Let your Fingers Do The Talking – Progressive Instrumental Masterpieces - featuring Charles the Osprey and Canvas Solaris

In recent weeks, I’ve been holed up in the Ripple Offices concentrating on getting this label up, running, re-charged so that it could run some more, etc. Y’know, business as usual. And, like any record label/music PR firm/music review blog/music commentary radio show office will, there’s music going on. I haven’t really wanted to listen to too much new stuff because when I’m entrenched in detail oriented work or acts of mundanity (yes, I made up my own word,) I like to have material that I’m familiar with., stuff that I can unconsciously sing or hum to. But, that kinda’ changed when I discovered a couple of instrumental albums. I found that while the music was unfamiliar and went all over the place, it didn’t inhibit my flow of energy. I like that. Then I began to take note of the musical intricacies nestled within the flurry of notes, and I that I wasn’t singing with my voice, but rather with my hands. Just as the musicians within these submissions were doing.

Take a gander with your eyes and ears to these two releases, and hopefully you’ll find that little something that will inject you with some additional energy.

Charles The Osprey – Consider

This outfit is a duo, and frankly, I’ve never heard a two-piece create so much intricate sound. The duo of Rafael Ohli on guitars and Derek Lancioni on drums seem to speak in waves of sound as the weave their musical performances between each other like two birds in flight, like two dancers across a ballroom floor. The music is kind of post-punk-y, post-rock-y, post-harcore-y, and at first glance, may appear to be senseless showmanship, but that’s where folks would have the completely wrong idea of what these guys are doing. These songs have structure, albeit, a loose one. The tightness of the musicians’ performances are enthralling and, often times, breathtaking. Ohli’s fingers pull off impossible chord changes, scale runs, and technical feats  . . . all of it leaving my finger joints a little more sore than when I woke up. Lancioni’s drum work is as expressive as the guitar work . . . filling the songs with huge tom patterns, incorporating subtle cymbal crashes, and propelling the songs into some of the oddest time signatures imaginable. The two musicians then meet somewhere in the middle for these hopped up musical conversations and magic is created.

Listen to a song like “Hornets Don’t Have To Feint” and marvel at how these guys can be so damned technically proficient and still craft a compelling song. The song is filled with amazing guitar acrobatics . . . scales played at stunning speed, but executed with clarity. In the background, loosely holidng things together, Lancioni fires of rolls with accented snare crashes to compliment the work that Ohli is doing, and then things get crazy and off time. These guys say more with their hands than a gymnasium filled with debate teams do with their mouths. The composition of this song is immaculate. One part loose and feeling like they just sat down and jammed this out in one sitting, the other part of it feels like they must have stood in front of chalk board, plotting out the parts for eons. Heavily structured music with a loose under current.

And while songs like “Conversations With The Deacon, Vol. I” are mind-boggling feats of musicianship, the song that absolutely floored me was “The Frontal Lobe A-Go-Go.” What a fucking master work! The clean guitar tones sound like they’re being pinched within their own groove and the way that Lancioni drops in, the whole tone of the song becomes this jazzy little epic. While Ohli is still holding down the rhythm, Lancioni is able to go ape shit, lobbing huge bursts of expression with the aid of his kit. In time, a dubbed in heavier distorted guitar creeps into the mix, adding an ominous wave of tension and intrigue. As the song cruises along its path, the duo holds back the barrage of notes and lets the song breath by adding longer pauses between the notes. But when they do get back to their chaotic nature, they don’t overdo it . . . they add just enough nuance and cacophony to create a dynamic shift in mood.

If you like progressive music and don’t’ mind a thrill ride when it comes to individual musical performances, then Charles The Osprey is not going to let you down on the first listen . . . or a one thousandth listen.

Buy here: Consider

http://www.frictionrecords.net/

Canvas Solaris – Irradiance    

     

Much like East of the Wall did a few years back with their stellar album Farmer’s Almanac, Canvas Solaris approach their post-metallic sounds with a complete disregard for the vocal element. Irradiate is filled with many an epic moment, constantly shifting the focus between the individual performance and the song composition, ultimately creating a piece of nine song masterpiece. The music, like most progressive music, utilizes odd time signatures, and what I’m finding most intriguing about Canvas Solaris is that they have an uncanny ability to create huge moments of mood. When these guys are all playing in seemingly different directions, it’s like walking through a dense forest, the senses are working overtime to process all that surrounds us, at times feelings claustrophobic and disoriented . . . and then when the band drops down to a more standard tempo and allow more space between the notes, it’s like walking out of that forest, into a wide open plain where the world is open for us to delight in its vastness.

“Conveyance of Flux” is a beautiful epic of a tune. Crafted in what sounds like a linear fashion, the song feels like it’s telling a story. I love how the track opens with some distorted synth-bass tones and then the rest of the band joins in with their avant jazzy attack, scale runs at a million miles an hour and drums snapping, smashing, and crashing like a wall full of china exploding on a hardwood floor. Then, to create nuance and extra dynamics, the band drop down and open up, sustaining notes and tones . . . creating space for the listener to breathe in the delights of the various sounds. This song has a lot of metal elements and, at times, reminds me of some of the more progressive moments of Iron Maiden and the gutter grit of Metallica. Note the exceptional bass work around the 3:34 mark. It doesn’t start off all that fancy, but after the first couple of measures, the bassist works some magical extra notes into the run and makes that portion of the song pop. Then, of course, there’s the understated guitar work with its volume swells and moody tones. I love that Canvas Solaris took us somewhere a little different on this song and didn’t simply dazzle us for the sake of dazzling.

“The Horizons Feast On Stars” is another fabulous journey into the mentally challenging areas of progressive music. Again, the band brings more mood and elements of emotional expression than most prog-music, and we as listeners don’t have to over think what the band is doing. This is partially due to them breaking up the din of multi-note flurries with ambient moments and subtle melodies. The three minute mark of this track is another high mark to listen for as this group of musicians executes highly proficient runs of music. “Glacier” follows it up with a high speed thrill ride that kind of paints images of riding on a snowmobile across an icy terrain, weaving in and out of frosty canyons, daring death to sweep us away. Then, there’s “Soliton,” a song that has huge jazzy elements, a quasi-Latin polyrhythm vibe, and some sexy bass tones. Amazing execution and an album that simply gets better and better with every listen! --Pope JTE

Buy here: Irradiance

http://www.myspace.com/canvassolaris

Melvins – The Bride Screamed Murder

Prior to hearing The Bride Screamed Murder from Melvins, I knew very little about the group. Now, after listening to The Bride Screamed Murder several times back to back to back, I know even less about them. I can say this, though . . . Melvins approach the creation of music unique to their own perspective, a perspective forged from the fires in the bellies of stars in solar systems light years away from what we may perceive as normal. That’s not to say that the music is unlistenable or so avant that it won’t fit into the average persons everyday scheme of minutia, its more akin to working a logic problem where the solution to the puzzle isn’t directly in front of you or obvious. Listening to Melvins made me rethink the way I think about music, challenged my perception of logical sound flow, dared me to push the envelope on what I thought I already knew (or was confused by) in music. This album really should come with a condom . . . the raping that my mind took has me in living in fear on how I will listen to the next album submissions.

“The Water Glass” kicks off with a ballsy, detuned guitar riff . . . all sludge-y and fat, oppressive and overwhelming . . . but it’s not the tonal quality that makes me rethink what I thought I already knew. No . . . no, that would be coming from the odd time signature of the riff and how the flourishes that drums add to the mix. Then, the washes of feedback bathe my ears in waves of septic brilliance, drenching my audio receptors with dense and sticky sound.  All of this happening within the first minute and half before seamlessly shifting into a wild high school marching band tirade of beats and vocal chants. Are you kidding me with this?!?!? In-freaking-sane! Leave it to Melvins to push music to the fringes of reality! The majority of this tune is bereft of any instruments outside of the drums and vocals, yet it remains one of the heaviest tracks that have assaulted my headset in months. What any of this has to do with a water glass is beyond, but I’m okay with that. I like the mystery. It gives me something to come back to during those future listens when I need to have my mind impregnated by fresh ideas.

“Evil New War God” is another burly, dense onslaught of sludge toned guitars . . . all playing this massive riff that doesn’t make logical sense to me. Just go with the flow, friends, and the happy conclusion will show itself in time. Listen for the majestic ball crushing riff at the 1:38 mark. Crom! That’s the kind of sludgery that makes me think of St. Vitus. A massive wall of distortion with the capability of deflecting the blast from a nuclear bomb. Note the little flourish of cowbell that these guys mix in there. Awesome! And the vocals . . . again, the sinister quality and paranoid menace permeates from between the flurry of dense notes that barrage the listener. And just to make sure you’re paying attention, the band drop this beast of a tune down to a quasi-jazz beat, cymbal ride, and soft bass drum pattern, before the eerie keyboards add some texture. This entire composition has more in common with jazz than hardcore or punk or metal or whatever genre people lump Melvins in these days. Absolutely spectacular song!

The Bride Screamed Murder is a roller coaster ride for certain, but Melvins have created a thrill ride that’s more than just senseless left turns and corkscrew loops. They’ve composed an epic listen by weaving bizarre nuances in between solid riffs and straight forward ass kicking. “Electric Flower” is one such song as it incorporates a pseudo- surf vibe with a five finger formed fist and a crushing blow to the bridge of the nose. Mixed in all of this chaos, the band still works in portions of magnificent musical performances that highlight the individualism of the musicians at hand. These guys have one of the busiest drummers in all the land. Tons of rolls, little cymbal flourishes, crazy fills that defy reason . . . simply mad! Listen for the guitar solo as it cuts through the din of frenetic chaos with a touch of class. So much going, so much emotion, so much sonic violence . . . and all within three and a half minutes.

Then, as it should come as no surprise, the band throws in a psychedelic track in “Hospital Up,” filled with weaving and shimmering guitar lines, all of it making me feel like I’m bathing in a lava lamp. The guitar tones aren’t as dense as some of their more straight forward rockers and heavy tunes, but there’s still an imposing vibe fluttering throughout all of the music. The vocals have a gritty crooning quality to them, almost reminding me of moments from Farflung (fantastic psychedelic stoner doom band) and I’m digging how the nuance within the voice conveys an element of manic paranoia. Again, the band work well together to create a song that would fall to pieces if it were performed by any other group of musicians. The individualistic qualities of the players shines on and I go back to my earlier ascertainment that Melvins are more of a jazz band than anything else. Hell . . . listen to the end of the tune when all hell is breaking loose. The keys . . . the bass . . . the horns . . . jazz.

Finally, strap your asses in and assume a crash position. “Inhumanity and Death” is a hundred mile an hour death trip down a winding one lane deer path through oncoming traffic. Don’t look up, just pray that you’ll make it to the bottom of the hill in one piece . . . and alive. The opening bass line and subsequent vocal scream is enough to fill the most seasoned thrill seeker with terror, and as the song careens to its conclusion, there will undoubtedly be soiled shorts amongst the riders. I stink now, but I’m smiling . . . and I’m happy.

Dudes . . . and Dudettes . . . I simply love The Bride Screamed Murder. I can’t tell you if Melvins as a whole area good band, but based on this album alone, I’d call them gods. The musicianship is insane and the musical perspective is refreshing. I don’t suggest diving into this one head first without any previous understanding of what these guys are about. Busy yourself with something on your initial listen to familiarize yourself with the aural assault that is wrapped up in this disc before completely immersing yourself in the music. Once you do go back to giving it your full attention, it won’t hurt as much . . . well, at least, it shouldn’t. The Bride Screamed Murder is a brilliant execution of avant jazz metal that will surprise you every time you listen to it.  -  Pope

buy here: Bride Screamed Murder

www.myspace.com/themelvins

www,melvins.com

3 - The End Is Begun

There are two schools of modern prog-rock out there. There’s the Look-Mom-I-can-play-more-notes-than-should-be-humanly-possible-and-I’ve-left-my-soul-at-the-door-in-the-process institution that just leaves me scratching my head in wonder. Kinda’ like those folk who do mind boggling math problems to relax. I don’t get it. Then there’s the school of prog that relies more on complex composition and involved ideas while retaining a sense of melody. Both schools can be pretentious as all hell, of that there’s no doubt. But the latter, generally speaking, has a bit more soul to it . . . is a more organic form of prog, if you will, and in some ways feels more natural for my primitive ears. So, I find myself leaning more towards melodic song-craft of Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Riverside . . . and now, the band 3.

I had never heard of 3 prior to getting word through the grapevine that they were tapped to hold down the opening slot for the Porcupine Tree tour a couple of years back. This, of course, right in the middle of my phase where I thought every note, every breath uttered by Steven Wilson was genius, so if he was going to personally endorse a band, well by Lemmy’s mole(s) . . . said band must be brilliant! And 3 are just that . . . brilliant, but not in the way that I had expected. I picked up The End Is Begun with the mindset that 3 were going to be the second or third . . . maybe fourth coming of the mighty Tree, but the whole thing didn’t really go over like that. In fact, The End Is Begun kinda’ landed with a hollow thud to my expectations. However, it was the subsequent listening parties that had me realize that musically, the album is remarkable, filled with some of the catchiest melodies this side of Simon & Garfunkel, and the compositions are anything but simplistic . . . this album fits nicely with those avant prog albums in your collection . . . and it has elements of heavy metal that will have you unconsciously throwing the horns in the air, waving them around like you just don’t care.

First off, singer/guitarist Joey Eppard has one of the more unique and instantly recognizable voices I’ve ever heard. His voice is light and airy, yet strong . . . strong without being gruff and aggressive, and it matches up with the music perfectly. Not too heavy, not too light . . . just right. Where “The Word is Born of Flame” comes across as more of an intro to the album, the title track is the first song that we get to hear the band in full flight. Opening with a stunningly acoustic guitar strum fest, accompanied by some distorted guitars, ethereal keys humming in the background, and beat that will have you bobbing your head, “The End Is Begun” is a lesson in both composition and performance. Each member of 3 attacks their individual part, providing some fascinating points of interest, all while keeping the song moving. The musicians provide splashes color to the piece that enhance the song rather than bury it in senseless notes. They never take away from the mood of the song, creating that perfect balance of skill and soul. The riff is heavy and grooving, the arrangement is heady and unpredictable, the vocals are filled with melody . . . maybe a little operatic and over the top at times, but it works to the desired effect. Stunning tune!

“All That Remains” is a beaut! There is so much going on within the music of this track that it’s hard to pinpoint what’s happening, what the song is all about, what room I’m even sitting in . . . epic! The music has so much texture to it, pulling in tones and scale runs that remind me of Queen, vocals that life the spirit through their quality of tone and the melody that they’re delivered in. The guitar work on this tune is amazing, soaring solos and distorted textural riffs over clean arpeggios create this wild and complex sounding passage that will have your ears trying to pick out the various notes from the various instruments . . . like watching a swarm of butterfly dip, dive, zig, zag, and weave through a lush grassland. And, if you’re not singing the chorus by the end of the song, you’re simply dead inside!

Put your seat belts on for “My Divided Falling” as this song bursts out of the gates with Eppard’s bizarre slap style guitar playing and builds with intensity from there. The accents drum and cymbal crashes, the explosive bursts of bass and guitar notes, all working in conjunction to give the song a streak of nasty. To make things even more intense with this track, so much of it is in some weird time signature; for part of it sounds like 4/4, but then goes off into something that requires greater division of fractions. The most amazing part? There’s still an unforgettable melody to the whole thing! Heavy as a fully loaded cement truck, complex as a strand of DNA, and unforgettably melodic at the same time . . . who does that?

Arguably the most intriguing song on the album is “Serpents in Disguise.” Highly technical dramatics performed in the context of a poppy rock song, beautiful melodies mixed with elements of heavy metal and progressively complex arrangements. I love listening to this one through headphones . . . in that little world I can more clearly hear the musical nuances like the bass notes sliding up and down the neck, the pinched harmonics from the distorted guitars, the clean toned arpeggios from the acoustic guitars, the distinct cracks in the vocals . . . all these quaint elements that alone may not mean so much, but played in the context of the song, add so much flavor.

Admittedly, it took me awhile longer to get into The End Is Begun than most albums, and I really don’t know why that is. Maybe it was one of those wrong album for the wrong time moments, but it certainly didn’t have anything to do with the quality of the music. The more I listen to this disc, the more I find myself breaking down the individual performances, the various segments of the song, dissecting every little piece and passage of the music like some weird and maniacal biologist cuts into a lab frog. 3 is much more than a number in my mind. 3 is band of the highest order . . . a band that marches to their own beat, masterful at their individual instruments, creates music that is peculiar to most, and takes up residence in some deep, dark recess of their own collective mind. Avant garde is the best way to describe their sound. Heavy in progressive rock elements, but not so over the head that it wouldn’t appeal to the masses . . . and vice versa.  -  Pope JTE

Buy here:  The End Is Begun

http://www.theband3.com/

http://www.myspace.com/officialbandthree

Scars On Broadway - S/T

When Scars On Broadway was originally released in 2008, I was surprisingly apathetic towards it. My feelings towards the project surprised me a bit, especially considering that I had thoroughly enjoyed the last three System of a Down releases so much. I mean, I played the hell out of Toxicity and Mesmerize/Hypnotize gave me a greater appreciation for the band. The social commentary was borderline crass, and the political statements were laced with the kind of venom that would make the most radical activist blush. Then of course, there was the Serj Tankian solo effort, Elect the Dead, from the year before that had seen plenty of attention from my CD player. It only seemed natural that I would have immediately gravitated towards Scars On Broadway, but maybe I had enough of being pissed off at the world and needed my angst battery recharged. So, Scars just had to wait.

When I did eventually breakdown and buy the album, Scars On Broadway suddenly became the sound de jour, with that de jour being a constant two week stint on the turntable. I realized, Daron Malakian is a bit of a madman genius, and Scars On Broadway is his latest vehicle for the conveyance of his ideas. Where he seemed to be countered by a more focused and grounding energy brought in by Serj Tankian while with System of a Down, Daron’s crazed psycho ramblings fly unfettered on Scars. His unique perspective on life is foremost in these recordings, but he also injects lyrics of introspection throughout and we get a better sense that his views are his alone, and we can interpret them anyway we see fit. Just don’t hurt anyone in the process. The music, much like that of System, is all over the place . . . punk-y, metallic, poppy, avant garde . . . the dude’s musical vision is as frightening and exciting as any psycho-thriller movie in existence. Heavy rock, fast punk, melodic classic rock portions, tasteful guitar licks . . . at times, shocking, other times simply breath taking. Seeing as he had full artistic control of this project, all successes and failures are firmly planted on his shoulders. He played all of the instruments, with the exception of the drums, a responsibility that he left in the more than able hands of longtime SOAD drummer, John Dolmayan.

Blasting out in a punk rock frenzy, “Serious” is simply explosive. Daron’s vocals have that manic quality to them, shifting between hopped up tirade to metallic, melodic crooner as he tells the world that it’s being way too serious. The song is fun, but there’s an underlying sense of despair and darkness creeping around in there . . . heavy and moving, cleaner and quieter at the chorus. The guitar work is great, particularly in the outro as he begins this wild alternative double picking technique. The tune is a great, upbeat way to kick off the album, setting the tone for what would appear to be a classic punk infused collection of songs. But the album takes a turn on the follow up track, “Funny.” The song comes across as a poppy surf number filled with synthesized textures and ambient melodies. The tempo is slowed down a bit and the aggressiveness is all but nil . . . though that darkened undertone is still there and has a feel of a personal narrative as if we’re riding shotgun with Daron as he makes his way through the city of Santa Monica.

“Stoner Hate” may be my personal favorite on the album and that feeling is powered by the chorus melody as much as the double time beat and heavy guitar riffing. My God, that’s a powerful groove! Plus, any song that can work “super-cala-fra-jalistic-expi-ela-docious” into the lyrics is alright by me. I’m a sucker for Mary Poppins. In all seriousness, the song is as ballsy and heavy as they come . . . it’s short, to the point (whatever the point may be,) has some great dynamic shifts in tone and tempo, and the vocal melody is infectious. Served up with a cup of coffee, “Stoner Hate” is the kind of song that incinerates the cobwebs rather than brushes them away. And order up a side dish of “Kill Each Other/Live Forever,” and you have a morning cocktail to face the day with reckless abandon. Again, as is the case with all of the songs on the album, the melodies are strong and memorable . . . and the sarcastic lyrics performed in an even more sarcastic voice create one of the more poignant moments on the album. This last song has some striking similarities to latter day System of the Down material . . . jarring and somewhat bizarre musical breaks, and huge melodic choruses, in particular.

“Chemicals” irreverently dances in the no man’s land of rebellious and crass, “Enemy” shakes it’s ass in modern disco fashion while constantly reminding us that the human race is a parasitic organism whacked on drugs, and “Universe” comes out of the gates sounding like Bob Dylan in a uber-paranoid mood before exploding into open chords of distorted sound. “3005” is Daron Malakian spreading his wings and soaring over the concrete mountain tops of downtown Los Angeles . . . the song borders on epic, filled with great musical passages, emotional tones, and an overall cool fucking performance. It has a kind of Beatles-esque experimentation going on with the melodies and the textural nuances, and that guitar solo! Damn! It’s subtle, understated, somewhat reserved and held back, but damn . . . that tone and the phrasing is cool as hell!

Manic and overcharged, Scars On Broadway is a chaotic frenzy of music . . . but that statement alone doesn’t tell the whole tale of what’s going on there. In fact, this review pretty much just skims the surface of what you may find tucked within the grooves of this record. There’s so much going on and the infectiousness of the melodies makes further exploration fell more worthwhile. If the melodies weren’t there, it would be like trading brains with a schizophrenic. The melodies are like a safety barrier from the raw insanity, a protective bubble of rich sounds. There’s nothing I would change about this album, or my experience with it. In hindsight, I’m glad it took me so long to finally include it to my collection, otherwise, it would have been too much in conjunction with all of the aforementioned bands and side projects. Daron Malakian is a nut, but it’s the crazy one’s who seem to create the most interesting music and Scars On Broadway is fantastic journey to the doorstep of institutionalization.  -  Pope JTE

Buy here:  Scars On Broadway [Vinyl]

Buy here: Scars On Broadway

www.scarsonbroadway.com

www.myspace.com/scarsonbroadway

Ripple Theater: Voivod – Tatsumaki

Voivod has always been the special band for me. They were just left of center to everything else that was out at the time that very few of my friends understood what was happening, and that made the band even more important to me. I got ‘em! I knew where these guys were coming from with their discordant punk rock vibe and their sometimes jarring jazzy time signatures. I picked up on the dark and despondent imagery and adopted it for my own. I got this band, they got me, and Voivod were mine, and seemingly mine alone, to love. And though I tried to turn others onto the band, I was partly thankful that precious few picked up what I was putting down. What does any of this have to do with the band’s latest DVD entitled Tatsumaki? Well, it turns out, not all that surprisingly, that there are others like me out there on this vast planet who revere the band in the same way as I do, who were drawn to this band the same way that I was, and who feel a sense of pride in knowing that they were part of the Voivod family, albeit the distant relatives who may have never met the family founders.

The Tatsumaki DVD captures Voivod as they take the stage in Japan for the first time in the illustrious career, and for all intents and purposes, is a live concert. But that doesn’t tell the whole story of this particular product. It comes down to the bonus features. It was in the behind the scenes stuff and an interview with the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl that made this DVD a bit more of a treasure. I’m not saying that the bonus material makes the disc, but it did shed some light on how beloved this band was in its early days, and how loyal that fan base is to stick with the band through its various forms and musical directions. Grohl does a good job of expressing that fan passion, using words that always seem to escape me when I’m trying to describe what I love about the music so much. And just because the dude is such a huge Voivod fan, I may pick up a Foo Fighters disc to honor of his Voivod-id-ness.

The concert footage is strong even though it lacks some of the camera angles that I would have preferred. Apparently, the live footage was supposed to be used for a Japanese television program so they only had three cameras on site capturing the Voivod beast in all of its fury. In a weird way though, the minimal camera angles worked. It seemed to capture the band in a more raw sense, maybe giving it a more DIY feel, which harkens back to the bands original punk/metal origins. Never one for special effects mixed in with live footage, I was pleased with the stripped down version of the feed. However, I often found myself wishing to see more of Away’s attack on the drum set from behind the kit rather than face on from across the concert hall. Ah . . . again, it’s minor and the overall feel of the shots work well with the mood.

Ironically enough, the biggest fear that I had about this disc was that there would be a void left by the absence of Piggy too huge to ever fill. Truth be told, guitarist Dan Mongrain almost made me forget that I wasn’t hearing Piggy perform the classic parts of the classic songs. I didn’t expect that Voivod would hit the stage and release a product that didn’t capture the essence of Piggy relatively well, but I was exceptionally pleased that Dan hit the textural aspects of Piggy’s approach dead on. Plus, Mongrain’s stage presence was solid, whipping his hair into a dander filled tornado while carrying on with the break neck riffagry and striking the ultimate metal poses . . . it was an awesome sight to see. Also, throughout the show, it appeared that he was interacting well with the audience, making eye contact with the fans, cheering them on as much as they were to him. But most importantly, his playing of Piggy’s original works was out of sight. It goes without saying that there will never be another guitarist like Piggy, and Mongrain does a fantastic job of honoring his memory by simply trying to recreate Piggy’s sound to the best of his ability. Horns up.

Voivod focused the set around the three key albums of Killing Technology, Dimension Hatross, and Nothingface, and even threw in a couple of tracks from the oft overlooked, though equally brilliant, Angel Rat. As one who was stark raving about the band during this era, it was a welcome sight and sound to witness the band attack these numbers, primarily songs like “Ravenous Medicine,” “Overreaction,” and “Brain Scan.” The entire band powered through the numbers with conviction and they all appeared to be enjoying themselves, and the appreciation to their fans was readily apparent. Of course, “Tornado” was the ultimate moment, Snake changing up the chorus to “Tatsumaki” (tornado is Japanese) for the benefit of the Japanese crowd. Blacky’s return to the band was driven home with the break to this song . . . low end rumbling like an oncoming twister . . . then the whole band whipping into an off time frenzy. Man . . . so awesome to watch!

Voivod are one of those bands that people either just don’t get or love with a fiery passion. Tatsumaki is for the latter and will be hard pressed to convert new followers. Good video production despite the lack of cameras and solid audio makes the live footage a must for any fan of the band. The bonus material, though not earth shattering, gives a bit of clarity to why we love the band as much as we do. We all have our individual reasons, but I think hearing Dave Grohl talk so passionately about his love for the band helps formulate the reasoning even better. We like Voivod because they were raw and heavy and menacing and they were all of these things while never fitting in with one band within the genre. And then, they got weird, and then a little weirder, and then just flat out bizarre, and it all worked within the fantastic dark and heavy world of Voivod. - Pope JTE

Buy here:  Voivod

http://www.myspace.com/voivod

www.voivod.com