Voivod

Surprisingly considering their 16 year history, Voivod Lives marks the first official live release by Montreal's Voivod. Originally intended to include the band's entire set from the 1996 Dynamo festival, the band's first appearance there with bassist/vocalist Eric Forrest, only four songs were salvageable from the show. It was discovered later that the sound problems would leave the rest of the show unusable, so the band decided to use a live set at New York's CBGB's as well as the four Dynamo tracks. The decision really highlights how diverse and adaptable Voivod really is. The first four tracks find the band playing a huge festival show to literally tens of thousands on the best sound equipment money can buy and is immediately followed by a hot and sweaty set in a dank NYC club where the rats are as likely to drink your beer as you are! Naturally, the veteran act comes through with flying colours in both instances and proves why indeed they are one of the best metal acts Canada has to offer, if not the best ever. The evidence is especially evident when they rip through older material like "Voivod" itself. The North American version of the CD also comes with two-bonus track recorded live by Swedish national radio.