Two New Woods Of Ypres-Centric Interviews From Metal Health!!

Single topic post today for this long weekend, as we're discussing some new interviews relating to a very prominent and dearly missed local metal band that popped up online in the last week. Here's what you should know!

Woods of Ypres fans will want to take notice, as two important figures in the local black/doom metal band's history were recently interviewed on the YouTube interview series Metal Health! Hosted by musician & stand-up comedian Robbie Stevenson (who is based out of Southern Ontario), he is self-described as "a schizophrenic recovering drug addict", and you can expect discussions in that realm alongside music discussion in his interviews with metal musicians and fans. Huge kudos to friend and long-time reader Mike Boychuk for letting me know about Metal Health, and he was actually interviewed by Robbie in this episode, which does include references to the local scene (the AlgomA shirt should give that away!) The two newest episodes relate to Woods of Ypres, starting with last week's interview with ex-drummer Evan Madden, who was behind the kit in their Sault Ste. Marie-based doom era from 2008-2011.

Readers will recall Evan from Woods' last three local dates, "Woods IV: The Green Album", and the "You Were The Light" sessions that led to the "Home" single & the unreleased EP that will allegedly be part of Earache Records' "Woods V" reissue (source here). As for the Metal Health episode, Robbie instantly proves his fandom by showing off his physical copies of "Woods IV" and "Home", so we're in good hands in this regard. The interview starts with Robbie and a now bald Evan discussing how he joined Woods of Ypres in 2008, their Gates of Winter-infused sextet lineup at the time (Robbie saw that lineup live in Toronto), Evan's current music projects like Drones For Queens, a memorable story from touring with Woods, how he heard about & reacted to frontman David Gold's death in December 2011, and his favourite bands. The audio quality on Evan's camera is somewhat abrasive, but this is a good interview that keeps things light!

Robbie has good questions, and while he still feels somewhat new to interviewing, he does come across as honest and as a true fan. His asides about his own mental health issues and personal experiences add a genuine touch, even if they sometimes veer off topic. Give Evan's interview a watch at this link or above! The second interview is embedded below, and it is actually with David's mother Esther Gold (a.k.a. Mama Gold) who has been heavily active with Woods of Ypres' fan community since his passing, as any member of the band's fan club Facebook group will know, and who accepted Woods' Juno Award in 2013 on David's behalf (as seen here). After elaborating on his Woods fandom, Robbie starts by talking to Esther about what music David listened to, his early experiences discovering music, switching from sports to music, and learning the drums, his teaching aspirations and ESL teaching stint in South Korea (including his joining Necramyth there.)

Afterwards, Esther reflects on learning about David's death (I admire her composure and candor), and she acknowledged that Woods of Ypres were planning a European tour in 2012, followed by David planning to return to teaching overseas in Dubai, and even to record a Nick Cave-inspired solo album. That's followed by Robbie and Esther discussing "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" and it's musical and personal impact, especially with fans contacting her to say how much Woods of Ypres and their music has affected them, and how she has became a mother figure for many fans in the past decade. This interview had less finite questions, but that was a good call, as Robbie let Esther reminisce about her son and what he brought to the world, and it's extremely clear that she loves and misses David, and I'm sure she has many more great stories to tell about his life and music than one 28 minute interview could contain. Really good interview, so give it a watch below, and see much more from Metal Health above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!