I’m usually pretty good at discovering new music. But every once and a while something really great will fly under the radar. Eventually I wise up and regret taking so long to get on board. But sometimes my late arrival can be a blessing in disguise. Specifically when the band I just discovered has an extensive back catalogue waiting for me to devour.
This is exactly what happened to me this past spring with Ontario’s Woods of Ypres. After reading a review of Woods IV: The Green Album, I got myself a copy and have been obsessed with the album ever since. Seriously – I can`t stop listening to it. Obviously I was pretty stoked to find out the band had an EP and two other full lengths waiting for me to get my mitts on.
I listen to plenty of black metal and doom, both of which you will clearly hear in Woods of Ypres’ songs. Yet they somehow manage to pull from these and other genres in ways that feel familiar and foreign all at once. You may recognize the sombreness of Type of Negative by times, or even a little Acid Bath infused sludge surfacing on a track like “Suicide Cargo Load (Drag That Weight)”. Both of which are pluses in my book. However, they also draw from other styles of music that are far from heavy rotation in my house and turn them into songs that I can`t stop playing. Consider my horizons expanded.
Limited Edition Home 7″
Just when I thought I had tracked down everything the band had released to date, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the well was not dry. Two tracks – “Falling Apart” and “You Were the Light” were released as a 7” titled Home last year.
Both are available to download on Woods of Ypres’ Bandcamp page for a dollar each and there are still copies of the actual 7” available – which is green and beer colored clear vinyl and limited to 500. The artwork for the 7” was done by Fursy Teyssier, whose work you will be familiar with if you saw my top 10 album covers of 2010. Specifically he did the art for Écailles De Lune by Alcest and .neon by Lantlôs.
Want your own copy? Info on how to order the Home 7”, along with some more details on the making of it can be found here.
