If there were any doubts among the faithful about legendary Quebec prog-metal dudes Voivod being able to recapture the magic of their classic era in the absence of deceased guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour, they're shattered within moments of the title track, which opens this album with a classic, dissonant, riff-based adventure through the best of Nothingface, the heaviest of Angel Rat and the most melodic of Dimension Hatross. Which means: holy cow, it's amazing. As it should be, since this is their first album with original bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault since Angel Rat, which came out back in 1991. And while D'Amour passed away in 2005, new guitarist Dan "Chewy" Mongrain (ex-Martyr) does the guitar hero proud by playing in his style, but never simply aping it. Mongrain seriously does an amazing job throughout the entire album. "Kluskap O'Kom" perfectly combines the band's predilection for snotty, tossed-off punk with their love for quirky time signatures. "Empathy for the Enemy" has guitar work that'll make Piggy throw the horns in the afterlife, while "Warchaic" and "Corps Étranger" are as sprawling, atonal and heavy as any of the band's finest hours. The closing fake-out/fade-out of "Defiance" is a fun and classically Voivod-ian way to end the album, hinting at more studio greatness to come, which the band have said will indeed happen.
POP & ROCK: Marie Davidson Marie Davidson
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