helterskelter.ca

VOÏVOD
1984 - War And Pain.
1986 - Rrröööaaarrr.
1988 - Dimension Hatröss.
1989 - Nothingface.
1995 - Negatron.
more VOÏVOD.
way more Helter Skelter.

August 10, 1984 - 2024: 40 years of: War And Pain.

Jonquière was now nuked.

From the remote forests of Québec, we eventually hit this tiny industrial city, where you guessed it: four teens didn't intend to work for the steel-mills. Fully bred on VENOM and you guessed it MOTÖRHEAD, these technocratic manipulators have a name: VOÏVOD ...and their war cry shall be of war and pain !

Under the burnt rubble, an echo resonates when the screeching call yells out "Voïvod". A sudden burst of thrashing rage, cut from both punk and the dirtiest of metals. From fast to speedmetal, these "Warriors Of Ice" conquer new land as they "Live For Violence". Shouting at the competition with "Blower" power, this is a cacophonous experience.

RPMs rolls at 666mph, as the destructive "Suck Your Bone" commands with an iron-hand. The final apocalypse is displayed on the monstrous title-track "War And Pain", as fuming guitar-feedbacks reach the fusion-point, pre-"Nuclear War". Some of the most dissonant thrash assault on the senses.

Released to no expectation on California's Metal Blade Records, known for their Metal Massacre compilations, the War And Pain LP not only stamped Canada on the map, but positioned the Quebecers deep in the trenches for the still in it's infancy thrashmetal takeover.

Later inking with Germany's Noise Records, this speedmetal nuclear assault rapidly became a worldwide-race. VOÏVOD provides more radiations with 1986's Rrröööaaarrr LP.

*
Voïvod = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjWLfjvmCfo
War And Pain = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmj3U88X2b8&list=OLAK5uy_mWBqtOSpJLVNKKVw6b3TOFuAezma4YJSk
Live in Jonquière in 1984
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajUCRk4OUvA

March 14, 1986 - 2021: 35 years of: Rrröööaaarrr.

Make way for the Jonquière steamroller.

1986, one of the most violent era in heavymetal's illustrious history. Barely out of the drawing-board, thrashmetal was sweeping the underground and rapidly had to make way for speedmetal. CELTIC FROST, EXODUS, NUCLEAR ASSAULT and from way up north, from the deepest part of Canada, from the town that hosted the biggest aluminum manufactories worldwide, arises the iron gang of VOÏVOD.

Freshly signed to prominent German label Noise Records, this second installment of aural brutality would become a corner-stone not only for Canadian-metal, but for the speedmetal movement as a whole.

Running at you at 666MPH is "Korgüll The Exterminator", an ugly and smelly oiled-up machiavellian metal-machine. Built to destroy, this device is the perfect antidote to the current hardrock buzz from the City Of Angels.

Mosh like a maniac on the bombastic "Thrashing Rage" and get a full toxic migraine from the fast and furious "Ripping Headaches". The nuclear explosion that is the "Helldriver" is a another friendly reminder that this devastating material is not to be taken light heartily.

Now as a G.I.Joe fan from the early 80s, hearing the scrap yard tank-intro of "Korgüll" made me instantly think of the evil Cobra H.I.S.S ...how can this go wrong ?

Chaotic to some, lovable to most, the raspy and raw metal included within solidified Canada as a deadly war-zone to be reckoned with, along other demented bastards: SACRIFICE, RAZOR and the soon to become none shall defy royalty of INFERNÄL MÄJESTY. Not condemned to the gallows, our World War III survivors would bloom into a full legacy of beautiful brutality, continuing with 1987's cutting edge Killing Technology LP

Fuck off and thrash !

*
Ripping Headaches = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D2uyJI-D2s
Rrröööaaarrr = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtK4T7sjda4&list=PLqytfNFx9GhxiKBJ-PFPl4GJqwgDcxzKQ
Interview avec Géo en 1986
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPlsrM94OH4
Live in Long Beach in 1986
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9REQzprxhM

June 29, 1988 - 2023: 35 years of: Dimension Hatröss.

This is not an exercise !

Following 1987's dirty Killing Technology LP, the marginal thrash terrorizers were about to break the boundaries of beyond. During the height of the thrashmetal rage, VOÏVOD would charter into unimaginable territories.

Deep into the void, we enter this "Experiment" ...we are connected. Offset-thrash, core-metal or plain future-metal, these new soundwaves are a bold assault on the senses. The 360º adventure continues on the hardcore "Chaosmongers" and the mechanical mammoth of "Macrosolutions To Megaproblems". The half-man / half-machine "Psychic Vacuum" swallows the genre, digests it and spits it out into a new hybrid alloy ...yet still in metal form.

Ripping with deadly headaches, the "Brain Scan" possesses a mind of it's own, while the now-signature primal attack of "Tribal Convictions" is not only synonymous with the band's evolution, but also one of thrashmetal's most renown tracks.

Intelligent thrashmetal, dissonant in unison and still punk-powered, the VOÏVOD-ians makes a strong statement. In the very late 80s saturated thrashmetal scene, some bands finally broke the fourth-wall into experimentations and progression, namely: DEATH ANGEL, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, SACRED REICH and the originators of METALLICA.

These pistons are running hot and would again change the game, with posh-metal on 1989's top-shelf clean-thrash perfection: the Nothingface LP.

*
Psychic Vacuum = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Miy1nppIU
Tribal Convictions = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAI7gWFbvMM
Dimension Hatröss = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn_5TYKwLjg&list=OLAK5uy_m6-gV3qR8_h50ONKgN7GfBn9uNTFhqLso
MusiquePlus interview in 1988
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc41K1uPzSY
Live in Long Beach in 1988
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daR_C4ZH6g4

October 12, 1989 - 2024: 35 years of: Nothingface.

Heavymetal zenith, made in Québec !

The Jonquière-bred destructive-droïd of VOÏVOD, as being ravaging metal since 1984. Following the nuclear assault of 1988's Dimension Hatröss LP, the band would now head in a different, more polished direction. From dirty-thrash to high-tech technology, this lost machine would now update the heavymetal-landscape ...with a forced facelift.

Eardrums rings aloud as they break the fourth-wall and enter "The Unknown Knows". A lava-fueled frenetic-tempo with dire consequence that will please old-fans. On the other-side of the "X-Ray Mirror", a blank faceless being stares into itself above Away's atomic-clock drums. Both melodramatic "Into My Hypercube" and "Missing Sequences" intros, features cool Blacky licks, all performed on a custom 5-string bass ...a then new edgy outlook on this now common metal-device.

The fiery "Pre-Ignition" poisons all on-site, the heavy-load of "Inner Combustion" erupts like rays from a thousand suns, while the CD-closer, the deep "Sub-Effect" darkened mood gallops unto some of Piggy's most developed achromatic-patterns. Metalizing PINK FLOYD's "Astronomy Domine" is a cosmic task on it's own, but every aspect of this classic is well under voïvodian-control.

1989 is a pivotal years for thrashmetal, as it reached it's brutal potential. The genre now had to merge into progression and act more ...creatively mature, for reference see: The Years Of Decay, No More Color and TESTAMENT's Practice What You Preach LPs. Produced by Glen Robinson and major-label MCA released in North America, Nothingface LP is a perfect hybrid of intelligent thrash with past prog-elements and hardened futuristic metal alloys. Nothing was left behind.

On tour, selected Est-Canadian dates included the sough after opening-slot on RUSH's 1990 Presto Tour. An unlikely, yet welcomed event. VOÏVOD was metal's future and they seem unstoppable, yet by late 1991, minus bassist Blacky and just before the Seattle storm, the Angel Rat CD was a doomed-to-fail experiment facing megaproblems.

Nothingface, a heavymetal masterpiece, made in Québec !

*
Astronomy Domine = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRg9mwjbGtk
Nothingface = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYMJSC10-QA&list=OLAK5uy_m-vDVX_YP3aMTRVOGxCaTNsCY6gAhCAOU
In the studio in 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR5wZ-Y7j5E
MuchMusic interview in 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LEgyQ6XdKI
MusiquePlus live and interview in 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH8uh4_PspQ
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3R-YJoj8-4
some other guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWIZBLHyV2U&list=PLdjsI5x10OtJCQKoA_nTjvJLCJV4IF_Rq

November 21, 1995 - 2020: 25 years of: Negatron.

...and then they were three.

After the incredible progressive exhibition of 1989's tour-de-force Nothingface LP, into the family-friendly verse-chorus-verse of 1991's Angel Rat CD ...the limbo of 1993's The Outer Limits CD did take a toll on the technology-killers.

In the post-grunge era of 1995, being a thrashmetal-band was not the flavor of the month, where to go but deep underground. From major-label to DIY-mindset, the boys were back to basics. Losing frontmen Snake, was in retrospect, a blessing. Enter Torontonian Eric Forrest on vocals and bass-guitar. And just like their childhood heroes RUSH and VENOM, this trio-formation was now set to rrröööaaarrr-mode !

It's crawling all round you, on you and eventually within you, masses of "Insects". One of the heaviest track of the decade, done by the boys that created these goods a decade ago. Loud and abrasive, this new formula is set to kill.

The tribal conviction intro of "Nanoman" is a modern take on VENOM's "In League With Satan", while the speedmetal fury of "Meteor" will trust you into oblivion. Stompers like the piledriving "Project X" and the mammoth-like title-track "Negatron" will please old-fans on cue. The closing-track "D.N.A. (Don't No Anything)" includes a certain James George Thirlwell of underground industrial beast FOETUS, on guest-vocals.

After all is said and done, the war and pain of VOÏVOD was back. Negatron did get some respect and praise in the scene, but like any of their releases, it would take some time for the world to truely grasp the vibe and agenda of this album. It also saved the band, when serious doubts concerning their very future were at stake in late 1994.

Mechanic and menacing from head-to-toe, the new reborn VOÏVOD stuck around, released the Phobos CD in 1997 ...and eventually, the Snake came back into the fold, while the bass-duties were now handled by a certain Jason Newsted.

Enter the dimension hatröss of Negatron !

RIP Denis D'Amour (1959-2005)

*
Insect = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zB0AnMcQZQ
Negatron = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QcqBU9riA8
Interview a Solidrok en 1995
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZUxzQQ6W2s
Live in Germany in 1995
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OymjZDCWMI

more VOÏVOD:

Daniel Mongrain