voivod - voivod - C/D?

Now, let's talk about the new Stratovarius album...

Anyways, I was still excited about this new one, until I heard three songs of it. "We carry on", "Rebel Robot" and "Gasmask Revival".
Snake doesn't sound particularly good here, the riffs just aren't as much fun as before, and all in all the songwriting just isn't slapping my giraffe. I -might- pick this up if I stumbled upon it when in one of my patented "robot CD-buyer" moods, but euh, it's amazing how those three songs completely blew my anticipation-bubble.

Oh well, at least it's not a pure "return to Nothingface" or anything like that, which would've been pretty depressing too. Though this DOES sound like a sequel to The Outer Limits, so not exactly a natural progression from Phobos. But then, it's been a fair share of years, and half the band is different.

New Stratovarius? Hahaha, man :D

(Does anyone know what the song they played before it was with the falsetto vocal and guitar shredding? It was pretty good.)

Nah, they started out as simplistic thrash metal, not TOO far from Venom et al. Well, I suppose you might mean just that when you say hairmetal. If so, hi!

Then they started throwing in more fanciness for the next few albums, then they just ditched the metal and went for that Nothingface style of hard rock, which was pretty darn nifty as well.

anyone heard the live thing from earlier this year, warriors of ice?

New album reviewed by xhuxk:

http://www.spin.com/reviews/voivod-target-earth-century-media?utm_source=spintwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spintwitter

Also, albums 2-4 are on Spotify now via Sanctuary and albums 5-7 via Geffen. Some of these have been out of print for a long time.

Great read xhuxk! Funny but that article also linked to a review of the new Bad Relgion. What a trip that two of my favorite 80s/high school bands are still rocking in the free world.

This new one is fantastic. I was late to the game on these guys, missed out on their 80s heyday, but I can't believe how great Target Earth sounds.

If you need to know anything more Jon, hit me up. I'm a fanatic Vodhead.

Well, where is the best place to go back to the classic era? I picked up the War and Pain reissue from a couple of years ago, but not sure where to go next. Seems like Dimension Hatross or Nothingface seem like favorites, but I'm wondering if I'd gain more from a different record. For what its worth I think I like the vibe on War and Pain more than the execution, if that makes sense. I can see really liking where they're going to journey between that and the 2003 self-titled (where I climbed on), but it doesn't feel quite there yet.

It makes a lot of sense. War and Pain isn't great at all. Nothingface is my favourite by a stretch.

The classic trilogy is Killing Technology (thrash) / Dimension Hatross (space thrash) / Nothingface (space prog).

All of those are excellent albums, although I have a recurring issue with the fact that the sub-par bonus tracks on Killing Technology CD are incorporated into the track listing... Wish they'd stick with the same order from the vinyl and put "Cockroaches" and "Too Scared to Scream" on a separate disc, or at least at the end.

Regardless, those three albums are perfect and really run the gamut from harsh execution to almost sterile perfection over the course of only a few short years. Once you've digested those, hit me back.

Dimension Hatross is my favorite. It was my first record of theirs, and it took me forever to get into it. But when it clicked, it just sounded like the best idea ever. Rrroooaaarrr is its own kind of brilliance, too.

The best one that no one talks about is Phobos. Definitely on par with their best, but poorly distributed. Also has godawful bonus tracks, not thanks to Newsted.

War and Pain isn't great at all.

Taking a deep breath. Not getting upset. Don't want to punch anybody at all. Everything's subjective.

Thanks Nate! I wouldn't say War and Pain is awful, it just more seemed like the band getting warmed up. I think I'll go with either Hatross or Nothingface next, the tag "space" in front of those descriptors perks my ears up a little more.

Piggy RIP. the apocryphal story going round my hesher circle was that he learned his chops by figuring out how to play Yes songs backwards

Man, Target Earth is way better than I had any right to expect.

Today is DIMENSION HATRÖSS today

Listening to Voivod's Nothingface for probably the first time in over 20 years has been pretty interesting. The thing I heard more in their sound is how much progressive rock breaks there are in each tune. They also break down into some pretty harmonically gnarly stiff breaks that kind of remind me a bit of the Minutemen in some ways except with a big stack guitar sound. There are just bunches of little 8 and 16 bar breaks/bridges in these tunes. It's got a medley like thing in the song structure.

Reading above, so weird that I've been playing Voivod and Minutemen all day today!

Never really heard much Voivod before now, but this is pretty fun (especially as my thrash exposure is mostly limited to super famous Metallica/Slayer stuff and proto black metal Bathory). Definitely a prog thing happening, but the playing is (kind of awesomely) loose, like a hardcore band reaching for into thrash Rush.

for into

tho I've only heard the first three records so far, hopefully they don't become too Tool-ish? (ie, too technical and not fun)

I don't think they ever become super-technical, but they do get a little proggy on Nothingface (still more reliant on Piggy's weird, dissonant textures and Blackie's bass churning along than super complex songwriting), then a bit more straightforward on Angel Rat and Outer Limits. When you listen to War and Pain -> Nothingface they really went through an astounding amount of evolution.

What does "Hatross" mean? This question has not occurred to me until today.

http://www.voivodfan.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=003841

ah, it was in the liner notes all along.

Fuuuuck...yes

I saw voivod coheadline with soundgarden (prong was the opener) in 1991

Favorite show

Totally missed the news of all these reissues but don't recall where I heard about the new album.

New one is my favorite since Dimension Hatross - 30 friggin years ago!

has nothingface been reissued yet?

No reissue yet... different label? Mechanic?

The new one is really good! I like the King Crimson-y riffs on some songs.

There's still the Geffen Nothingface on Spotify.

I noticed that two of their newer albums have been released in one package as well.

A new Japanese reissue of Nothingface is floating around out there on Amazon (19.99) and ImportCDS (12.99); I've not seen it up close though. I have a feeling it's a sort of bare bones reprint, not like a formal "reissue" reissue. I sort of prefer that anyway. Ripping Corpse's Dreaming with the Dead came out like that a few years ago, just a straight reprint, no liner notes or essays, no remaster, just the same as it originally was. Perfect, really.

Angel Rat got the same treatment.

I think.

Any consensus on the pre-Nothingface reissues v the late 80s originals?

uh voivod were a blind spot for me forever and... this band fucking rules?????

the new one is excellent too

Voivod go horn rock at the Montreal Jazz Festival!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk4-Zz1pqf4

This is so great - thanks for posting!

holy shit third stream metal

Listened to Killing Technology for the first time this week. Fucking glorious. Best first listen I've had in an age.

Has these reissues + new album made them bigger/getting their due?

I'm not a complete catalog listener or up to date on Voivod's new record, but their EP from a couple years ago called "Post Society" is a good record. It's got lots of weird angle riffing and they are just so tight and smooth playing those jagged melodies. Voivod have always had some real unique groove to them.

I think The Wake is better than Post Society but with more of a down vibe, but I love the King Crimson-esque riffing in the title track and the general progginess. But there are no bad Voivod albums IMO.

I'd be curious as to whether those reissues had any effect on their standing, I feel like they probably mostly sold to older fans who wanted the live tracks and demo stuff.

Post Society was good yeah, but I'm definitely a Wake man.

but yeah. they were fun to see live playing the new album earlier this year.

I've been listening to the self titled one and a live record called Lives I found used in the past few days. Voivod have done so many sounds, many in the same tune. There are parts that are doom, parts that are prog and hard psychedelic edge to it.

One side-group from Voivod that I have heard and dug is that Kosmos CD, which is pretty 70s inspired spacerock in a Hawkwind/Krautrock way.

Voivod is definitely a band I'd eventually like to hear it all.

Listened to The Wake, RRROOOAAARRR, Katorz and Phobos last night and thoroughly enjoyed them all.

I've been making my way through the Voivod discography discography and I can't help but feel a weird kinship btwn them and NoMeansNo, and kind of conceptualize them as the metal equivalent - not just the Canadian aspect or their respective longevity, but something about the unfussy production and focus on musicianship and attitude, while lacking self-seriousness (though Voivod were never nearly as jokey as NMN at their wackiest)

maybe it's just hinting at an overall canadian sensibility I have yet to fully diagnose

they both have great churning deep cuts called "The Tower", too

Canadian bands and good ass bass tones 🤷

"There is only one solution
Eat them one by one!"

Great lyric. Really love this album, it's not just the album that I wanted from Voivod, it's what I wanted from Sonic Youth (I always thought they had similar moments, probably shared influences).

Anyone know if/when a next batch of reissues are coming out? I want Angel Rat this year.

The reissues were all Noise Records releases and the later ones were on Mechanic and MCA IIRC? I would love reissues/remasters but I'm not holding my breath.

The 2018 Nothingface and Angel Rat are both Japanese? I probably go with that.

Oh I didn't see those. Yeah I'd be curious to hear them.

There's bits of interview with Away and recommended albums by two other bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLspqksXfxo

don't know if this is already well known but the (mostly instrumental) prog-punk band Removal did a bunch of singles with different singers on them including Snake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPK-zg706hs

It's from like 2005 so apologies if I'm late

Really digging The Wake

It's really good! I love the King Crimson touches on some of the riffs.

yeah that was one of my favorite releases that year. and the material is great live too.

Second last track is my favorite so far

Rrroooaaarrr really surpassed my expectations, there's a part in the last track where they sound like a force of nature, incredible.

I'm sure I heard Nothingface and Angel Rat were getting another reissue after master tapes were found? (am I imagining this?) Only LPs were released so far.

I've never heard their first three albums in their entirety because the songs that made it to the Best of Voivod compilation sounded really unformed compared to Dimension Hatröss.
I wonder if I didn't know that they were from Québec whether their music would sound as wintery to me as it does.

master tapes found?

wiki sez:

The master tapes for Voivod's MCA-era albums were long thought to have been destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire; this was later disputed by Blacky, who revealed in late 2019 that the master tapes for Nothingface, Angel Rat and The Outer Limits were located in a facility in Pennsylvania, after persistently questioning Universal staff, and claimed that they are now in his possession.[24][25]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voivod_(band)

I'll wait patiently for Angel Rat, assuming it will eventually get the reissue treatment the early albums got.

I think Killing Technology is absolutely as good or better than the next two albums. I think I might like Rrroooaaarrr more than Nothingface but maybe I need to return to the latter.

just announced a US tour. but I don't think I can go. sucks as they're a great live band (and a great band in general)

early Voivod is def underrated. people undersell it sometimes because it's very diff from what became their signature sound but I dig it all, esp Rrrrrooooar

kinda like the early stuff the best… i wonder if jack rabid has heard angel rat or nothingface, they really don’t seem far away from the muscular atmospheric post punk thing he likes.

There's just so many great pummeling moments on Rrroooaaarrr, the way the band talked about it I expected an immature work but they are extremely good songs

From Real Gone Music, reissues of Nothingface and Angel Rat:

Voïvod are nothing short of a legend in their native province of Quebec, and remain one of the most intriguing metal bands ever. Though their early, mid-‘80s albums pegged them as a thrash metal band, within five years their sound had changed dramatically, incorporating elements of prog and psych while maintaining the tricky chord changes and tempo shifts that made them such a fresh voice in the genre. And these two records were key to their stylistic transition; 1989’s Nothingface scaled a commercial peak for the band, and heralded their new direction with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine.” Our metallic red pressing marks the first time this essential record has been widely available at retail on vinyl since its original release…grab it while you can! Its follow-up, 1991’s Angel Rat, moved the band further into spacy psychedelic territory with such tracks as "Golem" and the title track. A mesmerizing, moody head trip of a record, produced by Terry Brown of Rush fame and originally only released on vinyl in europe. Metallic blue pressing. Both records have been remastered for vinyl by Peter Moore, and sound spectacular. Good for either cranking your speakers or burrowing deep inside your headphones!

listening to Synchro Anarchy right now, this is really good!

Yeah their last two have been magnificent. Just pros doing what they love and very well