"Voivod Lives"
Metal Blade Records
By Vinnie Apicella It's alive! It's alive. this entity known only as "Voivod" has finally resurfaced to destroy technology all over again-and could the timing be more perfect? The missing link-no, we're not talking about the entire "Rrroooaaarrr" album from years back-but the one thing that's been noticeably vacant from the French-Canadian techno-thrash-space junkies has been a live album. Making constructive use of time as easily as they construct off beaten, multi-dimensional patterns, somewhere between "Phobos" to where we are now, the group spent wise use of the forced downtime they had and assembled quite a list of live material that finally sees the light of day. albeit very briefly if we try even barely to climb into the context of what exactly Voivod is and does at this moment in time. Trying to figure out this band is not the easiest of tasks, as the moment you put your finger on it, they've scattered in a wink and a flash and moved light years ahead. but overall the live material here focuses on their return to darkness. coincident with Forrest's arrival for '95s "Negatron" which dominates the first half here-"Insect," "Nanoman," "Planet Hell," among others. I think the idea of a live Voivod record might've scared a lot of people in the past-maybe even the band members themselves. not that they couldn't pull it off but everything they've done from the mid-80s on has been such an adventure. Whoa! All of a sudden they're following up "Nanoman," with. "Nuclear War!" Yes indeed, going all the way back to the "War & Pain" days and the other side of Venom! The cute "pet" names the guys once used are no longer. but some things remain unchanged and much to their credit, they're not, nor have they ever been easy to pick up on. "War & Pain" was the blackest of the black offering in its day, then after the gratuitous torture that was "Rrroooaaarrr," extreme noise terror taken to its literal edge, the experimentation began and with it, you had a this twisted wreckage of metal and the heightened use of technology. and where we're going with this I have no idea but anyway don't expect to hear stuff off of "Nothingface" or "Angel Rat" here. Those, two of their more accessibly "clean" recordings, though no less open to miles of interpretation-although a somewhat uncomfortable version of "The Prow" turns up as one of two bonus tracks at the conclusion. So as far as variation, there's not a lot to be uncovered here, considering we're looking at a history worth about twelve or thirteen full albums, they've remained tangled in their darkened roots for a while now. But the set list screams of variation, first jumping from their performance fronting for Venom at Holland's Dynamo Open Air Fest during the first few tracks and later to the more "intimate" setting of NY's, CBGB's! A crashing rendition of their longtime staple "Voivod" must've had the place in flames before they were through and provided just the right setting for their closing cover of "In League with Satan," which is about as close to sounding like early Venom as even they'll ever get today! Voivod-they came. they saw. they conquered. they left. they came back. and now they live again! |
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