Voivod
 

Apart from a thread with 3 replies regarding the death of their guitarist 'Piggy' I find it scandalous that there is no thread about one of the most influential and unique Metal bands ever.

Voivod began life as a derivative Speed Metal/Punk influenced band in 1984 but by the time they released Killing Technology in 1986, it was becoming increasingly obvious that they were far different from the average Metal band due to odd time signatures and un metal like vocals.

Dimension Hatross released in 1988 blew the Metal fraternity apart with it's originality and scope. Problem was nobody knew how to bracket them. With songs and lyrics pertaining to science becoming the new god and a sound that could have been Syd Barrett listening to Thrash, they became a thinking man's Metal band and lost many fans despite gaining a whole new fan base.

Nothingface emerged in 1989 as Thrash was in turmoil and expanding it's sound, yet Voivod STILL didn't fit into any particular criteria even though their music was technically miles superior to many bands at the time.

The band endured a hard time in the 90's with a couple of members leaving and exploring other facets of music and it really took the introduction of one Jason Newsted (Yes the one time Metallica bassist) to a loose project in the mid 2000's to convince people that Voivod were still viable and capable of making some of the most original music within the limited genre of riff based Metal.

The original guitarist 'Piggy' (Dennis D'amour) sadly passed away in 2005 but still left a ton of material for the band to use and many ideas were used for the 'Katorz' album from 2006.

Still going strong and sounding unique, Voivod are a band that have given Metal more diversity and uniqueness than any passing fad in the last 20 years.

Besides that their artwork and T shirts are designed by the band and still look kick ass even today.

I feel kind of guilty, for all my knowledge of Canadian music I am very unfamiliar with VoiVod's works. I remember listening to Infini last year and a few of their songs scattered here and there, but never really given any of their full albums a spin.

The trilogy of "Killing Machine" "Dimension Hatross" and "Nothingface" are the albums to hear. On Nothingface there is a cover of Pink Floyds "Astronomy Domine"

Got into Voivod after learning about them in JackHammers nostalgia thread and I'm glad I did. Some have tried to copy their style (Axegrinder), but in the end, there's only one Voidvod. The only thing you got to get used to are the crusty vocals, but once you do the music opens up. "Killing Technology" and "Dimension Hatross" :tramp:

They played out on that when I saw them last year and it was mind blowing. Angel Rat which came just after those albums is a damn good album too.

I think Voivod is one of those bands that had incredibly groundbreaking and original instrumentation, but was held back because of lackluster vocals. Kind of like Celtic Frost, it's criminal that these bands that were doing it bigger and better before their respective music scenes where even established aren't recognized as being as influential as they truly are, and I have to say, I blame it solely on the lack of listener friendly vocals within the groups.

Angel Rat is the Terry Brown produced album that has a Rush feel to it. I`ve never really decided whether I really like it or just find it an interesting listen.

BUMP x100000

how this thread never took off is beyond me. Voivod is one of the most unique bands.

Their first few are great early thrash albums, listening to them a bit more lately.

More people need to discuss this great band. "Dimension Hatröss" is probably in my top 10 albums off all-time, in all genres.

Agreed. I like their sound apart from the vocals. I think if the vocals were more listener friendly they would have been much more popular. Then again, if they became too popular some metalheads would be too afraid to like them. Pick your poison I guess. Nothingface is my favorite of what I have heard from them.

I was recommended two of their albums (Dimension Hatröss and Nothingface) in the recommendations thread. I wasn't amazed, but I still liked what I heard. I guess it requires more listens, which is what I'll go do right now.