Surfdog Records Ada
2003
Voivod
About This Album
On its 13th album, Canada's groundbreaking metal veterans Voivod have undergone a renaissance of sorts. With vocalist Denis "Snake" Belanger returning to the fold, three quarters of the original band is reunited with a unified purpose. Adding former Metallica bassist -- and longtime friend -- Jason Newsted to the fold adds new energy and vision. No longer a thrash metal act, Voivod has simply become one of the best hard rock bands on the planet. They write songs with complex melodies and bone-splintering riffs, yet they stick to the roots of their trademark sound. In many ways they feel more like some crazy combination of the 1977-era Saints and Queens of the Stone Age with better lyrics and no stoner quotient. Newsted is nothing less than phenomenal in this new context; check out "Rebel Robot," with its four-to-the-floor running riff, propelling the drums and pushing guitarist Piggy into overdrive. Stripping the songs to the essentials of shattering guitars, pumped-up muddy bass throb, and heavy-bottom drumming was a plus in the production department. On the opener "Gasmask Revival," a rebel call to open protest in the streets and the refusal to be "good citizens," four chords and three riffs crank themselves into a frenzy of jarring, cacophonous, metal garage rock.
Track List (try tracks 1,4,7 and 10)

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