You asked for it, paul.A little chat with a long time friend, Michel Langevin, aka Away of Voivod, who on a nice Sunday afternoon, called me to give Voivod news. [There follows a biography of which we need nought, and things we already know. The interview gets interesting at question 2.]
2. RM : Can we expect a new album with Jason?
ML : Certainly, we've been writing for ten months now and we have more than 25 songs done. And of course, always and more than ever with Jason, who's definitely a part of Voivod.
3. RM : Did he write more than on the eponymous album?
ML : Indeed ; on the eponymous album, Piggy had written the most of the music and Jason had integrated his bass parts. Snake and I had done the lyrics for that last chapter of the Voivod epic. But for this new album Jason has really participated in music writing and has brought a new sound that really grooves with the band.
4. RM : Are there songs written entirely by Jason, like "M-Body" on 1997's Phobos, during the Eric Forrest period?
ML : Well, Piggy really did the music (laughs) but everyone was really involved in the writing, which should make a very different album. We really feel Jason is assuming with pleasure his official member status in Voivod.
5. RM : I know you and Jason have really been together for a while : I only have to think of your Tarrat project when Jason was still in Metallica. Was it this long-time friendship that motivated Jason to become an official member, as in the first place he was only supposed to be participating in the recording of the album?
ML : Well, you know Tarrat! (laughs) That was really an adventure into psychedelia, in the beginning of the 90's. It's a long time since we know each other, and Jason appreciates and really respects Voivod's way. I think he is really proud of being part of Voivod, and same for us (laughs). In fact, when we recorded the album, it seems it made him want to become really part of a band. This is mainly due to the fact he's free to experiment as he wants. We have a really good spirit in the band and it makes us really enthusiastic.
6. RM : After having a big success with Nothingface [blah, blah, astronomy domine, blah] Voivod came slowly back into the underground. Jason has declared in a conference at the launching of Ozzfest that he was proud to be both in the greatest rock enterprise in the world [sic] and in the coolest underground band. But isn't Voivod internationally known again?
Of course there's been more attention on Voivod than there ever could have been in the last ten years. It's also very clear that there has been an excellent welcome for that album in the metal community, but even if people know the name of Voivod they don't necessarily know our music. What's more, there's not a great Voivod public but rather a small core of very loyal fans who appreciate our music. It's good if Jason's presence enables us to renew our fan community, but you know, there are so many bands who want to be recognized and known, while we don't necessarily work that way.
There will always be a cult around Voivod's underground status, which really makes us who we are, a band without compromises, who do the music they want.
7. RM : Your return to the metal community really pleases me but talking about these last ten years, the last time you played in Rimouski [mid-size Québec town] was on Feb.2, 1996, in the Coudée du Cégep with the band Immortellys. Will we have to wait ten years (2006) to see Voivod here? (laughs) Or is it possible, now that Jason is in the band?
Even if our latest trip was some time ago, there has always been a good metal scene in Rimouski. And Voivod has always been welcome there. I'll give you our booking office number (laughs) In fact, it's you who received us here last time. What's more, we are planning to do a tour for the next album in spring 2005.
8. RM : Talking about that new album, when would be the recording and possibly launch date?
Well, we're in the final stages of [the writing] and it will either be recorded in San Francisco or Québec [province]. We plan to go to Studio Victor. What's more, I can't confirm Glen Robinson will be producing, but we'd like to have that Nothingface aura to our sound again.
9. RM : After having been on such labels as Hypnotic, Metal Blade, Noise/Combat, Century Media, you chose Jason's for the eponymous album ; will this also be true of the next album?
No, because that's too much work for Jason. That's why we want to soon record a demo with a few tracks which we would submit to different labels, including possibly Sanctuary. It's not because you're an existing band everything always works, so we'll work to it and see what will happen.
10. RM : I'd like to tell us for the newbies what the Voivod is - you mentioned a vampire lord.
Well, as he is seen on our website, Voivod is an antihero, a post-nuclear vampire lord, immortal and invincible. On our first album, we focused on nuclear wars and high-tech weapons. There's always been a social side to Voivod, with sci-fi, technology and a number of other fantastic stuff. However, as much as we have already written socially involved lyrics, I can assure you that on the next album, Snake and I have still got a lot to say.
11. RM : We're all eager to discover the next chapter. Let us know, it's always pleasant to support the Québec scene.
Even if some say we haven't really been popular here, we know we have a good following here, and there's no reason for it to end. Québec is known as a good place for metal.
(Done rather quickly - there may be misspellings, misunderstandings, or anything closely related)
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The demons are so creative...
posted October 26, 2004 12:21
posted October 26, 2004 15:35
