WOODS OF YPRES – Gold And Grey

By Carl Begai

Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light is arguably one of the strongest works in Woods Of Ypres frontman / founder David Gold’s catalogue of music. It’s certainly his most accessible album. Sadly, it also marks David’s final journey.

Killed in a car accident mere months before the official release, David never had the opportunity to enjoy the praise or consider the criticism of what is the most adventurous album of his career. And despite the accolades heaped to the sky, the simple truth is that not all diehard Woods Of Ypres fans will like it. Grey Skies & Electric Light is loaded with the doom and gloom they’ve come to expect, but the way it’s presented is much different from the revered Woods 3 and 4 records. David’s clean voice dominates the new production over his death metal growls, the song arrangements don’t have the crushing density of its predecessors, and it’s loaded with brazen hooks big and small. Not what some expect of the blackened doom underground cornerstone of the genre. Current reactions indicate, however, that the majority of followers consider Woods 5 to be a masterpiece, and not merely as a show of respect for the fallen.

In an effort to showcase the new music, I spoke with Kittie vocalist / guitarist Morgan Lander, producer Siegfried Meier, and Woods Of Ypres guitarist Joel Violette, all of whom accompanied and worked with David during various stages of Grey Skies & Electric Light’s creation. Continue reading WOODS OF YPRES – Gold And Grey

Only In Canada, Eh! – December 2011: DANKO JONES, THE AGONIST, MANAHAN, And Under Grey Skies & Electric Light With WOODS OF YPRES

While you recover from those idiotic Christmas carols that did your head in the last time you were out shopping, some info on new quality Canadian noise guaranteed to give Santa a reason to skip your house this year…

Ultimate garage rocker Danko Jones, who just happens to have a huge metal-loving fanbase in Europe, has issued a new five-song EP entitled Mouth To Mouth as a digital-only release. Three of the tracks – ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Proletariat’, ‘The Kids Don’t Want To Rock’, ‘Guest List Blues’ – have surfaced over the last couple years as b-sides, while ‘She’s Too Pretty’ and ‘Mouth To Mouth’ are previously unreleased must-have songs if you’re a diehard fanboy/girl. An audio player featuring the latter two tracks is available at the bottom of this update.

In addition, Danko will hit the stage for a spoken word set at the Wacken Open Air 2012, which is set to take place August 2nd – 4th in Wacken, Germany. As of today the festival was officially sold out, so anyone who doesn’t have tickets will have to content with watching his performance during the online simulcast. Continue reading Only In Canada, Eh! – December 2011: DANKO JONES, THE AGONIST, MANAHAN, And Under Grey Skies & Electric Light With WOODS OF YPRES