siLLy puPPy
Like any great band that has been around for well over three decades, Quebec’s best progressive thrash metal export VOIVOD has gone through its own ups, downs and serious changes ever since they emerged in 1982 out of the frigid northern Canadian city of Jonquière. Haven taken the metal world by storm in the late 80s with their unique blend of dissonant progressive punk laden thrash that forged a new strain of sci-fi based metal with classics like “Killing Technology,” “Dimension Hatröss” and “Nothingface,” VOIVOD created its own distinctive style that has literally slinked by through the decades with no other band even coming close to emulating. VOIVOD in effect created their own mini-universe that found the perfect mix of dissonant King Crimson inspired guitar riffs and Pink Floyd inspired psychedelia dished out in an unduly Motörhead meets Venom belligerence all the while wrapped up in conceptual tales of cyborgs and futuristic dystopia. In effect, VOIVOD was and remains one of a kind despite all the trials and tribulations of weathering a multi-decade career. And well into the 21st century is back with the much anticipated 14th studio THE WAKE. The cryogenic slumber is over.
While VOIVOD’s history includes the usual melange of music biz woes such as members coming and going throughout the years, perhaps no blow was as devastating as losing one of the founding members whose signature sound literally defined the band from a mere pluck of a power chord. Denis D’Amour or better known as Piggy practically trademarked VOIVOD’s anarchic and experimental thrash metal idiosyncrasies more than any other members so when he succumbed to colon cancer in 2005 at the tender age of 45 years, it was indubitably a painful time for the band and easily could’ve spelled the ultimate end of the road for this classic unparalleled metal band. However instead of making any rash decisions during the mourning process, founding members Michel Langevin (Away) and Denis Bélanger (Snake) took some time to honor the memory of their fallen guitar hero with a couple albums of material that had already been written with guitar parts already recorded by Piggy and waited to see how it all played out. Two albums, “Katorz” and “Infini” found posthumous releases of Piggy’s guitar playing which the band recorded as a tribute to Piggy’s legacy but in order to sally forth into the next chapter, a new guitarist was essential. How could a band continue when their signature member was no more?
With Piggy’s art-metal riffage as his primary driving force to become a guitarist and musical innovator, fellow Quebecker Daniel Mongrain (now Chewy) of Trois-Rivière luckily grew up as one of VOIVOD’s most rabid fans and early on learned how to play the band’s entire canon of music. Having become the seasoned tech metal guitarist in blistering bands such as Martyr, Gorguts and Capharnaum as well as boasting a degree in jazz-interpretation from the University of Montreal, Mongrain proved to be the perfect gift from the gods to give VOIVOD the chance to fill the unfillable shoes of the great Piggy. While armed with that secondary degree in VOIVOD-ology, Mongrain, um Chewy that is, was also the band’s biggest fan and in a respectful fashion forged the perfect marriage of marrying Piggy’s legacy with the next chapter that would propel VOIVOD into the 21st century. While his debut performance with the band began with “Target Earth,” he wasn’t exactly given free reign yet to unleash his magic. After that album’s lackluster performance, the members agreed that something needed to change to make this transition gestate to the next level and what better way to honor the great Piggy’s legacy than to honor the period that most suited him, namely the progressive thrash era of the late 80s that found their most successful album “Nothingface” catapulting VOIVOD onto the world’s stage.
The new VOIVOD was born in 2016 with founding members Snake and Away at the helm and Daniel Mongrain, now Chewy in charge of the future direction of the guitar. Along for the ride was newbie bassist Dominque Laroche who was christened as the fledgling Rocky and together this new incarnation recorded and released the EP “Post Society” which was an advertisement of VOIVOD’s long lost return to progressive form with thundering dissonant guitar riffs that would make Piggy proud, chugging interstellar beats, progressive meanderings into time signature rich frenzies that all conspire to take post-punk detours into psychedelic dreams and of course Snake’s distinct, now classic vocal rampage through the technically infused thrash metal domain. With unprecedented almost unanimous praise, the lauded EP begat the next phase of VOIVOD’s triumphant return to form. Two years later we arrive at the magnificence of what is called THE WAKE, which in the footsteps of “Post Society” successfully takes the progressively fueled sci-fi journey back into the cosmos and dishes out VOIVOD’s best album since 1989’s “Nothingface.” A whopping 36 years after their humble inception, VOIVOD are back on top of their game!
Right from the first sound effects of “Obsolete Beings” that breaks into a galloping wallop of thrash dissonance, it’s clear that VOIVOD have crafted a winner with THE WAKE. With the classic elements all having fallen into place, the band build upon their progressive thrash phase with more adventurous compositions, more daring ventures into quieter moments and even the unthinkable terrain of classically inspired orchestral moments with six guest musicians adding touches on violins, viola, cello, extra percussion and even bones! However don’t be mistaken for a minute that VOIVOD has mellowed out. These extra touches provide atmospheric touches above and beyond the psychedelia and thrash outbursts that dominate THE WAKE. Don’t forget that “Nothingface” contained many riffs that were inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite Of Spring.” Likewise THE WAKE implements classical and jazz techniques that supplement the main metal framing and are secondary to the majestic classic VOIVOD sound that has become so utterly irresistible. Each track is unique and utterly anthemic in that the eight compositions highlight the classic sound while evolving it into a whole new reality.
With their musical chops brought up to date, VOIVOD also relaunch their sci-fi fueled lyrical fantasy world with tracks like “The End Of Dormancy” narrating the tale of an underwater alien craft that is resuscitated after millions of years of dormancy and once reconstituted immediately begins to destroy the entire human race. The musical accompaniment is in sublime tandem with the lyrical output as the segments highlight the emotional response and one progressive unit segues into the next. It’s hard to come up with a standout track because the fact is that ALL of the tracks stand out as each is intricately crafted to carry the maximum amount of variations allowed by law. Never before has VOIVOD generated so many disparate ideas and musical elements into their works. THE WAKE is by far their most progressively infused offering to date and easily surpasses their best works of the 80s in terms of complexity and adventurous ambitiousness. In fact, THE WAKE is like the soundtrack to a sci-fi battle where the music itself narrates the dramatic exchange of fire with the lyrics merely defining the context.
While every track is unique and tells the tale of this VOIVOD inspired apocalyptic multiverse, the highlight is saved until the end where the multifarious “Sonic Mycelium” provides a progressive jazz metal reprise of the entire album’s creative stampede with one incessant curveball after another. In an age when classic metal bands are entering their multi-decade existence, very rarely does a band match the creative prowess of the heyday especially after the loss of the prime move and shaker that made them stand out in the first place, but VOIVOD has crafted the unthinkable late game masterpiece that is actually more creative, more dynamic and more labyrinthine than any other album of their career including their previous peak of progressiveness of three decades prior. It seems that VOIVOD have been given the gift of a perfect chemistry of the cast members as this album is utterly flawless. The chemistry of the musicians is absolutely divine and the band interplay is impeccable. THE WAKE is a multi-faceted masterpiece. It not only has the hooks to sink deep into your skin upon the very first listen but has the chops to allow the listener to burrow ever deeper on subsequent listens to decipher the unfathomable trenches for exploration. So profound is THE WAKE that i do believe this is my unquestionable best metal album of 2018!