Writing is a hit or miss thing for me. Occasionally I post something I think is kind of interesting or worth a read. But I know where my skills are, which is why my podcasts are the main focus around here. Everything else is somewhat secondary. Because of this I’ve tried to stay away from doing things like album reviews. But I have an exception to make today.

Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light

Late December I downloaded a promo copy of the new Woods of Ypres album Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light. Normally I would have been pretty excited about that. But I wasn’t excited at all. David Gold, Woods of Ypres’ vocalist, guitarist and driving force had been killed in an accident near Barrie Ontario. After hearing the news of David’s death, the band’s label tweeted a link to the promo so those who loved his music could hear his now final album.

Since downloading the album, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’ve spent literally days listening to it. Every time I think that I may have finally hit my limit and am ready to give it a rest, I always find myself coming back. There certainly are moments of immediate gratification that you will catch on the first few listens. However, it’s during repeat listens that you realize just how much depth there is to the album.

Woods of Ypres “Travelling Alone” (MP3 – Sample)

Woods of Ypres’ often have been referred to as a black and doom metal band. However with each release a much broader palate of influences have slowly weaved themselves into the band’s songs. As a result it has become a little harder to paint them into that blackened corner. But even considering all of that I was still really surprised at how different Woods 5 sounded. I knew it wouldn’t be the Green Album – Part 2. But David and his band mate guitarist Joel Violette grabbed the wheel and turned hard with this one. Yet because of that change in direction, the album is a hugely rewarding listen.

On many songs there is a prominent sense of melody that had always been there, but now is front and center. Quite often this is driven by piano and cello as much as guitar. Naturally this indicates a sonic shift in the band’s sound and while there are still moments of heaviness, most of the weight is delivered from an emotional level. A large part of that being the themes of loss, sorrow and death in many of the songs that are especially haunting considering the unfortunate events of this past December.

Likely the most noticeable change on Woods 5 is the delivery of David’s vocals. In a few instances he turns up the intensity, like on the scathing “Adora Vivos” where he tells us to “Love the living while they’re still alive” and that “we shouldn’t worship the dead”. However for most of the album he favors singing in a low, rich baritone. For fans that are more accustomed to the band’s earlier recordings and black metal leanings, this could be a deal breaker. But most will just see this as simply another example of a great band growing before our eyes.

Woods of Ypres “Lightening & Snow” (MP3 – Sample)

I could go on and try to figure out interesting ways to describe something you should just simply hear for yourself. But as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, writing is kind of hit or miss for me. So it’s likely in everyone’s best interests that I quit while I’m ahead. So instead, I’ll leave you with this…

I’ve been passionate about music all my life. There are lots of bands I love. But very few I would consider the discovery of life changing. Discovering Woods of Ypres was life changing for me. Their music didn’t help me through some rough times or connect with me on an emotional level. It simply opened my eyes to something I didn’t know was missing from my life, something that I love listening to and enjoy. Sometimes something that simple can be life changing. If I only ever write one album review on this website, I’m fine with that. Because if you come here and only ever read one, I’d want it to be for Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light.

Living in Nova Scotia means it’s pretty common to miss out on good shows. Time after time I say I’m going to fly or drive somewhere far away to catch a band I like. But for whatever reason, I usually end up not going.

Last week I finally made an exception and I flew to Toronto to see I Mother Earth. You may not know this, but I Mother Earth had been on a hiatus for the past eight plus years. Then this winter/spring rumors started surfacing that they were getting back together. Eventually the band confirmed the news and announced they would be playing a single show (which ended up being two shows), with no master plan or immediate promise of what was to come next.

Right away I knew I had to go. Not so much because I thought I would miss my chance to see them again. But mainly because I knew if there were to be more shows, more music – more IME, that anyone who ever gave a shit about this amazing band needed to be there and show their support. So myself and many others ended up traveling from all over Canada to attend the shows.

I don’t think I can do any justice in describing the show. I have a very limited vocabulary when it comes to new and creative ways to say something kicked ass. But it was hands down the best I Mother Earth show I have ever seen. Which says a lot, considering I’ve seen them around a dozen times. Everything from the selection of songs played, tightness of the band, enthusiasm of the audience – was damn near perfect. I knew I experienced something great as I left the venue that night. But it actually wasn’t until a day or two later that I realized just how great. The best shows I have seen in my life have been the ones where you can’t stop smiling the next day and thinking to yourself, “That was fucking awesome!” I’ve been smiling and swearing to myself a lot this past week.

From all accounts I’m not the only one who feels this way. Go talk to anyone else who was there, check out some videos from the show or read what guitarist Jagori Tanna had to say a few days later. To put it simple – it went well. Very well.

We Got the Love

When the band announced they were returning from their hiatus, they also let the world know new music would be coming as well. The first of that new music is a new song titled “We Got the Love” which was posted online days before the Toronto shows.

I was a little surprised when I first heard the track. I immediately liked it, but wasn’t expecting it to be so, well… infectious. Their last album, The Quicksilver Meat Dream was one of the most ambitious things they recorded and as much as I love it, I wouldn’t call it an overly commercial or infectious album (not a bad thing). But aside from being almost six minutes long, “We Got the Love” sounded very “radio friendly” for lack of a better term. However, things aren’t always what they seem.

“We Got the Love” is not AFS (another fucking single). “We Got the Love” is the sound of a band that is comfortable with who they are, what they have done and what they are capable of. It’s the sound of a band that has the confidence of doing something because they want to and for no other reason. All of which goes a long way in explaining how the first new music from the band in nearly ten years is not some nine minute, multi-part, prog-rock opus. But rather it’s something simple on the surface, with many subtle layers that after repeat listens expose themselves and remind everyone just what made I Mother Earth stand high above their peers in the first place. Simply put, it’s a damn good song.

Download “We Got the Love” by I Mother Earth
(MP3 320 KBPS & WAV 24 BIT/48 KHZ)

“We Got the Love” is available now for download in high quality MP3 and WAV formats on I Mother Earth’s website. If you like the track, support the band so we get to hear more and spread the word. Good music deserves to be heard.

The other night I happened to stumble upon a painting that KEN mode added to their Facebook page by Norwegian artist Kim Holm. I was immediately impressed at how he managed to capture the intensity of the band’s live show. I could have randomly stumbled across the painting anywhere and known right away it was KEN mode.

After reading a little further I learned that Kim painted while the band played live during their recent overseas tour. Which is actually something he does quite frequently. Having done the same for Watain, Ghost, Entombed, Enslaved and Kvelertak to name just a few.

Shown above are just a handful samples from the over 350 that currently appear on his website. It was extremely hard to choose just a few – they all are extremely well done. So be sure to head over and browse through the rest of his work. It will be time well spent.

I’ve been thinking it was about time to increase the focus on music related design around these parts. I’ve made the odd post that touches on it in the past, but lately they have been a bit scarce. So today I’m going to add the first of a new series of posts that focus on gig posters. I’ve always been a fan of the art form and there’s a ton of talented artists out there pumping out some great work. So it only seems logical to give their work some respect.

I should also mention that my hombre James has provided some great inspiration for these posts. He’s been doing a great job bringing some attention and respect to the world of movie posters over at Signalnoise.com.

Kicking things off is a sacrifice to our satanic overlord courtesy of UK doom merchants Electric Wizard. I have no idea who designed the above poster for their upcoming March 31^st show in London. But anything involving 70’s occult imagery gets my seal of approval. You’d be hard pressed to find a living room that wouldn’t look amazing with that hanging front and center.

After putting together my top 20 albums of 2010, I rolled all of them into one giant playlist and hit shuffle. The result equaled some damn fine listening. While listening to the playlist, I remembered how my friend Isaac said it would have been nice to have samples for all the albums in my top 20 feature. I agreed with him, but it took me a hell of a long time to get that post online. So I wasn’t too excited about going back and updating it. Then I realized I didn’t have to. Why not just make a new podcast using tracks from my top 20 albums? So that’s pretty much exactly what I did.

There’s not much else to explain. I didn’t mess around with this for weeks or months. I literally got the idea one morning and finished it by the end of day. No fancy soundscapes, edits or underlying theme. Just a solid mix of 20 songs that you need to hear. Now get on this and don’t say I never do anything nice for you.

Measurements of Sound – Volume 06 Track Listing:

00:00:00 Blood Ceremony – “The Great God Pan”
00:07:28 Shooting Guns – “Public Taser”
00:12:20 In Solitude – “Demons”
00:19:03 Today Is The Day – “The Devil’s Blood”
00:24:50 Toxic Holocaust – “Nowhere to Run”
00:28:34 Liturgy – “Veins of God”
00:36:30 Tombs – “Path of Totality”
00:42:17 Mastodon – “Dry Bone Valley”
00:46:17 Junius – “A Universe Without Stars”
00:50:40 The Atlas Moth – “Gemini”
00:54:00 Altar of Plagues – “Neptune is Dead”
01:12:38 Batillus – “…And the World is as Night to Them”
01:21:21 KEN mode – “Never Was”
01:29:36 Goes Cube – “The Homes Of”
01:32:57 Subrosa – “House Carpenter”
01:40:59 Witch Mountain – “Wing of the Lord”
01:48:53 Hammers of Misfortune – “Staring (The 31st Floor)”
01:52:41 Vastum – “Re-Member”
01:57:46 Trap Them – “The Facts”
02:01:09 Machine Head – “Pearls Before the Swine”

Download Measurements of Sound – Volume 06 (MP3 – 02:08:29)

Sun’s not even up and it’s already a very sad day for Canadian metal.

That was a tweet from Adrien Begrand and the first thing I read early this morning as I sat down with my breakfast. My jaw literally hit the floor as I read further and realized David Gold of Ontario’s Woods of Ypres had died. As the day went on I learned he had been struck by a vehicle near Barrie yesterday. He was 31 years old.

I’m constantly going on and on about how you need to hear a certain band or how I just heard something that blew me away. Over the past nine months the name Woods of Ypres has appeared again and again in my tweets and posts on this very site. I can’t describe what it is, but something about their music has connected with me in a huge way. Maybe it’s the raw emotion carried through David’s lyrics, maybe it’s how the band has masterfully covered so many genres over the course of their career. I don’t know. But what I do know is I literally have not stopped playing their music since discovering the band this past March. There is not a week that goes by that I haven’t immersed myself with their songs. Especially Woods IV: The Green Album, which I had been listening to the day David passed away.

I never had the chance to meet David or see Woods of Ypres live, which is something I was so looking forward to doing in 2012. I had the bad timing of only finding out about the band literally days after they played here last spring. When I spoke to David online he told me they would be back in the New Year once their new album was released. I’m sad that won’t happen for somewhat selfish reasons. Mainly I was really looking forward to seeing the band live. But I also wanted to make sure there was one more face in the crowd who truly appreciated their music when they came back again. The band worked hard for the loyal fan base they had and even if it only grew by one more, I wanted to make sure they knew it. I’m really sorry that didn’t happen.

Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light

Late this year the band finished recording Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light which was set for release in January. Today their label Earache tweeted the link to the promo download of the album. I now have something I couldn’t wait to hear a month early. But for all the wrong reasons. Expect a follow-up post once I have had a chance to fully digest the album.

Woods of Ypres Sampler

I put together a short mix of a few of my favourite Woods of Ypres songs. Have a listen below and if you like what you hear, dig deeper and spread the word.

1. Shards of Love
2. Everything I Touch Turns to Gold (Then to Coal)
3. Falling Apart
4. Dirty Window of Opportunity (Can You Get Here in 10 Days)
5. Your Ontario Town is a Burial Ground
6. You Are Here With Me (In This Sequence Of Dreams)
7. The Sea of Immeasurable Loss

Woods of Ypres – David Gold 1980-2011 (MP3 36:53)

Each December I make a big assed list and go through a big assed process to determine the top 20 albums of the past year. Friends are lost, my kids forget what I look like and spreadsheets are created with formulas that I don’t understand.

The sad thing is it’s kind of pointless. I always know what single album made me all warm and fuzzy inside before I start down that path of complexity. So let’s not drag this out any longer and get down to business.

01. The Atlas Moth – An Ache for the Distance

If there is one album you need to hear from 2011, it’s An Ache for the Distance by the Atlas Moth.

The band covers a stunning range of styles on An Ache for the Distance – sludge, post rock, black metal, jazz, doom and psychedelic rock to name a few. But in no way does the album feel like a patched together mishmash of all those influences. Much like Faith No More did on 1992’s Angel Dust, the Atlas Moth has managed to channel the diverse personalities of each member into a single cohesive recording that made choosing it as album of the year a no brainer.

02. Tombs – Path of Totality

I have to admit that despite what I said above about it being clear what my top pick was, Tombs’ Path of Totality could very easily have been sitting in that position; dark, atmospheric and utterly devastating. I can’t stop listening to this.

03. Goes Cube – In Tides and Drifts

As with 2009’s Another Day Has Passed, Goes Cube drop track after track of infectious post punk driven noise rock that demands repeated listens. Album highlights ”The Homes Of” and the three part “The Story Is The Story Begins”, “The Story Is The Story Goes” and “The Story Is The Story Ends” make a strong argument for nudging this In Tides and Drifts even higher on this list.

04. KEN mode – Venerable

I like noise rock. I really like noise rock with riffs that will rip your face off. Does that float your boat as well? Then point your face at Venerable by KEN mode. As your life coach, I am confident you will be pleased with the results.

05. Witch Mountain – South of Salem

I listened to this for the first time less than a week ago and it is number five on this list. Yeah – it’s that good. No small part of that is the addition of vocalist Uta Plotkin to the line-up. Witch Mountain was a lethal dose of doom before, but now with Uta’s powerful voice wailing over Rob Wrong’s riffs, the results are simply stunning. Get on this shit now.

06. Today is the Day – Pain is a Warning

With Pain is a Warning, Today is the Day is a fine tuned killing machine. Well, except when they slow things down for a couple of numbers (hey, even killing machines like a slow dance every now and then). Easily the most focused, direct and dare I say accessible album of the band’s catalogue. If you aren’t down with TITD main man Steve Austin already, this is the perfect place to get on board.

07. Junius – Reports from the Threshold of Death

Junius heavy up their post rock styles on Reports from the Threshold of Death, but the end result is far from brutal. So if you’re not grim, KVLT or don’t even like most of the noise I go on about here, this is the one you should check out. Your moms will even like this.

08. Altar of Plagues – Mammal

I was late getting in the game with Altar of Plagues previous long player White Tomb. But if I hadn`t slept on that, it easily could have toppled Axe to Fall by Converge as album of the year in 2009. Mammal may be rolling in at number eight, but it’s still the best black metal album you’re going to hear this year.

09. Blood Ceremony – Living With the Ancients

I have a problem with Blood Ceremony. They play retro styled doom, praise Satan, own a flute and got Sanford Parker to record Living With the Ancients. Don’t see any problems there? Actually, me neither. What I have a problem with is they haven’t gotten their Canadian asses out here to Halifax so I can lose my mind while they work their black magic live. My calendar is wide open in 2012. Just saying…

10. Batillus – Furnace

Batillus may be number 10 on this list. But they are actually number 20 when it comes to the order in which I finished writing all of these. So let’s just keep it simple: doom + sludge + industrial + atmospheric = Batillus. If your brain can handle that math, then you will like Furnace.

11. Subrosa – No Help for the Mighty Ones

Over at Show No Mercy’s year end list, Brandon Stosuy drops points of reference like “doom-pop” and “stoner-folk sludge” when writing about Subrosa’s No Help for the Mighty Ones. Sounds good to me Brandon. So I`m gonna jack your styles and go with that too. No sense reinventing the wheel, right?

12. Hammers of Misfortune – 17th Street

Lots have been said about 17^th Street’s retro metal styles and Joe Hutton’s set of pipes. But what sold me on this album was that it pretty much sounds like Ludicra minus the black metal. Seeing as Ludicra went tits up this year and Hammers of Misfortune are led by former Ludicra member John Cobbett, I guess all is not lost after all.

13. Mastodon – The Hunter

Did you hear the version of the Hunter with Bruce Dickenson singing on it? What? That never happened? Well if it did, then it would have been bad news for numbers 12 to 1 on this list. But apparently it didn’t. So for now I guess Mastodon can sit nice and comfortable at number 13.

14. Trap Them – Darker Handcraft

Remember the time Converge got on top of Entombed’s shoulders and challenged Black Flag and Disfear to a chicken fight? No? Well neither does Trap Them. What’s that got to do with a chicken fight? Nothing. I just thought it sounded like a cool idea and the resulting carnage would sound like Darker Handcraft.

15. Liturgy – Aesthetica

Liturgy tends to only have one mode, which consists of repetitive, relentless riffing and blasting. Sometimes that hurts my head. But most of the time, I find it quite refreshing. I have no idea which of those two categories this falls under for you. But whatever – just listen to it Aesthetica anyway.

16. Machine Head – Unto the Locust

I was stoked when Machine Head nailed it two times in a row with Through the Ashes of Empires and the Blackening. But I was doubtful they would be able to do it again when they dropped Unto the Locust. Boy was I wrong. You know how we all go on about the classic Metallica trilogy now? Give these three albums a few years and we’ll be blowing the same smoke up Rob Flynn’s ass.

17. Vastum – Carnal Law

I read Swedish Death Metal and Choosing Death, but I’m far from a certified expert when it comes to the genre. But even a newbie like me can see that Vastum know a thing or two about crafting crusty, thick and infectious death metal. If you like crusty, thick and infectious death metal, then you already have this album. If you don’t like crusty, thick and infectious death metal, then email me and I’ll try my best to help with directions to the blog you were actually looking for.

18. In Solitude – The World.The Flesh.The Devil

Much like Blood Ceremony, In Solitude is here to spread the word of our dark overlord. However these Swedes have chosen to skip the Jethro Tull styles of my Canadian comrades and worship at the altar of Mercyful Fate instead. I’m fine with that. Are they evil? Why yes, they are.

19. Shooting Guns – Born To Deal In Magic: 1952-1976

Black Sabbath got knocked up by Hawkwind? The baby lives in Canada and goes by the name Shooting Guns? They make tripped out, catchy, synth infused instrumental music? I’m on it.

20. Toxic Holocaust – Conjure and  Command

Conjure and Command may not have gotten Toxic Holocaust quite as much praise as 2008’s An Overdose of Death, but it’s the preferred choice around these parts. Please remove my name from the “Casual Fan” file.

Good thing no one comes to this website. Otherwise people might have noticed that it’s been almost a year since my last podcast. That’s okay though. I strive for quality around here, not quantity.

I have actually been working on this instalment off and on for about the last eight months. It started out at with a rough playlist that included tracks from Justice, Death From Above 1979 and Dillinger Escape Plan. Only the latter made it to the final cut. But all of them acted as a springboard for what you have here today.

There are still some riffs to be found. But there are also lots of beats, bass, noise and even some dubbed out Sabbath. And yes, the first track is supposed to sound like that.

Measurements of Sound – Volume 05 Track Listing:

00:00:00 Kid 606 Vs. NWA – “Straight Outta’ Compton”
00:02:46 Nine Inch Nails – “My Violent Heart (Pirate Robot Midget)”
00:05:19 Genghis Tron – “Asleep on the Forest Floor”
00:09:24 The Endless Blockade – “Angra Mainyu”
00:11:37 Dillinger Escape Plan – “Dead as History”
00:16:58 Mr. Oizo – “Inside the Kidney Machine”
00:21:48 Buck 65 – “Drawing Curtains”
00:25:36 Roots Manuva – “Feel Da Panic”
00:29:33 DJ Vadim – “Your Revolution”
00:34:45 Snares – “Electric Funeral”
00:39:49 The Bug – “Freak Freak”
00:44:36 Glen Brown – “Version 78 Style (When The Three Mines Clash)”
00:49:10 These Arms Are Snakes – “Gadget Arms”
00:57:19 Refused – “Refused Party Program”
00:59:57 Acid Tiger – “Death Wave”
01:09:17 Fuck Buttons – “Bright Tomorrow”
01:16:40 Download – “Glassblower”
01:19:37 Body – “Empty Hearth”
01:23:59 Queens of the Stone Age – “Spiders and Vinesgroms”

Download Measurements of Sound – Volume 05 (MP3 – 01:30:24)

I was wandering around the internets a few days ago and lucked into a pile of Dax Riggs bootlegs. I’ve got some live stuff already, but what got me excited about these is a bunch of the songs are unreleased demos. Most of which I haven’t heard before.  Have a listen to “Wherever Forever Is” from Electric Comoland below.

Dax Riggs “Wherever Forever Is” (MP3 5:25)

If you like that, the entire album, along with a few others can be downloaded over at the AngryChairs blog. Highly recommended stuff.

Opeth just dropped their new album Heritage and to celebrate they got all Timothy Leary on us made a video for “The Devil’s Orchard”. Or at least that’s what the end results seems to indicate.

It remains to be seen if any chemicals were ingested during the making of the video, but no matter what, it’s pretty stunning. Kind of reminds me of “Pretty Noose” by Soundgarden, but with a storyline. A confusing storyline, but a storyline nonetheless.