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.
