In the three-plus years since the release of “Pursuit of the Sun, Allure of the Earth”, I’ve been extremely curious to see what Woods would put out next. Already on the eve of POTSAOTE, David Gold was talking of the next album in the works, with hints of Against-the-Seasons-ish blasting, more melancholy, and harmony vocals. Now, after more than a year of Myspace teasers, a demo track (The Northern Cold) on the latest “Fire Union” compilation, and a dreary (in a good way) track (Distractions of Living Alone) on a stellar Canadian metal compilation, the complete body of “Woods III: The Deepest Roots and the Darkest Blues” is finally, finally upon us.
In true Woods fashion, this album is yet another step—a lateral one-- another directional shift for the band. Sure, some of the blasting of the primal demo/EP is present, as is the moodiness of Pursuit, but there’s a bit more hook and melody this time through, particularly in tracks like “Your Ontario Town is a Burial Ground” and the morose-as-hell aforementioned “Distractions of Living Alone”. “Your Ontario Town…” has certainly been beefed up with multiple harmonies since its early live-show sneak previews in 2005. Soaring clean vocal harmonies run throughout, with briefer variations of the bitter black variety. Lyrically, again Mr. Gold and company sing of experience, growth, loss, and strength-- against the setting of an Ontario winter. As has been the case with the previous two albums, this is a complete piece of work, flowing track-to-track, clean wail to triumphant scream, crunch to piano, loss to gain.
Simply put, another spectacular album from an exceptional band filled with growing pains, encumbered by the logistics of being a metal band with day jobs. The waiting (and waiting) has been worth it—quality metal dipping into many styles and influences.
The fire still burns, in-fucking-deed.
