Woods Of Ypres Tribute Album Updates & New Mike Haggith Album Uploads!!

We're back with another news post on this fine Saturday morning, but we only have two stories. Why? Because the first one has a lot to address and cover, I've given it some due space to cover what's new and notable, but we also have some new/old album uploads to share from a prolific local musician, so read on below for what you need to know!

The final track listing for the Woods of Ypres tribute album "A Heart of Gold: A Tribute to Woods of Ypres" has been revealed! It was posted onto the project's Facebook page & group on October 5th, and confirms that it will be a two disc set, though not in chronological release order so the songs flow better. The set will feature 19 Woods of Ypres covers from 19 talented acts, though four songs have been removed from the previous track listing that was available, including "Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground" by Unbowed, "The Northern Cold" by Deathmarch, and "You Were The Light" by Svarte Krake. Disappointing that those songs won't be on the album, especially "Your Ontario Town...", but hopefully we'll hear them in some form in the future, even if not on the tribute! The other removed track is local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters' cover of the second half of "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)", and while I have not heard anything on why their cover won't be on the album, I'll note that they've offered no real band updates since August. If I hear anything on what they're up to, I'll let you guys know!

Now, here's the final track listing in order (according to official Facebook postings), and I hope I have the bands correctly labelled and ordered from older postings (the newest track listing didn't include the bands), but if I'm wrong on anything, please let me know!

Disc 1

Catuvolcus - Thrill Of The Struggle

Raphael Weinroth-Browne (Musk Ox) - Adora Vivos

Earthen - Lightning & Snow

Canopy - Falling Apart

Panzerfaust - A Meeting Place & Time

Kuhrzarth - Finality

Anemic - The Sun Was In My Eyes (Part Doom)

Albieron - Retrosleep In The Morning Calm

Gypsy Chief Goliath - Suicide Cargoload (Drag That Weight)

Reliquis - Career Suicide (Is Not Real Suicide)

Disc 2

Novembers Doom - Wet Leather

Eclipse Eternal - Crossing The 45th Parallel

Amaranth - Allure Of The Earth

Pagan Ritual - Intro: The Shams Of Optimism

Joel Violette & Rae Amitay - Silver

Begotten - The Sea Of Immeasurable Loss

Empyrean Plague - Shedding The Deadwood

Justin Bender (Into Eternity) - Trillium: The Third Of Three Winters, 2004-2007

The Governor & Friends - Intro: The Looming Of Dust In The Dark

Of note for the tracklisting: 7 of the 19 contributing bands participated at the David Gold tribute concerts in April (all of which are doing a Woods song they covered at the events), while (at least) Raphael Weinroth-Browne, Kuhrzarth's Paul Kuhr, and Amaranth's Mark Howitt played at one or both while in other bands. The only Woods alumni on the album that I know of are Joel Violette & Rae Amitay, though Raphael guested on the band's last two albums. In terms of the song makeup, the tribute album will feature four songs each from "Woods I" & "Woods II", two songs from "Woods III", three from "Woods IV", five from "Woods V", and "Falling Apart" from their "Home" single/"Woods 4.5" sessions. The final 19 songs have all been sent for mastering with Dan Swano, and I'm hearing very positive things from album organizers on how it's turning out! It'd have been nice to have seen some local representation, and (on a personal note) some more "Woods III" tracks, but this is shaping up to be quite a package, and as further details on the final product and ordering comes out, I'll be sure to have it here, so stay tuned! David would be proud!

Finally for today, Haggith drummer (and local solo musician) Mike Haggith uploaded two more of his studio albums onto his YouTube channel a few days ago for fans to stream for free! Similarly to his recent free posting of his newest solo album "Neighbourhood Watch", he's posted two other albums (2009's "Hotel For Transients" & 2011's "Suspended Animation") in their entirety, with both featured in full as their own dedicated audio file. The former is one of his many releases before relocating to Sault Ontario in 2010 (so it's not overly familiar locally compared to his newer output), while the latter was Mike's most recent solo work before his latest album came out last week. It's great to see Mike post some more archive albums for free on YouTube, but of course, if you like what you hear, please buy these (and maybe other) albums through his Reverbnation store! I wonder if we'll see any more of Mike's prolific back catalog get a similar treatment? As it's less familiar, I've embedded "Hotel For Transients" below, so give it and the rest of his diverse (and often heavy) solo work a look below & at the above links!



That's probably all for today, but keep your eyes peeled for a new news post either tomorrow or Monday! Thanks everyone!