VOIVOD: PROJECT EARTH (2013)
Voivod is back with a new album!
Their latest effort is called "Target Earth", and it manages to follow nicely in the footprints of earlier Voivod works. There are echoes of some of their earlier works here, when they really were pioneering new sounds. Back then, I think an argument could be made that they were easily the most innovative group in metal, and one of the most unique bands overall, period. They had some incredible sounding stuff, and their sound was original, unlike anything you had heard before.
They return to that quite a bit in this latest album. Even the artwork on the album cover is reminiscent of earlier Voivod. Nothing against some of their "heavier and faster than thou" approach through numerous more recent albums, but as a fan, I always thought that they were best when they innovated, when they weren't sounding like anyone, or anything, else that was out there.
This time, the lineup consists of three original members - Snake (Denis Bélanger) on vocals, Blacky (Jean-Yves Thériault) on bass, and Away (Michel Langevain) on drums. Chewy (Dan Mongrain) plays on the guitar.
While reminiscent of some of their earlier work, "Target Earth" stands on it's own. At times, it seems reminiscent of earlier albums, such as "Dimension Hatross", "Nothingface", and perhaps even "The Outer Limits", on some levels. Yet, it remains uniquely it's own product, and has it's own sound. Voivod prove that they can still rock hard, yet also show the imagination and ingenuity with their craft that placed them as perhaps the most unique sounding band in their genre, and among the most in music, period.
Personally, my favorite track is "Warchaic", which starts off slow, but picks up speed. Typically, as can be expected by Voivod when they are at their best, the song changes directions musically at different points, giving it a unique feel. All of the songs on this album change directions radically at some point, and become almost a different song - a Voivod trademark!
One surprise comes with "Corps étranger", where the lead singer of the group from francophone Québec province actually sings in the native French tongue.
A solid effort overall, and a credit to the Voivod legacy, which I believe this album helps to grow. This album deserves a listen!
How I got into Voivod
I first got into them because of my brother, who got me into many other bands back in the latter half of the eighties. He introduced me to at least the following that I will list (and probably some others that are not listed here, but which are not coming to me as I write this): Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, the Dead Kennedys (as well as some side projects that Jello Biafra was involved in), DOA, Faith No More, and, of course, Voivod.
This was at the time of their peak popularity in the late 80's, following the release of Nothingface (probably my favorite Voivod album.
As I have mentioned numerous times now in these last couple of reviews about Voivod, the sound just blew me away. There was nothing that I could even compare it to. Pink Floyd, maybe? At least in terms of how unique they sounded, although they certainly do not sound like one another. Truth is, this music sounded different than any other that I had heard, and that album must have worn out before long, with how often I listened to it.
I continued to be a fan, although more from a distance for a few years. They were going through some things, some changes, and admittedly, perhaps I did not give the new lineup a change when it came. But I picked up the other albums and, slowly but surely, began to have a pretty decent collection of works from this band, including some bootlegs of shows.
But I never seemed to get a chance to see them, which I very much looked forward to. As the years passed, my hopes to see them began to wane.
I was blessed to have seen Voivod live in 2003, in Old Bridge, New Jersey (if memory serves me correctly). I had been dying to see them for some time, and when Jason Newsted seemed to inject the band with some new life by leaving Metallica (an obviously much bigger and more well known group) for Voivod. That was back in 2002, and when they released a new album, I kept my eyes open for a tour. There were a few chances to go see them, and I even tinkered with the idea of going all the way up to Montréal (where I believe they opened for Ozzy Osboure, although my memory is, again, admittedly fuzzy on this score) to go see them. It seemed like it would be such a cool idea, seeing this band in their native province. I was curious how the "home" crowd (actually, Jonquière is where they are originally from, but Montréal was as close as I was likely to get to see them there) would react to them.
Now, memory perhaps is failing me, since that was ten years ago. Not sure why I only saw them once that year. Perhaps it was money, and perhaps I did not have enough vacation time to take such a trip up to Canada (which I had been to three times already that year, once to see Pearl Jam in Toronto and Montréal- going long distances to see concerts is not unheard of with me, admittedly). But at least I got the chance to see them that one time (and would jump on the chance to catch them again, if the opportunity presents itself). That meant that I saw Piggy (Denis D'Amour) on stage, before he died of cancer in 2005.
They have a new album out now, and although as of the time of my writing this, they only have two scheduled shows (one in Ottawa in early March, and the other in South America), I am hopeful that they perhaps will come around with more shows in the near future. This is one of the truly few bands that I would almost drop everything to see!
For now, I am just glad that they put out a new album, that I have been listening to quite a lot since picking it up a couple of weeks or so ago!
If you are interested in learning more about this band, or perhaps checking to see if they are coming to play in a location near you (and I would recommend checking out a live show if possible), then you can visit their official website at: http://www.voivod.com/.
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