En tout honneur
Cédric Bélanger
07-06-2009

"For us, the best way to honor Piggy’s memory is to play live. It’s lame that he is not here, but it’s his music we play. It continues to live, and it means that people continue to talk about it."

Dennis "Piggy" d’Amour would certainly be happy. Close to four years after his death, the compositions and the spirit of the virtuoso ex-guitarist continues to live through Voivod. The group from Jonquière is ready to launch, on the 23rd of June, Infini, an album built with the guitar tracks that Piggy bequeathed to his friends shortly before his death. It is the follow-up to the album Katorz, released in 2006, which was also created with the final compositions of the deceased.

For Denis "Snake" Bélanger, the recording of Infini has been much easier than Katorz, which was done right after Piggy’s death.

"It was very difficult. We took his guitar, photos, everything that we could use as a reference. To put on headphones and listen to him play, that was really hard. It was very intense," says Bélanger, and according to him it was necessary to take a break after Katorz, to let the dust settle.

"When we returned to the studio the following Autumn," he says, "we were much more objective. We had had the time to mourn Piggy."

Another?

Although he assures us that Infini constitues the final Voivod recording where we will hear the guitars of Piggy, Denis Bélanger doesn’t rule out the group continuing with replacement guitarist Dan Mongrain, recording under the name of Voivod in the future.

The musicians have been advised of their grueling schedule of concerts from now until the fall. Invited to a diverse range of festivals, Voivod will make many trips to Europe where the group will play in a dozen different countries. Mexico and South America could also host the band this fall. In short, despite the loss of Piggy, the popularity of the group cannot be denied. Voivod was preparing to fly to Sweden at the time of this interview with Le Journal.

"There are many offers and it all goes back to the first show without Piggy at Heavy Montréal, last year. Several sponsors felt that Voivod was finished because he was not there. We played with Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault and Dan, replacing Piggy. From there, the phone began to ring incessantly. Our name is in the worldwide metal scene. Many promoters want us on their bills," said Bélanger, who does not hesitate to assign much of the credit for this revival to Mongrain.

"The important thing was to find the right guy to replace Piggy. Dan does an excellent job. Piggy was his mentor. So he learned to play like him. He is in sync with Voivod's repertoire. He is very qualified and has the same temperament as Piggy. He really fell from the sky."

The Password

None of this would have been possible if Denis d’Amour had not had a final moment of lucidity a few days before he passed on to the afterlife.

"He had called Michel (Langevin) while he was on his death bed, he was close to the point of falling into a coma, and he called to tell him that he had guitar tracks that he had recorded on his computer and to give him the password," remembers Denis Bélanger.

"That had to be the saddest way to give us the information. He understood that his death was coming."

Newsted in the Shadows

For the upcoming album, the ex-member of Metallica, Jason Newsted, will not be on the road.

Sorely tried by various injuries, the bassist now prefers to concentrate on studio work.

"He had several operations of the shoulders and neck. He is not likely to do live performances, because he is afraid of getting hurt again, "said Denis "Snake" Bélanger.

"Even in the beginning, it was not sure that he would complete the album. One day he called us to tell us was ready to go. He has helped us a lot to get this project going."

Despite his retirement from the stage, it is not out of the question that Newsted may make an appearance at an upcoming Voivod concert.

"It could happen," said Belanger, but I'm not sure he could do the full show. It could be only a few songs. "

--------------------

Now I hope I'll be meeting them at the Waldrock festival. I know Away tends to go see other bands right in the audience. Do the other guys the same??

--------------------

--------------------

--------------------