Voivod
Rrröööaaarrr

THE REVIEW

The Voivod, if there were an award for the most underrated band in extreme music, could easily compete on equal terms with anyone to claim it.

Everyone promotes them, the cultured (or pseudo-cultured) critics adore them but, in truth, apart from a small group of shocked individuals, no one really listens to them. Too noisy at the beginning, too complex in the middle period, excessively psychedelic on the major MCA records, too distant from the new metal generations with the latest works; in short, always in the wrong place at the wrong time, so much so that sometimes I think that it is precisely their total lack of timing that makes them so unique. In reality, they live and produce music in an undetermined and unpredictable time, completely detached from our common perception, so much so that today (as twenty years ago or as in fifty years) suddenly someone might casually have the privilege of stumbling upon records like "Dimension Hatross" or "Nothingface" and not be able to get them out of their head for an entire lifetime.

In 1984 the four musicians from Morgoth had very few rivals in terms of sonic ferocity: "War And Pain" is released (but also "Morbid Tales" by Celtic Frost and Bathory's self-titled album) and the Canadians placed the first, incredibly heavy, building block of their exhilarating musical journey. A fundamental product for the evolution of the extreme scene, full of anger and genuine passion, still absolutely shattering.

"War & Pain," then; not exactly two colorful words like Peace & Love...

Two years pass, and Voivod return to the fray with a new record contract (with Noise Records) having already made a certain name for themselves within the international scene. The moment is decidedly favorable: Thrash is establishing itself as the prevailing trend, the interest around the band is palpable. In this context, here comes "Rrroooaaarrr," a train perpetually on the verge of derailing.

One thing is immediately clear: an album titled like this can only be loved and revered in every aspect, starting, as is right, with the onomatopoeia that dominates the cover, a cross between a rumble and a roar that only confirms the excellent and brutal impressions aroused by the debut. Impetuous and unstoppable "Rrroooaaarrr" resumes the apocalypse of the previous work, introducing new desolate scenarios and new disturbing characters, including "Korgull, The Exterminator" (opening track), bearer of ruin and, quite possibly, the cry that gives the platter its title.

An universe of horrors of various kinds is what Voivod's music describes; there is no logic, no foothold, nothing at all. Only an abhorrence that materializes in nightmares of death and destruction and comes to life through notes a tormented and crashing Thrash metal, where Snake's convulsive singing plays a leading role following the restlessness of the rhythm section and aligning with Piggy's sharp guitar work.

It must be said that this Voivod effort has been slightly penalized by the lack of that surprise effect that characterized the debut to the point that, often, "Rrroooaaarrr" is almost regarded as a 'normal' album and judged as such. Nothing could be more wrong because, when Away's creation is involved, the concept of normality tends to dissolve, replaced by much more alienating concepts. Tracks like "Fuck Off And Die" and "Horror" speak volumes about the peculiar nature and what was going through their minds at the time: violence, violence, and more violence. And what about the frenzy of "Thrashing Rage" and the catastrophic tones of the concluding "To The Death"?

Meticulously crafted in every detail by the same visionary drummer (see cover and handwritten lyrics), "Rrroooaaarrr" is the second, hallucinatory, fresco of an avant-garde band like few others, capable of providing, even here, concrete proof of their undisputable personality.