By far the greatest Quebec metal band of all time, Voivod has enjoyed a new creative golden age for almost a decade, which continues on its new and 15and album, Synchro Anarchy. Drummer Michel “Away” Langevin recounts the countless obstacles his band has had to overcome over the past 40 years.
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“As for the tour, I would like us to be able to give as many concerts as possible before stopping. But composing new songs without Piggy…” This is how Michel “Away” Langevin, in an interview with The Press in June 2009, assessed the chances of Voivod continuing on its way. The group born in Jonquière in 1982 then launched Infinitethe second of two albums highlighting the latest contributions of Denis “Piggy” D’Amour, the quartet’s sound architect, who died in 2005 of colon cancer at the age of 45.
But, against all odds, Voivod, invigorated by the enthusiasm of its fans, embarked on a new golden age with the albums Target Earth (2013), then The Wake (2018), who received the Juno (his first!) for Heavy Metal Album of the Year in 2019, and led the band on stages in Japan, Europe, Scandinavia and the United States (as well as that of the Jazz Festival).
“We really didn’t know if we were going to get back on the road. In 2008, when we accepted an offer from Heavy Montreal, we were super nervous, we feared that it would be sacrilege to play without Denis D’Amour,” Michel, 58, recalls today in his characteristic soft voice. “But as soon as we started composing with Dan Mongrain [guitariste], we understood that it was possible to keep the soul of Voivod intact. »
PHOTO YVES GRÉGOIRE, TRAINEE, THE ITINERARY
Michel “Away” Langevin, last summer
A half-smile, full of sorrow and light, crosses his face. “Snake [Denis Bélanger, chanteur] think it was Piggy who sent Dan to us so we could continue to spread Voivod’s music. »
prog and punk
Voivod can not only continue to propagate its music, but the group (completed since 2014 by Dominic Laroche on bass) also revived on its three most recent records – the brand new Synchro Anarchy included – with both hyperactive and expansive rhythms, as well as the unusual, borderline dissonant chords of his legendary albums Hatross dimension (1988) and Nothingface (1989).
First and foremost heirs to the Judas Priest and Iron Maiden of the new wave of British heavy metal, Voivod’s complex and cataclysmic pieces have always been stretched between two seemingly irreconcilable poles, that of progressive rock and punk. A big gap again at the heart of Synchro Anarchywhose disorienting frescoes constantly turn on themselves, to set off again in a new and unpredictable direction.
Progressive rock was so popular in Quebec, it was like in our DNA. I know that for a lot of people, if you were Pink Floyd, you couldn’t be Sex Pistols, but me, in high school, I always wandered from one gang to another.
Michel “Away” Langevin
Denis D’Amour’s vinyl collection contained everything from speed metal to krautrock, Bartók, concrete music and film soundtracks. “Denis has opened up a lot of avenues for us and today we continue to widen all these avenues”, observes the man who is delighted that the public is more than ever there, while Voivod undoubtedly creates the most popular music. most complex and demanding of his career.
With his background which borrows as much from jazz as from technical death metal, Daniel Mongrain had all the necessary tools to know how to deepen the explorations launched by his predecessor. Michel says: “One day, I asked Denis how he managed to find all these strange chords and he replied that he had simply played Keith Emerson’s organ chords on the guitar. [du supergroupe Emerson, Lake & Palmer]. That’s how he had discovered the majority of his chords. »
futuristic present
Created in the middle of a pandemic, using software to exchange files (before playing them on real drums, Michel Langevin programmed all his drum scores on a computer), sync anarchy describes like many Voivod albums an anxiety-provoking world, on the verge of the apocalypse.
“Before, our lyrics tried to predict what was going to happen, it was science fiction. But now, science fiction has caught up with us,” Away points out in particular about Paranormaliumwhich denounces the reign of opinion on social networks, and Planet Eatersin which the Earthlings are pushing towards Mars.
The new album is more anchored in the present, but must say that our present is really futuristic.
Michel “Away” Langevin
Like the planet, Voivod will have, almost miraculously, survived all the disasters, including a serious road accident in Germany in 1998, as well as many personnel movements. Although Denis Bélanger is also one of the founders of Voivod, the singer will have defected from 1994 to 2002. Michel Langevin is therefore the only member who has been in all its incarnations. Which makes him both sad and proud.
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Denis “Snake” Bélanger, at the Heavy Montreal festival in 2014
“People have often said to me: ‘You’re crazy to continue. Now I realize that I was not crazy,” says the archivist of Voivod, who is working on several projects to rehabilitate his catalog, which will take shape in 2022 and 2023, in order to mark 40 years of a career during which, go figure, these living legends have never won a Félix.
Denis D’Amour once made a daily phone call to his friend Michel, to talk about their projects and life. “After he left, I continued to wait for his phone call for months. At some point, it dissipated. But the thought is still daily vis-à-vis Denis. We are still in dialogue. When I am proud of Voivod, it seems that I feel him, somewhere, proud of us. »
The album will be available from February 11.
progressive metal
Synchro Anarchy
voivod
Century Media