Voivod
Dissonant, sci-fi thrash that feels like a transmission from a dying satellite. Technical precision meets cold, cosmic anxiety for the adventurous metal fan.
Dissonant, sci-fi thrash that feels like a transmission from a dying satellite. Technical precision meets cold, cosmic anxiety for the adventurous metal fan.
Voivod sounds like the future as imagined in 1984: metallic, jagged, and deeply paranoid. Their music is built on the late Denis 'Piggy' D'Amour's signature use of dissonant chords and tritones, creating a 'space metal' sound that feels both high-tech and decaying. It is thrash metal stripped of its typical machismo and replaced with a cold, cerebral curiosity.
What makes them truly distinctive is their ability to bridge the gap between the raw aggression of hardcore punk and the complex structures of 70s progressive rock. While their peers were focused on speed and occult themes, Voivod was exploring nuclear winter, cyborgs, and interdimensional travel. The rhythm section provides a restless, shifting foundation that never lets the listener settle into a comfortable groove.
Start with 'Nothingface' for their most accessible blend of melody and dissonance, or 'Dimension Hatröss' if you want to experience the full weight of their conceptual sci-fi world-building. It is essential listening for anyone who finds standard metal too predictable.
Voivod is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Quebec. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault. The band has had numerous members changes throughout its 44-year career, with Langevin as the only consistent member. As of 2014, the line-up includes Langevin, Bélanger, Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain (guitar) and Dominic "Rocky" Laroche (bass). Voivod's musical style has changed several times since its inception. Starting out as a speed metal band, they have added a mix of progressive and thrash metal to create their own unique metal style, and have been credited as progenitors of the "technical thrash metal" sound along with Coroner, Watchtower, Dark Angel, Mekong Delta, Anacrusis and Blind Illusion, among others. To date, Voivod has released sixteen studio albums, as well as one EP, one live album, two compilations, seven demos and one DVD featuring a live concert. They have been grouped with Sacrifice, Razor and Annihilator in the "Big Four" of Canadian thrash metal. The band found mainstream success in the late 1980s with their fifth studio album Nothingface (1989), which is Voivod's only album to enter the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 114. The band won the "Visionary" award at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards. In 2019, Voivod's fourteenth studio album, The Wake, won the Juno Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year. Voivod's most recent studio album Morgöth Tales, a collection of re-recorded songs, was released in July 2023.
Shares jagged rhythmic shifts, thrash metal, progressive metal, anxious (detail)
Shares thrash metal, progressive metal, raspy, intense (subgenre)
Shares thrash metal, progressive metal, electric guitar, stargazing (subgenre)
Shares thrash metal, progressive metal, narrating, midnight (subgenre)
Shares thrash metal, progressive metal, electric guitar, intense (subgenre)
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