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Woods of Ypres "Against the Seasons: Cold Winter Songs from the Dead Summer Heat"
Krankenhaus Records KHR004 2005
By Jason Jordan
There are general consensuses about every band. As far as Canadas Woods of Ypres are concerned, there are mainly two. The first and probably most controversial is that Against the Seasons: Cold Winter Songs from the Dead Summer Heat is one of the best demos ever recorded. The second which is also debatable is that the above-mentioned thumps Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth on all counts. Whatever the case, since it doesnt really matter in the scope of things, Im going to tiptoe around the issue. Let me just say this: if you havent yet acquired Against the Seasons, now is the time to do so.
Those of you who missed out on the original version of this shouldnt have to be convinced, but those of you who did in fact obtain a copy may be a harder sell. So, allow me to be the catalyst for reconsideration. While its cool that the first Woods of Ypres has returned to the printing press, its cooler that the latest incarnation of Against the Seasons: Cold Winter Songs from the Dead Summer Heat has been remixed and remastered, presents new artwork and a new layout, and is widely available courtesy of Krankenhaus Records and various distributors. The music is a thirty-minute entrée of black metal, with Ulver, Opeth, and Agalloch seasonings added for taste, and speaks of winter though the disc was written, rehearsed, performed, and recorded during the hot summer months of May, June, July, and August. There should be quotation marks somewhere in the previous sentence; feel free to add them at your leisure. But paradoxically, theres nothing individually stunning about this portion of BM perhaps everything simply fit into place and in turn combined to form a substantive record. The musical performances are deserving of modest accolades, both vocal styles (black and clean) add to the overall ambiance, and the five songs iterated here are all unusually strong. After sampling The 45th Parallel and the overly sad A Meeting Place and Time, it becomes clear that either approach Woods of Ypres decide to use (fierce versus acoustic-laden, subdued) works in the bands favor.
Though Im not going make a final judgment in regards to Against the Seasons: Cold Winter Songs from the Dead Summer Heat against Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth I have opinions on this, trust me I will say that theres no excuse to not own the former by now, especially after surveying the many changes the recording has undergone.
Woods of Ypres are priority artists in my e-pinion.
9/10 - Jason Jordan
