge, so watch for them then! See and hear more above and in the coming days, and check out Id Iota in Ottawa below!

Next up, here's some surprising new video finds from defunct local blackened doom metal band Woods of Ypres! These were actually uploaded to the David Gold's Legacy Facebook page shortly after his passing in December 2011, but they absolutely flew under the radar here and there, with the 4 videos only having a combined 8 likes on Facebook as of this writing, and it took a recent YouTube re-posting by fan Hlynur Svartaduhter for us to have even found them. These four videos come from Woods of Ypres' set at the one-off Obey the Flame Festival in Montreal, Quebec on May 25th, 2003, back when they were a Windsor-based black metal outfit. Based on an Internet Archive copy of their website from May 2003, their lineup here includes eventual frontman David Gold on drums, alongside singer Robin Cross, guitarists Dustin Black & Colin Wysman, and bassist/clean vocalist Aaron Palmer (all but David left Woods of Ypres by year's end, when he relocated to Toronto and started over with new band members.)

Filmed on camcorder by an attendee, the videos feature Woods of Ypres playing "Intro: The Shams of Optimism", "Crossing the 45th Parallel", "The Sea of Immeasurable Loss", and (as embedded below) "A Meeting Place & Time". Notably comprising all of their 2002 debut EP "Against the Seasons" save for the closer "Awaiting the Inevitable", the audio's solid despite the videos' age and recording format, and while it's still unusual to see Woods of Ypres without David up front, these capture the future Juno winners in brutal form from their early Windsor days, and hopefully more turns up! Fans should definitely check them out above & below!



Finally, here's a new solo cover from Theatre of Night keyboardist Craig Harrison's YouTube channel, as posted last week! The Sault Michigan native again revisited his old Dust N' Bones side for this cover, where he sings "We All Die Young" by Steelheart, as later popularized in the 2001 movie Rock Star. Filmed on a Go-Pro or similar handi-cam, and with a sepia tone filter placed over top of the video, this isn't a bad rendition, and Craig can hit higher notes well, but some of his singing does sound a little strained. Check it out below, and see more from his various projects above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and features this week! Thanks everyone!