Voivod (Jonquière, Quebec)
Genre: Thrash Metal
Album:Post Society(EP)
Label: Century Media Records
Release Date :Februaryl, 26th,2016.
When Canadian scene is at stake, there are 2 schools of metal: One of them is led by Annihilator, with melodic and comercial oriented sound, and the other is dominated by Voivod's noisy approach, but it seems like that both are doomed to lurk the underground waters for eternity. Voivod may not have been commercially succsessful, but I think that there is no band from the 80s that hasn't been influenced by their music. Their legacy and contribution to the metal scene is just outstanding! The death of Voivod's original guitarist was a huge loss for the band but luckily, these guys have managed to find a proper replacement for the irreplaceable Denis D'Amour, better known as Piggy. His spot is filled by one of the finest virtuosos in metal, mr. Dan Mongrain of Martyr. I mean, a guy who started to play the guitar when he was 11, and who was giving lectures when he was only 13 and who above all, managed to fulfil his childhood dreams by becoming a permament member of Voivod.... can't get better than this!!!
Voivod are once again delivering their goods! Their latest record, Post Society EP will be released on February 26th via Century Media Records. Well, we were honored to write a review before the actual release date. This 30 minute long EP is a logical continuation of where they've stopped 3 years ago. The moment you hear first few seconds of the album opener (Post Society) you'll know that the EP itself is more than a promising piece of work. Noisy riffs have always been Voivod's trademark. Dan Mongrain really knows what he's doing. Some of you might have a feel as if Piggy was present on the record. The band is just pounding with fury! All of a sudden, the song gets slowed down - chord progression that follows is as spooky as Snake's recognisable vocals! Noisy chords and piercing bass sound are soon to follow, but the culminating moment of Post Society is when Dan Mongrain's solo kicks in! Right after, chunky chords are dominating the song till the end.
Forever Mountain's opening riff is as gigantic as the song title. Man, this guitar attack is transformed into a wall of sound that could bend the hills with ease! These King Crimsonesque patterns are jawdropping! Ambiental melodic part, set right before the chorus, while Away is delivering his double bass rapid fire, gives this track truly unique calm before the storm feel. It's nedless to say that Mongrain solo is top notch again. It is as dark as any of his solos coming from Gorguts' From Wisdom to Hate album. The next song, Fall, is sophistically melancholic piece of art executed in Voivod's distinguished way. Cosmic blues is the word that describes it perfectly. Rocky's dirty bass sound and Chewy's chrushing riffs will constantly keep your ears focused! When Snake's vocals are at stake, it seems that his voice didn't suffer throughout the years. And once again, Dan Mongrain's twisted sounding solo will make you bend your knees! This EP also contains a song We Are Connected which was previously released as a single. I really love it! These twisted riffs and vocals are catchy as fuck! It's also good to notice that this EP has really long songs, over 5 minutes each and still, you won't get bored at all! Anyways, slow part which can be found in We Are Connected is dark and creepy sounding. Man, Mongrain is one of the few guitarist that really gets his shit straight when it comes to solos! Noisy pinch-harmonics right after the solo are also killer! Finally, EP is closed by a cover version of Hawkwind's classic - Silver Machine. Motörheadwas one of the bands that according to Away, had the greatest impact on Voivod's sound shaping. However, this is not just a copy/paste cover...Voivod guys gave it a propper stamp. And they are one of the few metal bands who can say that Lemmy wore their band's t-shirt! Long live the king! Lemmy's legacy is timeless!
Well, Post Society is as twisted as its album cover looks like. These Canadian metal masters are surprising me over and over again. You just have to hear it to believe it. The only bad thing about it is that we end up with 30 minutes long EP instead of a full record. In the end, it is no exaggeration to say that The symptom of the universe is written in Voivod's riffs. \m/
Rating: 10/10