Voivod
War And Pain

THE REVIEW

I am about to (how I love this term) review the first work of the Canadian band Voivod, named War And Pain. The album has recently been remastered for higher quality but comes with the addition of some demos (does Metal Massacre ring a bell?), a disc featuring old live shows (the quality is really not the best), and a bonus disc (unfortunately not a DVD) with photos, the band's biography up to the present day, and videos.

A bit of history... In the year 1983, the Californian band Metallica released their album, Kill 'Em All. An album that fused Punk's aggression with what Metal had expressed up to that point. Clearly inspired by Motörhead, it was a bolt from the blue that tore through the heavy music scene. Thus were born Thrash Metal and Speed Metal (already sketched by Motörhead who, however, were decidedly more punk).

The year 1984, many bands began to follow the sound shaped by the pioneers Metallica (even though they themselves made it even more complex with Ride The Lightning). Among these were the Canadians Voivod, who decidedly focused on Speed Metal with their first album, which should be considered a concept (thus begins the saga of the barbarian Korgull that would have many sequels before being definitively abandoned). The album is very raw, with excellent technical depth, produced by the well-known (to metalheads) Brian Slagel and released by Metal Blade Records. The drumming by Away (Michel Langevin) offers good tempo changes, although the goal remains to hit the skins as fast as possible to achieve maximum speed. Snake (Denis Belanger) has a malevolent and raspy voice (which he will refine with subsequent albums). Piggy (Denis D'Amour) is an excellent guitarist, and his solos (always short but effective) are slashing blades that cut through the speed rhythm of every single track. Bassist Jean Yves Thériault completes a lineup of excellent level, making the band's sound darker, heavier, and faster.

The weak point of the album is definitely the originality of the nine songs. There are no songs that manage to significantly stand out over the others, which is a double-edged sword. The album is compact and flows by quickly but requires several listens to identify the best songs. This probably leaves open interpretation as to what is truly the best part of this work. The title track is fast but manages to offer something more technically, the concluding "Nuclear War" is the slowest and deserves mention for being the exception, while the opening of "Voivod" introduces us to the story that begins with this album. "Warriors Of Ice" and "Live For Violence" are also excellent, whereas only the short "Blower" really falls short compared to the rest.

"War And Pain" opens the path for the underrated Voivod, who today include Jasonic (Jason Newstead) in their lineup. A good debut that will be followed by some even better performances and some truly disappointing albums. Recommended to everyone, even those who don't digest metal (was undoubtedly ironic).