Woods Of Ypres Concert Audio, New Videos, And Much More!!

We're back with a new news post on this Friday afternoon, and it includes some new videos from some familiar faces, a few shorter updates, and leading off, a surprise archive concert audio recording from dearly missed local band. Here's what you should know!

A new audio recording has surfaced online from defunct local black/doom metal band Woods Of Ypres' 2010 tour! Quietly uploaded in July by YouTube user Christopher B, the 38 minute recording features Woods of Ypres' entire set at The Avalon Nightclub in Santa Clara, California on June 30th, 2010, which was their first ever show in the state, and was part of the band's last independent tour cycle before their false breakup, frontman David Gold's teaching stint in Kuwait, and their signing with Earache Records. If you're curious to see video from this show, YouTube user Ishadowseek posted a couple of videos from it at the time, but the quality on them is mixed. In order, you can hear David, Joel, Shane, and Evan play "The Shams Of Optimism", "Crossing The 45th Parallel", "A Meeting Place & Time", "Suicide Cargoload (Drag That Weight)", "Halves & Quarters", "The Sun Was In My Eyes (Part One)", and "Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground".

The set was shorter than normal due to a noise curfew, but you get your fill of doom-era Woods of Ypres while it lasts, though I was surprised that "Against The Seasons" got more representation than the then-new "Woods IV". The audio quality isn't pristine, but it holds up well despite being over a decade old, and it's really cool to hear some archival audio of theirs! Yes, the Soo comes up near the end. Give the whole set a listen below!

Next up, here's one more new playthrough video from local progressive metal duo Kraken Mara's YouTube channel! Despite updating the description of their 2017 playthrough video of their song "Stratus" to reflect their 2021 EP plans, that video (the one outside St. Mary's Paper) was taken down and replaced with a brand new playthrough video that was uploaded earlier today! The song is identical, but the video now features Brendan and Jake playing "Stratus" in various locations inside The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. Effectively done with nice visuals inside the museum and with the bushplanes, though I honestly wouldn't have had them sitting down in every shot, especially as these weren't at their studio. It's a shame to lose the original playthrough clip, but hopefully this is another positive sign towards Kraken Mara's album plans, so give it a watch below!

(Just as a correction from last time: Their song "Moon's Haunted" is not the same as "Miscreant", it was just moved off of their debut EP for a planned future release. Thanks to Brendan for the clarification!)

Also today, here's a new original song from Rising Tide/Inner City Surfers frontman Dustin Jones, courtesy of his label Tidal Records' YouTube channel on Saturday! Entitled "Ain't Dead Yet", this was acoustically recorded at Mission Control Studios, and it features on-screen lyrics as the song goes along, which do reference spirit and resilence during the new lockdown. Despite it's unplugged trappings, it definitely has a punk energy and pacing that would not be out of place in his bands, though I don't know if it will be appropriated as such. Fun song, so give it a watch below!

 

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or website name:

 

• As part of the annual Bandcamp Day on May 7th (where the music store website waives all processing fees for one day so that artists get 100% of proceeds from sales), a number of local musicians are banding together to donate their Bandcamp Day earnings to the Sault Area Hospital COVID-19 Emergency Fund. The Facebook event page lists local musicians who have signed on, including punk acts A Dire Setback and Slumshine, with more to be added. Wonderful and timely cause, kudos to Nicole and M.D. for the idea, and try and buy local through Bandcamp on May 7th to help out!
• This is a foregone conclusion at this point, but I have removed the rescheduled Buckcherry concert at Soo Blaster on May 11th from our concert listings due to extension of the current Ontario lockdown, which will now end on May 20th (subject to change). The Facebook event page has not been updated to reflect a cancellation or new postponement, but again, we'll still be locked down then. We'll keep you guys posted if this show is rescheduled again!
• Dealing Without/ex-Redundant bassist James White is looking to start a new local band that would cover acts like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool, Sublime, and "whatever you can throw at me". As per his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Wednesday, he wants "to start actually playing bass again", and to play songs he likes that aren't in Dealing Without's setlist. Given the lockdown, now may not be an ideal time to jam with new musicians, but if you're interested in working with James in a new project, message him at this link or above to get more details!
  

 

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