VANCOUVER PROVINCE, Vancouver BC:
VOIVOD
Infini
(Sonic Unyon)Using the last surviving tracks laid down by late guitarist Denis “Piggy” D’Amour, these Quebec metal legends have crafted a fitting last rites. Melodic, psychedelic six-string symphonies that owe as much to sevenites Euro prog as thrash dominate this very fine 13 track disc. Tour soon guys.
Rating:B
— Stuart Derdeyn
----
SEE MAGAZINE, Edmonton AB:
Voivod
Infini
The raunchiest album of the year so far, Voivod’s self-proclaimed capstone is a succinct hard-rock masterpiece. Bonded together with juvie Quebec concepts such as an extraterrestrial God dialing up “KRAP Radio," the mayhem of Nothingface is now replaced by straight-ahead carnivorous rock, the rather palatable domain of Alice Cooper, Nirvana, Motörhead, and Iggy Pop hits. Central to these compositions are Piggy’s last guitar efforts, many of them rescued from a laptop that should be sealed in Lucite and thrown into the Smithsonian. But Snake’s trashcan Oscar voice — which sounds 100 times better than the last album when Jason Newstead first showed up — is just as towering. And the songs are a blast. Dreamy, grungy, but eternally hard and heavy, Voivod emerges as a razor-winged butterfly. Can’t wait for the next mutation.
****1/2 (4.5 out of 5)
Fish Griwkowsky
----
VUE WEEKLY, Edmonton AB:
Voivod
Infini
(Sonic Unyon)
**** (4-stars)
Quebec's Voivod has always existed in its own little musical space. Too musically complex to be called punk, a little too raw and street-level to sit entirely comfortably within the metal scene and too heavy for progressive rock—but with elements of each blended together—the band has carved out a unique identity over the course of the 12 studio albums (plus one live set and an EP) that it's released since the group's 1984 debut. Along the way there have been several lineup changes and the band's recordings have evolved with the membership, sounds shifting to and fro—and occasionally jerking violently—as the players involved brought their influences and approaches to the table.
Since day one in the Voivod universe—sometime in 1982 when the band first stepped forth into the world—there have been two constants: drummer Michel "Away" Langevin and guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour. Through all the years that the duo was steering the ship and keeping it upright, the two functioned as the band's backbone, ensuring that there was always a consistency to the sound even when the exterior shadings varied.
But then D'Amour passed away from cancer and it seemed that the band had come to an end—until the remaining members, Langevin, vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger and bassist Jason "Jasonic" Newsted, announced that they would be completing another album of material, 2007's Katorz, from guitar demos that D'Amour had left behind. The new Infini was completed in the same way, with the band building up the music around the guitar tracks that D'Amour had recorded at home in 2004.
From the opening track, the beating, grinding metal that is "God Phones," two things are clear: D'Amour's bandmates worked hard at creating a fitting tribute to their friend—not to mention an excellent capping off to the band's catalogue—and D'Amour was still a master of riffing right through to his final days.
D'Amour blasts his way through the album, loosing riff after riff from his guitar while never forgetting that it takes more than just a killer part to make a killer song. So, as "God Phones" works its way through several distinct parts, there's a sense of cohesion, a feeling that D'Amour was aware of how the pieces worked together to form the whole and that he held enough respect for the songwriting process that he was sure to discard anything that would dilute the piece.
As much as D'Amour is at the centre of Infini—and there's really no doubt that this album could not exist were it not for D'Amour's guitarwork—the contributions of the rest of the band should not be glossed over. Langevin and Newsted provide a powerful rhythm section, never sounding like they're farther away from D'Amour then across the room despite being several years removed from the original recordings.
Specifically, though, Belanger gives the songs their pulse with his emphatic voice, making a venomous chorus of "Blah, blah, blah, is that all you say?" or a raging "Crap radio is it all you want to hear?" equally hypnotic and unforgettable.
- Eden Munro
posted June 18, 2009 11:31
