If you take the long drive to Jonquière, which is almost a two-hour drive north of the city of Québec, you will pass very empty land in the process. It is a national park, and so the land is preserved, and although extremely striking for it's beauty, you also can't help but feel isolated. There are no real villages in any direction. When you finally arrive in the Chicoutimi/Jonquière area, which is now known collectively as the city of Saguenay, you can't help but wonder at just how small it is and feels.
This region is actually the third largest metropolitan region in the province of Québec, but you'd never know it. As much as a drop off as there is in size between Montréal and Québec, is also at least how much of a difference there is between Québec and the Saguenay region. It is small. We were the only plates that were out of province both times that I went, and one of those times was at the height of the tourist season. Everyone seemed to look our way on the road, like we were some oddity or novelty. I guess they don't get much in the way of visitors, which is a shame if true, since it is a truly beautiful region. You feel like you are truly in the far north, and it feels a little bit like what you might picture Scandinavia might be like. Quiet, with wilderness all around you, and woods studded with pine trees. They even have the Saguenay fjord, the only navigable fjord in North America, to my understanding.
It is dominated by the countryside that surrounds it on all sides. It is spectacular scenery, a beautiful place to visit, and surely to live in. Not that surprising since, after all, it is very isolated, thanks in no small part to the extremity of the weather here. In a province (Québec) that is known for extreme weather, this region is perhaps the most brutal of the populated parts of it. The first time that I went up there, in 2001, I saw a couple of patches of snow on the ground, in mid-May, during what were then record shattering hot temperatures. It was unseasonably warm during that first visit, and yet, there were still patches of snow, that surely must have been far larger mere days earlier, before the temperatures soared. The weather is extreme, and thus, so is the feeling of isolation.
All in all, it has a very sleepy feel to it. You get the feeling that not much happens there. Not the kind of place where you would expect to find clubs and concert venues. Not the kind of place where you would expect to find a group of strong caliber.
Yet, it was from here that one of the most innovative groups in metal originated - Voivod.
This group is truly unique, and the extent of their influence may be surprising to the uninitiated. They have not only changed their style with some measure of regularity, sometimes even radically so, but they have also changed their lineup numerous times, as well. Voivod was one of the few progressive metal groups to gain an audience worldwide. Yet, although they seemed on the cusp of making it big, they never quite got there.
Why not? What was it that prevented them from becoming "huge"? That is a good question, but not one that I will explore here. To be truthful, I am not entirely sure.
But this band has been influential. Even greatly so. Numerous notable liked and respected their work. Listen to the Foo Fighters "One by One", which may seem to have a unique sound to it. But truth be told, that song would not sound out of place on Voivod's Nothinghead album. Perhaps that is not surprising, since Dave Grohl has spoken glowingly of Voivod in the past. But really, is it all that surprising? After all, this was the band that Jason Newstead left all the fame and fortune of Metallica for. There was a reason for it. And check out what Newstead had to say about the band in a 2006 interview:
"Voivod are one of the most underrated and unrecognized outfits in metal. You know it and I know it. They really deserve the recognition from this generation of metal music lovers who don't quite know about Voivod and their incredible influence throughout the years. This generation really needs to hear this, and realize where the bands they dig now come from. I mean, where did these new bands get their ideas for the dissonant chords and all those crazy sounds? That would be from D'Amour's unique and inventive tunings! He composed all of the one hundred and eighty odd songs that Voivod has ever recorded, so he really made Voivod's sound. He invented that stuff!
"There are so many bands that are influenced by Voivod. Ask the guys in Tool about where some of their craziness comes from. Ask Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters where all those dissonant guitar notes comes from. You know where it comes from. They would tell you straight up where all that comes from. To see Voivod finally get that recognition would be really cool. That's the reward I would like to see the most, along with some financial rewards. It's not something I'm after. I only hope this album is success is purely for them."
"When it comes to predicting the future, that's a really tough question to answer. The way I see it, speaking to you in July 2006, there's really nobody that can take D'Amour's place. We could plan one big show, or a couple of shows together where there would be guest taking his place on a few songs. People like Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) would certainly like to do that. But in regards to a full-fledged VOIVOD tour, I don't know how it would be possible. The way that he tuned, the way that he played, and the way he constructed all of the seeds for all Voivod compositions, that's some unfillable shoes to me. Voivod will be forever."
(Source:http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=56522)
Nor is that the only high profile rock notable who adds praise to the group. Take a look at what Dave Grohl, of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, had to say about the band (quote taken from the back of the "Tatsumaki: Voivod Japan 2008 DVD":
"This is the most bad ass band I ever heard in my life. Every musician wants to have their signature, Voivod had four of them. Voivod sounded like no one else. They are one of a kind."
Not too shabby, right?
Perhaps it is a bit easier to understand why Newsted left such a huge group, in order to join a band that probably could have been huge in their own right.
But a better way would simply be to listen to an album. After all, is that still not the best way to measure the worth of a band? And Voivod is worth giving a listen to. Their sound ranges, sometimes rather dramatically, from album to album. They have been described as being straight out heavy metal, thrash metal, speed metal, and progressive metal. That's not all, either. In his book, "Soundgarden: New Metal Crown", Chris Nickson suggested that they were the Pink Floyd of metal.
They just sound different than anyone else. The musicianship and innovativeness are simply off the charts. They change their styles, even within the same songs, often times, which lends them a kind of spirit reminiscent of the misdirection and nontraditional feel of jazz, when it pushes the envelope. Please note: I am not saying that they sound like jazz, only that they bend, if not outright break, the rules of music in much the same manner that jazz did, which was the appeal of jazz to begin with.
Personally, my two favorite albums are Nothingface (1989) and The Outer Limits (1993), both of which are pictured above. Nothingface sounds like nothing that you have heard before. It is very futuristic, and they simply do some incredible things musically. I could try to explain it, but it's best just to give it a listen, and judge for yourself.
The Outer Limits also has a futuristic feel to it, although it sounds entirely different than Nothingface. It probably has what could be described as a more commercial feel to it than Nothingface, and probably has a more direct, immediate hold on you, although truth be told, this is the kind of band that is best appreciated through repeated listening. If you are looking for something catchy that will be easy to get into, Voivod is not quite that. They are a group that you can truly appreciate over time, but it is more of how innovative and unique they are, and the fact that they make this work. But they are not the type of band that you could probably hear a lot of given the popular radio climate presently.
For that matter, it should also be noted that they have, at times, shown clear punk influences, as well. Jello Biafra, formerly of the Dead Kennedys, singled them out as one of the standout groups in the metal genre for their intelligent lyrics, and the themes to their concept albums. It should also be noted, by the way, that Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label picked Voivod up, at least for a while. You can still get some Voivod stuff from the website.
So, if you were or are uninitiated with Voivod, and were simply assuming that my raving on about them had no real backing to it, think again. This group sounded like no other, and proved very influential, ultimately, to numerous other bands.
Metal pioneers, Voivod have long been a strong presence in metal, and music, overall, although I am not sure that they have gotten the name recognition that they surely deserve.
On Friday, I will give a review of Voivod's latest album, "Target Earth", which was just released late last month: So, please stay tuned!
In the meantime, here is a video link, where Dave Grohl praises Voivod:
http://www.hiking-trail.net/video_youtube/Dave%20Grohl%20discusses%20Voivod/yDYU-rnBo_U
No comments:
Post a Comment