New/Old Video Uploads Related To Woods Of Ypres!!

Just a heads up for anyone who reads this post on the day it went up or shortly thereafter, but this was largely written during the great Facebook outage of October 4th, 2021, so I apologize if any of the links or photos in it are slightly awry. I did intentionally choose topics that aren't reliant on Facebook to write about, in the event that Facebook remained down, and while it was back at the time this post was published, it was still running sluggishly for me. In any event, this post is all about a long lamented local metal band via some recent YouTube uploads, so let's get this one rolling!

As some readers may recall, ex-Woods of Ypres drummer Evan Madden and late frontman David Gold's mom Esther were both interviewed a little over a year ago by metal singer, comedian. and NewMusicNation VJ Robbie Stevenson for his YouTube series Metal Health, with topics centering heavily on Woods of Ypres in both, as tinged with discussion on mental health, which Robbie is open about dealing with personally. If you liked those, then let's make it a trilogy, as Robbie interviewed Woods of Ypres' final lead guitarist Joel Violette for a 44 minute episode of Metal Health last week! Woods fans will recognize Joel from his 2010-2011 stint with the band, including appearing on the "Home" single, the Juno-winning "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", and the "I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery" music video, while also playing in both Woods' final local concert and 2012's Ypres Metal Fest.

Since the "Woods V" release, Joel has focused on his New Brunswick-based folk/black metal band Thrawsunblat, with him on lead vocals & guitar alongside the surviving members of Woods' never-debuted final lineup. No one in Thrawsunblat is from the Soo (let alone Ontario), so we don't cover them on the site day to day, but if you like Woods of Ypres, you will like Thrawsunblat for their doomy black metal sound and nature influences, and Joel is carrying their musical torch very well. Likewise, Robbie is a good candidate to interview anyone related to Woods of Ypres, as you can tell by his shirt, his albums, even the name of his cat! After opening with discussion of patches and the Metal Health set, Robbie asks Joel about Thrawsunblat's upcoming EPs, how he adapted during the early stages of the pandemic, how Joel connected with David musically & ultimately joined Woods of Ypres, ...

...his first tour with the band, Thrawsunblat's vinyl releases & their sole live concert, and Joel's day job outside of music, but after Robbie runs through Woods of Ypres' history in 2011, they kinda wrap things up and just talk about whatever for the last 10 minutes or so. Sault Ste. Marie does come up when Joel talks about working with Miguel Gauthier at Stereo Soul Studios, plus touring through Northern Ontario, including their ordeal over a broken windshield travelling from the Soo. It's also worth noting that Robbie said that he was planning to do a four part mini-series on David Gold's life and legacy for NewMusicNation (details are about halfway through the video), which would definitely be interesting to see! This was a likable interview, and Robbie is more casual & in the element, but this was almost to it's detriment as it felt like there was a lot of stuff Joel could have talked about if only he was asked.

I also was somewhat out of the loop as to Robbie's evasive references to Woods' old label Earache Records (are their people liable to complain if they're openly criticized?) Still, a fun watch featuring two guys who are clearly easy talkers about anything that comes to mind, complete with lots of jokes from Robbie, so give it a watch below!

We'll close today with a new-ish upload of 21+ minutes of Woods of Ypres at the inaugural Northern Lights Festival at Club Rockit in Toronto back in June 2003! If this sounds familiar, it's because David posted all of this to his YouTube channel in 2007 in three different uploads, but YouTube user HairpieceForDogs combined it all into one upload in August & stretched it to wide-screen. The Northern Lights Festival was (according to David) "the 1st ever black metal festival in North America", and it featured a few other recognizable names, including Lansing veterans Summon (who later featured Sault Michigan native Mikey Bishop on drums), Krankenhaus Records signees Vanquished, and "Heart of Gold" tribute album performers Eclipse Eternal, among others. That said, I am not 100% certain on the Woods of Ypres lineup here, but David was still just their drummer.

Woods had a lot of membership turnover in their Windsor era, but this is late in Robin Cross' tenure as lead vocalist. The multi-camera footage features Woods playing their "Against The Seasons" cuts "The Shams of Optimism", "Crossing The 45th Parallel", "A Meeting Place & Time", and "Awaiting The Inevitable". Between the VHS camcorder quality (remember, 2003) and the unnecessarily stretched aspect ratio for the re-upload, this isn't a pristine way to witness Woods of Ypres, but live videos are scarce from their black metal era, and it's a very interesting & convenient way to see them at this primordial stage with a very receptive crowd! Give it a watch below!

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

A New Local Band & Local Internet Radio Station, Plus A New Interview Video!!

Here's another news post to help keep things moving on the SMS while we have no concerts to preview, and here, we have a new interview featuring a familiar face, lots of details on a new internet radio station with a lot of local relevance, and leading off, here's some early details on a new band!

We have a new local band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are The Isolation Sessions, the new band from half of 2008-2012 hard rock band Half Past's final full lineup! If you follow the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, this is the new acoustic project that their ex-bassist Arthur Lacasse was posting about band member searches for, and he has returned to the guitar in this group. Joining him in The Isolation Sessions is singer Jordan Rains, who fronted Half Past's final gigs in mid-late 2011, and it's great to see the guys in an active project together after 9 years! Currently, Art & Jordan are still looking for a bassist and cajon-playing percussionist to complete their lineup, so message them above for details on that front. On their new Facebook page, they acknowledge that they launched this new band in a hard time, but despite the ongoing pandemic and self-isolation, "that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to make things better for ourselves, or each other."

The Isolation Sessions' cover range fits in the Half Past mold, albeit unplugged, with Alice In Chains, Default, Seether, and Three Days Grace cited as bands they're tackling. In their first video postings, you can hear them cover Staind's "Epiphany" and as embedded below, you can see Jordan & Arthur covering Seether's "Plastic Man". These are spare but affecting renditions that suit Jordan's vocal style nicely, and it'll be interesting to see The Isolation Sessions on stage when they (and everyone else) is able, but give their first video a look below, and read more above!



Next up, this is admittedly overdue to hit the site, but a new internet radio station has launched in Sault Ontario with a decidedly local focus! After months of teasers, local promoter Adrian Vilaca debuted The Borderline Radio on February 29th as an all-local station that is devoted to Sault Ste. Marie-area artists and natives in their rotation, though you may hear touring acts who have/will play here as well. Following Energy Rock Radio's move to B.C., Audiofumes going inactive, and VM Radio's quiet dissolution in early 2017, there is a theoretical opening for a locally based radio outlet that regularly plays local musicians! Unlike VM Radio, The Borderline is a single station with no genre focus, though heavier and punk acts are definitely among the rotation. Commercials are limited, streaming is free, and the exposure possibilities are definitely strong if your music is played. Another difference from VM Radio is that The Borderline does have scheduled programming with local hosts.

Among the shows are Mystical Visions & Cosmic Vibrations, where Telephone & Address frontman Christopher Shoust explores local musicians of decades past, while Smart As Trees (solidly relevant Hip reference) features Adrian himself interviewing notable local musicians. Such familiar artists as Brian Tremblay and DJ Seith also host programming, among others, and some shows explore non-musical topics of local relevance as well. A regularly updated schedule of upcoming programming can be found on the Mike's Lunch Music Facebook group, ran by Borderline staffer Mike Severin, who is recommended to contact if you or your band want to submit music for the rotation. The Borderline is still relatively new, but their website is cleanly designed and the streaming player works flawlessly! It'd be nice to see this listed on TuneIn Radio or with it's own mobile application, but maybe it will get wider exposure beyond their website in time.

In terms of the playlist, metal and punk songs are not the majority (The Billy Bastards had recently played as of this writing), but I concede that it'd be very jarring to have a death metal band between folk and indie rock musicians, especially if The Borderline stays as one station in the long term. Nothing is finitely stated, but I can see metal (in particular) being reserved for late night or for a future specialized program. I'm curious to see where The Borderline goes from here, and definitely check it out at the above links, or contact them above to submit music or to inquire about a role!

Finally for today, here's a new video that, while not locally produced, has a definite relevance for local readers, as it's an interview with ex-Woods of Ypres guitarist Joel Violette! Of course, he played on "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" and the "Home" vinyl single, and frontman David Gold also played in Joel's New Brunswick-based black metal project Thrawsunblat, who have continued on following David's passing in December 2011, even adding late-era Woods members Brendan Hayter & Rae Amitay to their lineup the following year. No one in Thrawsunblat is from the Soo, hence why we don't cover them day to day, but they have released three studio albums, three EPs, and a live album since 2012, with "Woods V" producer Siegfried Meier usually at the controls, so Joel has truly picked up where Woods of Ypres left off in more ways than one. The interview in question is planned for inclusion in an upcoming Maritime Metal documentary, so what should you look for here?

Shot in a Fredericton park, the video features Joel talking about Woods of Ypres' influence on him before joining the band, Thrawsunblat's first ever show just this year, how he and David hooked up as musicians, his tenure in Woods of Ypres (the Soo does come up), David's death, and their Juno Award win, before Joel sings Thrawsunblat's song "Maritime Shores" a capella in the park. In this form, the east coast folk aspect is very apparent, and if you like especially the early black metal era of Woods, Thrawsunblat are required listening even moreso, and Joel is a very capable lead singer for clean & harsh vocals alike. Check out the interview below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (X-Mess 2), A New Interview, And Much More!!

Before we get to this post, here's another apology for a missed Mourning Wood concert, as they plugged Reggie's West shows for Friday night & last night on their Facebook page, but they didn't confirm a day for the shows in the first post, and we had no time plug the latter on here once we heard about it. Our sincere apologies, but don't miss them TODAY at Toystock! Now, here's one more post before we head to Toystock (and take care of concert reviews from the weekend), including assorted updates, new videos, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

Local concert promoter J.D. Pearce will host a second annual X-Mess acoustic punk concert on Saturday, December 20th at The Algonquin Pub! Some of you guys may remember that this event originated at the LopLops Lounge last year (no word on why it moved this year), but like then, there will be a number of unplugged punk-leaning acts playing for the Christmas season, and after last year's positive reception, it's no surprise that we're getting a second go-round! Two performers are currently confirmed for X-Mess 2, including Northwest guitarist "Evil" Greg Callaghan (who played last year) and a presumably one-off band named Sleigher (formerly Mistlechode), whose lineup will be comprised of yet-identified Jack Spades members. Could they bear similarities to drummer Johnny Belanger's recent acoustic sets, just an unplugged Jack Spades set with seasonal music, or something else entirely? Find out on December 20th!

At least one more act is to be confirmed, but for reference, the artists last year included Greg, The Danger Cats, Bankshot alum Lucas Schmiedendorf (as "Dr. Sal Velinus"), and a one off band named The Debts featuring Jay Case, Jake Rendell, and Ryan Seabrook. This show has a 10:00 PM start time on the 20th, there's a $5 cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend, though no word yet on if there will be a recommendation to wear ugly Christmas sweaters again. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more info on this intriguing second X-Mess!

Next up, here's a neat new interview with former Woods of Ypres guitarist Joel Violette which features some insights and remarks on his run as the local blackened doom metal band's final lead guitarist! Conducted by phone with the YouTube interview series Behind The Screams (which focuses on metal singers), the interview largely focuses on Joel's current black metal band Thrawsunblat (who feature all surviving members of Woods of Ypres' last lineup), but there are three chunks of the 54 minute interview that Woods fans will be especially interested in! Around 10 minutes into the interview, Joel discusses the songwriting process & his contributions to their last CD "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" and the band's shift to a Type O Negative-inspired sound, wherein he also noted that he and late frontman David Gold planned to have most of the album ready for live concerts (with "Lightning & Snow" planned as a set opener), but the band obviously never got to that point before David's passing.

About 31 minutes in, Joel indicated that when Thrawsunblat begin playing live (which is an eventual goal), they'll likely play at least one Woods of Ypres song in their set, and he even demoed a black metal version of Woods' doom ballad "Finality" on air to show how it might sound. Lastly, at around 46 minutes in, he addressed when he began listening to Woods and the impact and recognition that followed their signing with Earache Records in 2010. Great interview overall, and it's nice to see Joel open up about Thrawsunblat too and the writing and processes for their albums and next material, so check it out below!

Also today, Theatre of Night keyboardist Craig Harrison has uploaded a pair of new videos onto the band's YouTube channel over the past few days! One video takes fans behind the scenes to the writing process for the Sault Michigan classical metal band, basically showing Craig playing a short solo composition on the keyboard which is presumably for a Theatre of Night original. Well done, though obviously not what the full song would sound like, so give it a look above! Embedded below though is a cover of Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses" that Craig posted on the band's channel, and it might be of extra note to fans of his old '80s metal cover band Dust 'N Bones! Featuring vocals and keyboard only, it's a well done version of this hair metal ballad with strong vocals (though no word on why it's in black & white) so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night!



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

• Local musician Chris Raginskis is once again looking to start a band with him on vocals and/or rhythm guitar. He's focusing on Volbeat, Skillet, and some punk for preferred genres. It'd be nice to see Chris finally get a band going, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on November 20th!
• Last week, local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements revealed on their Facebook page that they'll be taking a break from concerts so they can write some original songs. That should be cool, and well be sure to welcome them back to the stage when the time is right!
• Newer local grunge/punk duo The Red & Black uploaded a new song to their Bandcamp page last week entitled "Not The Only One"! It's a short and somewhat sludgy original, but it's not yet clear if they plan to include it on their announced debut CD. Check it out at the above links though, and stay tuned fo more!

That's all for now, but I'll see you guys TODAY at Toystock, and remember, our Bear Hunters CD release show review is coming! Thanks everyone!

Annex Theory Lineup Change, New Videos, And More!!

On this extremely snowy Tuesday, why not stay in with a new news post? Today, we have new videos from recent Kewadin Casino events (one you'd expect, and one you wouldn't), along with a few assorted shorter stories from recent days, but first, here's a big update relating to an upcoming metal show!

There's been a big change to the lineup of this Thursday's metal concert at The Roosevelt Hotel, as headlining Winnipeg progressive death metal band Annex Theory have been forced out of the show due to weather-related road closures, which have shut down the highways where they currently are (my source is their Facebook page.) This is extremely disappointing, especially for local metalheads who enjoyed Annex Theory's show here in 2011, but hopefully we'll see them back in the area at some point soon! Never fear though, as a replacement band has already been found, that being the original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage! As confirmed in comment replies on the Facebook event page, this will be Sykotyk Rampage's first live concert appearance of 2013 & their first show at The Rosie in over 6 months, and with their addition, they'll now take the middle slot on Thursday, likely making The Bear Hunters the new headliners at the concert.

It's great to see Sykotyk Rampage back in the new year, and while they are a stylistic change from The Bear Hunters & Shit Liver, they should entertain with their varied improvised hard/alternative rock originals! Plus, if guitarist Dirk Becker's doing sound already, that'd make the choice even more fitting! Stay tuned to the SMS tomorrow or Thursday for more on this show when we preview the weekend's metal & hard rock shows!

Next up, we finally have a video from a recent Dreammaker's Theater hard rock concert, as this video of the Steve Priest version of Sweet at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino is now online! Uploaded by YouTube user yoopergraywolf43 on Friday, this is of the April Wine openers playing their song "Love Is Like Oxygen", and it's a decent video! The filmer had a good angle of the band, though the quality is very mixed, with cell phone camera dimensions and staticy audio, but at least the filmed song isn't overly heavy (if yoopergraywolf43 had filmed "Ballroom Blitz", I imagine it wouldn't have came out as well.) This version of Sweet sounds good though, and it's great to finally see any videos from the April Wine concert, so check out this new video below, and hopefully someone has more waiting to be posted!



Also in the realm of new Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino videos is something a little different. On Saturday, this video was uploaded to YouTube by Grand Rapids live entertainment act Piano Party, who specialize in solo and dueling piano concerts at corporate and private events. Such appearances make the audience the stars of the show, with almost entirely audience-requested setlists and crowd participation combined with humour and widely varying songs, and it all definitely sounds like a fun time, but where's the direct metal connection? Piano Party performers Charlie Bauman and Nick Ayoub were recently booked for an event of some kind at the Soo Kewadin, and they were filmed during their performance of the Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody", which is very well done for an impromptu duo version! Great singing, and piano work, though some parts of the song definitely work a lot better than others (i.e. the opera part suffers, despite solid audience call & response.) Different, but fun in it's own way, so check out Piano Party's local Queen rendition below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• I've deleted Sault Ontario metal project Meatplow from our inactive Sault Ontario band links. One of the more recent local projects from ex-Amethyst drummer Phil Temporao, they were active from 2009-2011, but with the deletions of their videos and almost all online pages, there's very little surviving online at present to document them. Hopefully Phil revisits the project down the road, or at least re-posts their videos, as their industrial tinged sound was a neat addition to the scene!
• A new instrumental demo song has been posted onto Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night's Reverbnation page! Entitled "Dreams of Winter Symphony", it's a slower and more emotional sounding track compared to some of their more recent output, but it's very well performed and still has an epic feel, so check the link above to hear it!
• An interview from last fall with ex-Woods of Ypres guitarist Joel Violette for Thunder Bay college radio station LU Radio's Iron Maple radio show was just posted online this month, so click here to give it a listen! It's largely about his New Brunswick black metal band Thrawsunblat & their upcoming 2nd album, but Joel does briefly address the reception to "Woods V" and the David Gold tribute shows last spring, and it's a solid interview overall, if patchy for audio quality!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more as the week rolls along, plus this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison), Woods Of Ypres Updates & Reviews, And Much More!!

In what will probably be our last news post of May 2012, we've stacked the deck with plenty of stories, including this week's classic video, plenty of Woods of Ypres news (including a new interview & some new CD reviews), and even more, but first, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, so here's what you need to know! (And make sure to check out our weekend concert preview post, featuring some recently announced dates, in the post below this one!)

Fresh off of the announcement of Caveman Morrison's late 2010 lineup's reunion this weekend at The Rosie, frontman Tym Morrison has also confirmed his next solo concert dates, which will come on June 15th & 16th at The Service Grill! These come four weeks after his solo acoustic set returned with his new guitar, and like his shows at the Korah Road restaurant last weekend, these will both include two sets of four hours in length on both the Friday & Saturday gigs, so there's plenty of time to catch Tym's entertaining metal & hard rock covers live in two weeks! Both of these shows will likely have no cover charge or age limit (knowing the restaurant setting), and the sets each night should begin at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM with a one hour break at around 7:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! These should make for a solid weekend of unplugged covers from Tym Morrison, so if you're up for lots of great music at one of his favourite venues, keep these shows in mind next month!

Next up, here's a brand new audio interview with Woods of Ypres' guitarist Joel Violette! Though it was posted on May 12th by interviewer Matt Longo on the website Mind Over Metal (who interviewed late frontman David Gold as well for that site last year), the interview actually took place before the David Gold tribute shows in April, and lasts a little over 40 minutes in length, as bookended by "Woods V" tracks. It's much longer than Matt's interview with David, and in it, he and Joel discuss "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", Joel & David's roles on the album, how Joel joined Woods of Ypres, his work in Thrawsunblat, David's changing looks & world views, the band's lyrics, the posthumous praise of "Woods V", the new album's sounds, the circumstances & rumours surrounding David Gold's death (including Joel's belief that the lyrics on some songs weren't foreshadowing suicide), why Earache Records released the free promo album in the way it did, the planned Woods of Ypres European tour this year & the then-upcoming tribute shows, and when exactly did "W5" come out, among other topics! In terms of new Woods of Ypres topics relating to their future, Joel confirmed that there would be no new material (though "Woods VI" would have been summer-themed), and he reiterated that the only possible posthumous release he can see would be a piano-based album of re-recorded material.

This is a great interview that touches on a lot of topic and subjects relating to recent Woods of Ypres history, though the audio quality early in the interview on Joel's end isn't great. I still believe that an album of demos, outtakes, and unreleased material (i.e. the full "Woods 4.5" material) would be great, but who knows what the future holds. Click here or check the above links to hear the full interview, which starts about 1:44 into the audio file, and hopefully we hear some more exciting news from the Woods of Ypres archives in the future!

While we're on the subject, here's even more recent reviews of Woods of Ypres' last recorded album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! Last week, Brian Giffin from the metal webzine Loud gave"W5" a 98% rating, calling it "a stark, disturbing, beautiful album", and highly praising the lyrical content and it's philosophical nature, only criticizing "Career Suicide (Is Not Real Suicide)" as a weak point. Solid and well written review, so check it out at this location! In another recent review, Pete Woods from the Metal Team U.K. Metal 'Zine gave "Woods V" an positive assessment, and though he noted it's tough to review and you need to be in the right mood and without distraction to fully appreciate it, he called it a "very special album" and noted it's impact and beauty numerous times. Another very nice review with a lot of honesty as to it's feelings and themes, so click here to check it out! Finally, Ellis Woolley from the Danish website RockFreaks.net gave "Woods V" a 7.5/10 in a March review, and while he praised the album for it's unique sound and accessibility as a doom record, he docked points for the production, which he felt smoothed over rougher and heavier parts of the CD. I'll have to go back and hear it to see if he's right, but this is another good & honest review, so check it out at this link, and stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews next month!

Also, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band or venue name:

• If you're curious to see the demolition of local concert venue/Sault College campus bar The Outback, which took place over the past week, then check out this time lapse webcam video courtesy of local musician Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel! It's sad to see The Outback go, but hopefully the new health & wellness center that replaces it will be a success, and fingers crossed that the college hosts concerts somewhere on campus in the future!
  
• I'm probably badly overdue to mention this on here, but I've replaced our link for The Roosevelt Hotel on the site, as it now links to their Facebook page rather than their older Reverbnation page. Small change, but I thought I'd make sure you guys knew about it!
  
• Local death metal band Social Suicide (featuring Bring The Misery & Bear Hunters alumni) are reportedly planning to play a "small show" of some type next month, followed by plans to play outdoor gigs this summer (potentially including the Bellevue Park Bandshell.) It's been too long since they launched, and I'm very curious to hear them live, so hopefully this all pans out! My source is their Facebook page.

And finally, here's this week's classic video! With the Roosevelt Hotel metal nights returning after an over two month break tomorrow, it made sense to feature a video from both that series and performers at tomorrow's show, so I focused on Bear Hunters guitarist Josh Stephney, though you can only hear him in this video, oddly enough. As you may remember, he fronted another local death metal band, Bring The Fallen, from 2009-2011, and one of their last concert videos is only now on YouTube, though it's from an angle you don't see much of from local bands. This video is of Bring The Fallen playing their original song "Defiling Despondence" at what I think was the 4th Rosie metal night on January 6th, and it was filmed on what looks like an iPhone camera from below drummer Travis St. Amour's kit, so while you hear the full song, you only really see Travis' left leg, left arm, and some of the drums. I assume the video was originally filmed at this angle to focus on his drumming, but it should have been positioned somewhere else, as it's not placed somewhere with a good view or lighting (though I did brighten the quality after posting this video on YouTube.) Even still, it's a nice later glimpse at Bring The Fallen on stage for it's decent audio quality, from before breakup rumours dominated the spring 2011 news on them!

This video was originally posted onto Facebook by Travis on January 27th of last year, and you can watch the original video at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=1686359892899. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit goes to the ex-members of Bring The Fallen for this video, I'm just trying to share this video with a wider audience like it deserves! Though the angle is odd, it's a solid performance from Bring The Fallen's later months, so check it out below, and go see Josh with his current band TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rosie!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our last post of the month (our review of the Insipid Brutality album) TOMORROW! It will be an auto-post due to some personal plans tomorrow, but keep an eye out for it tomorrow afternoon, and I'll see you guys at The Roosevelt Hotel tomorrow night as well for the latest Rosie metal night relaunch! Thanks everyone!

More New Videos & Fallout From The David Gold Memorial Concerts!!

As promised, we've got even more coverage and fallout from the David Gold memorial concerts this past weekend today, including new videos from both the Sault Ste. Marie and Torotno shows and a review from one of them, so read on below for all of the newest stuff from that very special weekend!

We'll start with new videos from the Ypres Metal Fest at The Canadian Nightclub from this past Saturday, starting with two from YouTube user LauraLeeLouise's channel! Laura was among the lucky few to attend both the local & Toronto tribute shows in Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold's memory, and of her five videos from the two concerts, a couple of them are from Saturday night in the Soo, starting with this one from Woods of Ypres' members Joel Violette & Rae Amitay's set! Though the video is incomplete, Laura shot the last song from the Woods' alumni's set that night, where Rae sung "A Meeting Place & Time" with Joel on the keyboard, and I'm extremely glad that someone filmed this song, even if only the first part! Rae completely surprised me this weekend with her singing ability, and she and Joel definitely turned this black metal epic into a touching ballad with success! Fitting how it ended their set locally too, seeing as it was the last song Woods of Ypres ever played at a local concert last March. I'm stil curious to hear the full performance again, but kudos to Laura for filming this, and check it out below!



The other video that Laura filmed at the Ypres Metal Fest on Saturday was from local metal standouts Garden of Bedlam's set, though not of their Woods of Ypres cover. Instead, she filmed a brief snippet of the end of their original song "Torment" from a side stage angle, and though the band are on form, Laura's camera handles heavier music worse than softer material, and it sounds very staticy. Good video quality though, so check out this new Garden of Bedlam video below, and stay tuned for more from her videos at the end of this post!



The rest of the new videos from the Ypres Metal Fest are from Gypsy Chief Goliath guitarist Sean Hamilton's YouTube channel, and he posted four videos from the Windsor stoner metal band's set this past Saturday! All are from a mounted camera behind the stage to the band's left, and only drummer Adam Saitti is well lit, but these are interesting videos from a unique angle! The videos are of Gypsy Chief Goliath's Woods of Ypres cover "Suicide Cargoload (Drag That Weight)" and their original songs "Elephant" (preceded by their set opening jam), "The Return", and "St. Coven's Tavern", so click the above links to check them out! These sound good and show off their sludgy metal skills well, though the audio quality isn't perfect, and a tinny washed out sound is sometimes noticeable. Still, these are solid new videos, so check them out at the above links, and because of it's length, check out Gypsy Chief Goliath playing "Elephant" (and jamming prior to it) in the Sault below!



The rest of the news today comes from the David Gold memorial concert/"Woods V" CD release show in Toronto last week, which has seen a lot of videos and photos lately! Laura Wiebe from Exclaim.ca reviewed the Toronto event for an article on Monday which you can read at this location. Concise but well written, and it echoes many of David's own messages, so give it a look at the above links! As for new videos, one comes from the same channel that posted the Woods alumni's "Shards of Love" cover in the Soo yesterday, and it's of Gypsy Chief Goliath playing "Suicide Cargoload" in Toronto, so click here to check it out! Slight audio distortion, but the video quality's nice! Also, YouTube user ImpaledBman got 8 videos from the Toronto show, featuring most of the bands, though Gypsy Chief Goliath, Hallows Die, Empyrean Plague, Sixes & Sevens, and the Bolero members aren't featured. Decent video quality, though there is some blur and shakiness issues. Still, these are solid for extra Toronto videos, so click here to see them! The other new Toronto videos come from the aforementioned Laura Lee Louise's YouTube channel, and they include nice quality videos from Gypsy Chief Goliath & Musk Ox's sets, and also, video of a very special guest's speech that night!

Though video of this is already online via the 77 minute video of all of the Toronto Woods of Ypres covers, I wanted to give it special emphasis now that it's online by itself, as this is David Gold's mom Esther's speech to fans at the Toronto tribute show last week! She got lots of time to talk about her love for her children and how her family is adjusting without David, along with giving thanks to Woods of Ypres supporters & David's friends and the organizers & bands at the memorial concert. She also took time to emphasize that we should all find true love and someone to love, connecting David's beliefs to that sentiment, and you can tell how genuine it was in Esther's voice. She also added hopes to make the Toronto memorial show an annual event (possibly outdoors next year around David's birthday), and you guys should definitely check this video out below! From what I know, Esther's sounds like a great mother and ambassador for her son's music, and kudos to her for her eloquent speech and thoughts! Check out the video below, and much more from Toronto at the above links!



That's all for now, but stay tuned either tonight or early tomorrow for weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!

David Gold/Woods Of Ypres Updates, News, Videos, And Reviews!!

It's time for another news post at the SMS, and today, the focus is 100% on local blackened doom metal band Woods of Ypres and their late frontman David Gold, as a lot of news from and about them has came my way in the past week! So for this post, we have some new "Woods V" CD reviews, an awesome new live video, and leading things off, all the details and revelations from a great (but long) new interview article about David and the band, so read on below, and check out this month's YouTube Channel Profile on Candle Hour's YouTube channel below this post!

A lengthy new article by Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles journalist Carl Begai about the late David Gold was posted online at his official website yesterday, and it's definitely worth a read! Entitled "WOODS OF YPRES - Gold And Grey", the article features some personal rememberances about David and the work he put into Woods Of Ypres' final recorded album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", but the bulk of this article features interview segments with three people very close to David during the "W5" recording sessions: Kittie frontwoman Morgan Lander, "Woods V" producer Siegfried Meier, and Woods of Ypres guitarist/studio bassist Joel Violette. In Morgan's third of the article, it's revealed that she hooked up David with Siegfried for production of "W5", and she discussed how she helped and remembered David during the recording sessions and songwriting for the album, her perceptions of the writing process when she was in the Soo for a week last summer, and some thoughts on the new album. Siegfried Meier's chunk of the article features info on how he met David, the interactions and recording process from Beach Road Studios in Goderich last August, his impressions of the material and lyrics, and the significance of the major storm that hit that area during the sessions.

Joel Violette's interview/discussion ends this article, where he mentions how he met David, their work together in Thrawsunblat and how he eventually joined Woods of Ypres, his inclusion in Woods of Ypres songwriting, the sound of "Woods V" and their interaction with Earache Records, and the band's future. That all alone is an awesome read, but there's also some scattered references to what lies ahead as well that I should emphasize. Morgan Lander confirmed that Kittie will cover Woods of Ypres material at both the Ypres Metal Fest in Sault Ontario on April 7th and the David Gold memorial concert/"W5" CD release show in Toronto on April 5th, and she thinks David would like the songs she picked to cover. Good to hear, and it's nice to see that she credited Dismembertainment's Rich Moreland in the article for booking the local memorial concert too! In terms of the memorial concerts, Joel confirmed that he and Woods of Ypres' final drummer Rae Amitay will perform an acoustic tribute set at the Soo show on April 7th, with both he & Rae handling vocals (no word on if bassist Brendan Hayter will be a part, or if a similar set will happen in Toronto.) He also noted that the yet-to-be-revealed "W5" song "Keeper of the Ledger" is the "densest & lushest" song on the album, and Earache had originally wanted it as a bonus track rather than an official credited song, though it's on the official release as it "encompasses everything Woods had done before" and brings it full circle.

Finally to note on this article, Joel addressed the band's future and his press release following David's death, including criticism about a statement he made implying that the band could continue without David. Joel confirmed that he just wanted to put hope into the situation rather than just giving an abrupt goodbye, and noted old plans for a "Woods VI", but he added that without David, you can't write a new Woods of Ypres album. What he did say was that an acoustic piano-based tribute album of Woods of Ypres re-workings could possibly come out, and it's the only thing Joel could see releasing posthumously under the Woods name. This is a great article that Carl compiled, and it has a lot of great remembrances and information about David, Woods of Ypres, and what lies ahead, though I hope (if nothing else) that a Woods of Ypres rarities album comes out as well in the future, as I know there's unreleased quality material from past sessions that'd be cool to see released to fans. Aside from that, everything seems well at hand to keep David's memory alive and reach "Woods V" to a wider audience, and hopefully the good vibes continue for a long time to come! Remember to check out Carl's full article at this location, but be warned, it's fairly lengthy, but worth a read!

Next up in Woods of Ypres news, remember in June when some awesome professionally filmed footage of the band playing "Falling Apart" in St. Paul, Minnesota was posted online? With it's multiple camera angles and professional quality, it was among the best quality videos I've ever seen of a local band. Now, Rusty Nuts Productions are giving us the entire concert from that night's show to watch on YouTube, as posted to their YouTube channel on Monday! Filmed at Station 4 in St. Paul on May 14th, this comprises of the band's entire 65 minute set from this concert on their final "Pain & Piss" tour, and in this video, you'll see Woods of Ypres play (in order) "The Sea of Immeasurable Loss", "The Sun Was In My Eyes (Part 1)", "By The Time You Read This (I Will Already Be Dead)", "Pining (For You)", "Wet Leather", "Suicide Cargoload (Drag That Weight)", "Halves & Quarters", "Falling Apart", and "Awaiting The Inevitable", followed by "A Meeting Place & Time" as an encore. The video even ends with credits to the filmers and most (if not all) former Woods of Ypres members, though oddly with a rap song as backing music. This is an exceptional live video from Woods of Ypres' last live run, and this may be the last full concert shot from David's lifetime, so it's definitely all the more interesting to check out! This is great stuff and very professionally filmed, so check out Woods of Ypres live in Minnesota below!



And finally for this all Woods/David post, here's a few more reviews of "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! On Monday, "Metal" Matt Longo from the website Mind Over Metal gave "W5" a perfect 5/5 despite the eeriness of some of the songs, praising songs like "Adora Vivos" for harkening back to earlier material, while calling the whole album a "melancholic manifesto of torture and tumult" and the band's finest record. Nice review with personal reflections, so give it a look at this location! On February 9th, Phil Kane from MetalTalk.net gave "Woods V" a favourable review, saying it's "pretty heavy shit" and praising it's mesages and atmosphere, while still calling it "strangely misunderstood" and not for fans of their early material. Good review, click here to give it a look! In January, Russian metal site Truemetalheadz gave this album a favourable review as well in a two part post, calling it the best album of their career that doesn't lose momentu, but warns that you have to be in a certain mood to enjoy it. Another solid review, though oddly formatted, so click here to read it! Finally, Encyclopaedia Metallum user TikrasTamsusNaktis gave "Woods V" an 80% rating, calling it excellent but different, and though he thought it was their most accessible album, it also had ominous and eerie lyrics relating to David's death. Well written review, so head to this link to check it out, and stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews to come!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews either tomorrow or Friday, and much more news to come as we slowly wrap up February! Thanks everyone!

Lots Of Woods Of Ypres News And Notes!!

Well guys, it's been a bit since we had a post dedicated to one band, but this post focuses around one very notable band in particular from Sault Ontario, that being blackened doom metal standouts Woods of Ypres. and though there's still sadness surrounding the untimely passing of David Gold last month, there's also some exciting news to get to concerning the band, so let's get right to most of the Woods of Ypres news I have for you guys!

Let's start with some more news about the future of Woods of Ypres. An official statement has been released by guitarist Joel Violette (who I'd assume is the band's de facto leader now) onto Earache Records' news blog on Friday, where he addressed his feelings towards David's passing and what lies ahead. He noted the additions of Brendan Hayter & Rae Amitay to their lineup in November and their European tour plans for this spring, but admitted that it's hard to say what's next for the band. Joel noted that he and David had a lot of projects planned for Woods of Ypres for the future, and that David would want them to be heard. Whether they'll eventually see the light of day isn't currently known, but according to Joel, the fact that David was the heart and essence of Woods of Ypres will always be kept in mind when factoring in future band activity. As of right now, Joel will focus on promoting and releasing "Woods V" on schedule, and Earache Records will be working closely with the Gold family going forward, but the future beyond "Woods V" remains to be seen. To read Joel's full statement on the future of Woods of Ypres, visit this location!

Personally, while I am a full proponent of putting out unreleased or demo material (like the remaining "Woods 4.5" material and their cover of Bathory's "Lake of Fire"), I don't know how much further Woods of Ypres should be taken after David's passing. Even if the go-ahead was there from the Gold family to continue the band in a live or studio setting, David would be very hard to replace effectively (he basically was Woods of Ypres), and it wouldn't seem right having no original members left if they did. Maybe I'm wrong though, but that's my two cents. As Woods of Ypres or not, I think Joel, Brendan, and Rae should stick together in some sort of band, as I think they have old and new music to share with the world, but who knows what lies ahead.

For now, it appears to be a "one day at a time" scenario, starting with the "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" release, which is still on schedule for a release on February 27th in accordance with the the wishes of David's family and bandmates. I think the release was pushed back from a late January release that David alluded to last year, but maybe that's to include some tribute material in the album booklet (I'm not sure.) If you want to ensure you get your copy of the new album, then good news, as Earache Records are now taking pre-orders for the CD and related packages! Click here to see the differing "Woods V" merchandise, which includes the album on CD for $12, on limited edition coloured vinyl for $20, and in varying packages which include items like t-shirts and posters. The vinyl release includes one record in differing colour choices with 10 tracks and a second 7'' vinyl with just "Alternate Ending" and a special mix of "Finality" by "Woods V" producer Siegfried Meier that is exclusive to the vinyl. Click the above links for pre-ordering details!

Also, since the album was leaked last month, the "Woods V" album cover by David D'Angelo has been edited to include the band's logo and a new title font, and the track listing has been altered as well according to the postings on Earache Records' store. Now, it only lists one of the "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)" tracks, while adding a new song named "Keeper of the Ledger". I don't know whether the title was just changed or this is is a new song, but if I hear more, I'll let you guys know!

Definitely consider pre-ordering "Woods V", as Earache Records is offering free shipping on the CD-only packages, and this will ensure that you get Woods of Ypres' last recorded studio album on-time when shipping starts next month. If nothing else, stay tuned for "Woods V" updates as they come in, and make sure to pick it up whenever you can! While we're on the subject of Woods of Ypres albums for sale, David's sister Marie has revealed a list of band merchandise that the family has stock of for sale. As posted on his personal Facebook page on Thursday, the family has copies of all Woods of Ypres CDs except "Woods 4: The Green Album" along with copies of the "Allure of the Earth" and "Home" vinyl singles and two types of band posters. If you're interested or want to inquire about pricing, e-mail Marie at mariechristinegold@hotmail.com, with PayPal transactions made through davidypresgold@gmail.com. Additional merchandise will be made available for purchase alongside the "Woods V" release and (this is news to me) a planned David Gold memorial concert! Details for it are not public yet, but if this goes down (hopefully locally), it should be a can't miss show, and if word comes out about it, I'll let you guys know for sure! For now, pick up your Woods of Ypres albums and merchandise (old and new) at the above links and help cover David's final expenses!

Finally for this all Woods/David post, some new concert videos from Woods of Ypres' last tour have been posted online! A YouTube user named Kyle (online handle "opeth027") posted 5 videos from Woods of Ypres' concert at The Magic Stick Lounge in Detroit on May 11th onto his YouTube channel on Friday. The videos are of Woods of Ypres playing their songs "By The Time You Read This (I Will Already Be Dead)", "Wet Leather", "Awaiting The Inevitable", "Falling Apart", and "Pining (For You)", so click each link to watch each video! Most are full, but "By The Time You Read This" has a late start. The audio quality on these videos is pretty good, as is the video quality, though the lighting doesn't seem to be up to par, especially when it comes to ex-drummer Evan Madden's visibility. Kudos to Kyle for finally uploading these videos, and seeing as this was the closest show to the Soo on their last tour, maybe it holds some extra significance? Either way, these are nice videos, so check them out at the above links, and here's Woods of Ypres playing their song "Pining (For You)" in Detroit from this past May!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our next Defunct Local Band Profile on Bring The Fallen tomorrow, followed by more news and updates this week! Thanks everyone!