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Voivod – Progressive Punk Metal from the outer limits
Voivod ´Synchro Anarchy´ Promo; v.L.n.R.: Chewy, Snake, Away und Rocky @Catherine Deslauvier
Canadian metal has been considered one of the best kept secrets since the rise of the heavy metal movement. The northern neighbour of the USA has a large number of exciting bands that cover all the niches of the metallic cosmos, especially from the autonomous region of Quebéc, the French-speaking part of Canada.
One of the most renowned representatives of Franco - Canada represents Voivod, a four-piece band all around mastermind and the only founding member who was always faithful to the band who has never been, Away. The latter is actually responsible for the large number of album covers as well as the countless incarnations of the band logo.
Since the early 1980s, Voivod have been playing complex and progressive metal with a great tinge of punk and ubiquitous science - fiction themes, creating the great feat of constantly reinventing, sometimes even surpassing themselves, even more than 40 years after its inception.
In 2022, the fifteenth studio album “Synchro Anarchy” was released, and with this album the Quebec Quartet impressively proves that they are still as vital as ever and that they are brimming with creative energy and fresh influences.
In 1984, Voivod entered the scene with “War and Pain” and destroyed everything around them to leave nothing but ashes and scorched earth in their wake.
Their eclectic mix of Speed and Thrash Metal with its omnipresent punk overtones stood out and immediately inspired the hordes of the underground with a particularly pronounced attention to detail in terms of songwriting and presentation of the band from the get-go.
In addition to Michel "Away" Langevin (drums) and Denis "Snake" Bélanger (vocals), joining them as active members from the start , was Denis "Piggy" D'amour (guitar.
Piggy was considered to be the creative head of the band besides Away, as he directed the DNA of Voivod and created the typical Voivod riffs, which are simultaneously atonal and groovy; Dissonance is paired with wild, rhythmic riffs to create a spacy effect, almost entirely without additional gimmicks like keyboards and countless effect pedals.
Voivod - Vehement Development
A particularly rare and special characteristic of a good band is the ability to mature continuously in an organic manner throughout its career, without sacrificing the X-factor that makes it stand out from the crowd.
Voivod take this principle and turn it completely on its head, because not only do they constantly evolve, which can be seen, for example, that no album from their gigantic discography sounds the same, but they surpass themselves and hone their songwriting skills with every new release.
Rarely is it experienced that a band like Voivod exists, which keeps evolving and experiences a stylistic renaissance several times within the 40-year band history.
Initially, music and lyrics were much rougher, but no less demanding; The technical gadgets, intricate rhythms and Snake's striking, hardcore punk-influenced voice should be a thread through the history of the band, but not without citing external influences from the entire musical spectrum and establishing themselves firmly within the music.
At the beginning of the wild band history, the albums "War and Pain" and "Rrööaarar" appeared and showed the band in an aggressive light, in which speed metal and punk were clearly the greatest musical godfathers and dystopian visions of the future dominated the lyrics.
Then in 1987 "Killing Technology" followed, a considerable quantum leap up in terms of musical finesse, without losing any of the original harshness.
The progressive musical tendencies, which Voivod has retained to this day, are formed and the science-fiction theme is underlined even more clearly by occasional effects work on Snake's voice, where it is distorted in some passages to sound robotic.
A year later, an earlier milestone in the band's history emerged, the ambitious "Dimension Hatröss", which offers a nearly perfect fusion of metal and punk thunderstorms with progressive song structures and an overarching lyrical narrative, as they are known from the ambitious progressive rock albums of the 70s, the so-called concept albums.
The following year, Voivod yet again set the bar and gave the world one of the most challenging and rewarding progressive metal albums of all time with the successor "Nothingface", including an outstanding cover of Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine".
Voivod – controlled Chaos
As far as the visual concept is concerned, Away the drummer is the visual head at the heart of Voivod.
Each new musical output of the band is provided with a suitable cover, which usually adorn barren, robotic landscapes of the future and resemble a nightmare of biomechanics.
The covers are based on a cartoon variation of H.R.Giger’s works. Giger, among other works, designed the titular alien creature from Ridley Scott´s science - fiction masterpiece from 1979. Like the sci-fi inspired covers the band logo went through dozens of incarnations, a visual testament to Voivod's tremendous versatility.
Speaking of versatility: After the 80s were characterized by playing fast and chaotic metal with punk roots, the 90s and the albums created during this decade ushered in a new era for the space pirates in which they drew much inspiration from the alternative rock and grunge genres.
The lyrics also underwent a change; From initially ironic, violent dystopias, the lyrics evolved into abstract treatises about our society.
To round it all off, none other than Jason Newstead, former bass player of Metallica, played the bass on the three albums of the first 2000s and provides personal career highlights.
After visionary founding member Piggy succumbed to cancer in 2005 "Katorz" and "Infini" appeared posthumously in 2006 and 2009, where already recorded material of the late virtuoso was converted into two full-fledged albums.
For a long time, it was thought that there would be no future for the band without Piggy, but in 2013, Voivod returned with "Target Earth," a glorious reminder of old strengths with new compositional dynamics.
This dynamic is due to the more than worthy replacement for Piggy, Daniel Mongrain, or better known by the typical Voivod nickname Chewy, and due to his splendid hair, a certain resemblance to the Wookiee from “Star Wars” cannot be dismissed.
He started his career in 2008 as a session guitarist for live performances and was promoted to a full member and drawing from his background in his technical death metal band “Martyr” he was able to add a lot of solid aggression.
The response was extremely positive for the fan base and the critics' voices led to a new, even more dynamic incarnation of Voivod, which is extreme, but not alienatingly extreme, yet musically enough to lead people to darker subgenres without entirely alienating them.
Five years later, the follow-up work "The Wake" came out and, with albums such as "Nothingface", "Angel Rat" from 1991 and the self-titled work from 2003, represents the crowning achievement of Voivod's creative work.
Harmony and dissonance invite you to the disgusting dance, the riffs are strange, the drums are kinetic and flexible and the vocals roar through the room in a defiant manner, without having lost any of their bitterness.
Then, in February 2022, another album called "Synchro Anarchy" was released and it can keep up with the previous work, the compositions remain wonderfully unused and unpredictable in the best Voivod style, and this progressive anarchy has been uncompromisingly followed since 1981.
A concrete European tour as a promo for the album has not yet been announced, except for a handful of festival performances in August. Voivod is an unquestionable recommendation to all hard-core heavy metal and punk aficionados as well as to all who appreciate surprising twists and masterfully constructed songwriting. Bands like these represent what makes music perhaps the greatest achievement of humanity, perhaps even of the entire universe.
mukken - with a view of the extraordinary
If you can get something out of the story about and from Voivod and even feel the need to consciously deal with the band, then you have succeeded in exactly why mukken.com was formed in the first place: exploring the limitless world of music together, because It is a well-known fact that music brings people together. Especially since mukken.com has an editorial team with an affinity for music, which is constantly growing, more and more complex aspects of music are examined in detail, be it documentaries about musical abysses like Hated - The GG Allin Story or life-affirming odes to the power of rock'n'roll in the form of Kvelertak. All those who can't live without music should get their money's worth here, because everyone involved at mukken.com is no different.
Originally published on February 3, 2023, updated on February 3, 2023
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