Voivod
Infini

I will not dwell here too much and/or eulogize the feats of one of the greatest bands in the entire heavy-thrash scene unjustly underrated and plagued by bad luck. 

It's a shame, truly. It's a shame that this is the last time we will hear Snake sing with his “distorted, Robotic” yet always perfectly tuned voice. It's a shame that in “Infini” we will hear the poignant melodies, distorted riffs, and solos of the late Piggy. It's always a shame that in this last masterpiece, we will hear the rhythmic section, always precise and fluid, stamped by Jason “Jasonic” Newsted & Away. It's a shame that unfortunately, one of the bands that within thrash metal has indeed managed to infuse something of its own and innovative, impossible to imitate, is disappearing.

And so, now, we can say goodbye to Voivod as we knew them, as a pure thrash metal band from the beginnings that, slowly, carved out its personal space within an inflated genre that saw too many bands and too many idiots emulating this or that singer or, even worse, this or that band.

Because there are bands that would do well to hang up their instruments on their damn hook (or their damn selves on the hook) and maybe could even hang on their asses to the aforementioned hook. There are bands, on the other hand, that keep wearing us down with their exhausting self-celebration in offering us “technique and only technique” to make us more sterile than a field uncultivated for decades. And I'm not only referring to MerdallicA or Dream Theater who keep churning out records, the former out of desperation, the latter because they know they can always count on the support of their dull fans. A bit like Merdowar who, despite not hitting the mark for decades, manages to always sell their usual shitty meatloaf to their fans who will continue to say “great band, legendary Eric Adams!!!”.

But enough criticizing others. As they say: “the mother of idiots is always pregnant” and, unfortunately, produces multiple offspring.

I don't want to ignite any fuse, but, Holy Christ, why if these bands (and many others) enjoy success (albeit deserved at the beginning) currently undeserved, others like Anthrax and Voivod have to break their backs to give birth to fabulous records and, simultaneously, remain niche bands reserved for a certain audience? Why? I will never understand people. I don't consider myself a music scholar, but I would like to understand the reason behind all this.

Money? Music biz?

Oh well. It's all so splendidly shitiful.

And so, I will listen to “Infini”, placing it in the last era of Voivod, which, for the record, goes from their self-titled album to this one. The deadly trio released in recent years, where the former Metallica bassist joins (after skillfully flipping them his middle finger), Jason Newsted also known as “Jasonic”. While contributing little or nothing to the band's sound, he manages to make a difference and shows his balls on more than one occasion.

And so, let’s go with the speedy tracks like the opener “God Phones”, with the psychedelic “robotic” “Krap Radio”, the “cybernetic” and obsessive “A Room With A.V.U.” with the stunning solos and sci-fi melodies of “Deathproof”. And so it goes until the end, to the splendid closure, as if it were the grand finale, the swan song of a band that lived for years in the damn underbrush of heavy metal. That “Volcano”, introduced by cyber-robotic effects, then exploding into a heavy rock heavily indebted to Motorhead, but always with that "voivodian" touch of class that makes the difference. Always remaining unique in their genre. Always and only Voivod.

Goodbye Voivod, a cybernetic, sick, psychedelic, obsessive, pounding, martial, speedy & hard-rocking creature. Goodbye offspring of an immature thrash, grown and become an adult, unique and unrepeatable. Goodbye.

But, one thing will be certain. There will always be crappy people and crappy bands that will continue to produce crappy records and portray themselves as emperors, of crap, of music and/or more strictly, of metal. This is a given. But they are destined for a slow and painful death.

Whereas of you, an indelible memory will remain, a faded trace that will always show your logo, your name. That “Voivod” that will remain impregnated in the history of music. Of all music.

Because, if I may quote a famous film (adapting it for the occasion) “All bands, sooner or later, are destined to disappear and die but not all can say they truly lived”.

And you, YES, you have lived.