David Gold was the bandleader, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer of the Canadian metal band Woods of Ypres from their inception in 2002 until his untimely death in 2011. Known for mixing elements of black metal, doom metal, gothic music, and a hooky songwriting sensibility, Woods of Ypres made 5 albums of some of the best metal I've discovered in recent times. Gold as a vocalist is best known for his octave layering and boomy lows which have often warranted him comparisons to Peter Steele of Type O Negative, a definite influence on Gold's career. Interestingly though, prior to the Green Album he demonstrated a lighter clean vocal approach which included quite a bit of strong 4th octave belting along with his trademark harsh vocals. While he still explored his lower range on the first album of WoY's that he sang on (Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth), his tonality was closer to his natural speaking voice which was more comparable to an average baritone male voice. By the Green Album, his frequent octave layering became more pronounced, and he first introduced his ability to sing the role of a deep bass baritone quite well. Unfortunately, Gold died before the masterpiece of Grey Skies & Electric Light came out, but on this album he took his newly found signature style to the extreme. Every track features massive bassy low vocals, intense octave layering (the only area in which his higher range was still shown), and a handful of songs that indeed still show his black metal roots through his harsh screams.
Clips:
1. 0:00 - "Modern Life Architecture" - B1, F♯4
2. 0:27 - "Lightning & Snow" - G♯2
3. 0:52 - "I Was Buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery" - G2, A2
4. 1:13 - "Silver" - G♯2, F♯2
5. 1:32 - "Wet Leather" - F♯2
6. 1:46 - "Adora Vivos" - F2, E♭2
7. 2:16 - "Finality" - F2, E♭2
8. 2:42 - "Alternate Ending" - E2
9. 3:03 - "Traveling Alone" - E♭2
10. 3:19 - "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)" - E♭2
11. 3:33 - "You Are Here with Me (In this Sequence of Dreams)" - C♯2
12. 4:00 - "Move On! (The Woman will Always Leave the Man)" - C♯2
13. 4:19 - "Career Suicide (is Not Real Suicide)" C♯2, B1
14. 4:31 - "Don't Open the Wounds/Skywide Arms Spread" - B1
15. 4:51 - "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)" - B♭1
16. 5:19 - "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)" - G♯1, G♯4
Highs:
1. 5:38 - "Your Ontario Town is a Burial Ground" - E4
2. 5:54 - "Everything I Touch Turns to Gold (then to Coal)" - F4, E♭4
3. 6:10 - "Years of Silence (and the Private Joke)" - F4
4. 6:43 - "Song of Redemption" - F♯4
5. 6:59 - "The Northern Cold" - F♯4, G4
6. 7:22 - "The Ghosts of Summer's Past" - F♯4, E4
7. 7:42 - "Dirty Window of Opportunity: Can You Get Here in 10 Days?" - G4
8. 7:50 - "The Sun Was in My Eyes: Part Doom" - G♯4
9. 7:59 - "Song of Redemption" - F♯4, G♯4
10. 8:15 - "Halves and Quarters" - G♯4
11. 8:31 - "December in Windsor" - A4
12. 8:44 - "Career Suicide (is Not Real Suicide)" - A4, E♭2
13. 8:57 - "Suicide Cargoload (Drag that Weight)" - A4
14. 9:26 - B♭4 - "From Chaos and Solitude I Came..."
Harsh vocal clips:
1. 9:45 - "Keeper of the Ledger"
2. 9:54 - "To Long Life in the 'Limbo Union'".
3. 10:12 - "Adora Vivos"
4. 10:28 - "Thrill of the Struggle"
5. 10:43 - "Everything I Touch Turns to Gold (then to Coal)"
6. 10:50 - "Crossing the 45th Parallel" live 2008