Tag: voivod

Voivod are one of my favourite old school thrash bands that are still putting out killer records today. This album first saw the light of day in ’89 and it still sounds fresh today. There was a definite shift in sound for this album as they moved away from straight thrash and added a progressive element to their brand of awesome. This is the 2022 RSD version in sexy swirly pink vinyl.

Killer opening with my favourite track The Unknown Knows, mixing the old with the new. Plenty of thrash moments mixed with more out there moments. Killer! Nothingface follows and vocally this does have an early Pink Floyd feel. The riffs, grooves, and the time changes are wonderful. Having mentioned Floyd with the title track, the band throw in a killer version of Astronomy Domine which IMHO is better than the original. Missing Sequence closes out Side 1 and this is where the Prog is most eveident. Sure it’s heavy but there are lots of wonderful excursions from the main song. Brilliant!!!

X Ray Mirror opens up Side 2, and where have you heard that intro before? Inner Combustion is wonderfully insane. So many different vibes, riffs, and grooves! Pre Ignition is very similar, but the instrumental middle section is epic. Into My Hypercube is old school Voivod, more straightforward. The album closes out with Sub Effect, a fine end to what is a groundbreaking album. Not quite as good as Dimension Hatross but still worthy of your ownership.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

Other than poutine and tourtiere, VOIVOD is Quebec’s best export to the world. Born in the early eighties at the end of the first wave of thrash – it’s always amazed me how they never became bigger. This album and the one after (Nothingface) are classic metal albums that I would recommend any metal fan to own.

There is a lot going on within the music. We go from basic thrash, to punk, to speed metal, and we venture off even into progressive territory. This album is a concept album based around the exploits of the band’s mascot, Korgull. Bands like Meshuggah name check them as an influence, and there are a myriad of other acts that site them as an influence as well. They were once even called the Frank Zappa of metal, and I sort of get that musically. No song breakdown here as it’s just a great metal album of the era. Huge riffs, clever time changes, crushingly heavy in places, and there are no hooks or melodies for you to sing along to – just great challenging metal.

9/10 from The Grooveman.