In a brand new interview with Bilal Butt of the CHOM 97.7 radio station, guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain of Canadian metallic innovators VOIVOD was requested if he and his bandmates are nonetheless hoping to in the future rating a sci-fi film, as they’d beforehand said. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I believe it is nonetheless there on the record, as a result of it could be very difficult in essentially the most inventive method to write music for a narrative that is already been written and artistic with a script and pictures. I believe as an artist and creator, you are all the time on the lookout for stuff like that to occur and provoke it when it is your personal music and your personal world. However once you’re requested to assist, collectively, on audio sculptures or one thing that may improve one other type of artwork, it is all the time motivating. And it is all the time a matter of conducting ourselves by way of this medium that’s VOIVOD. And I believe we can do it. It will be a fantastic expertise, for certain. We’re nonetheless ready for the decision. [Laughs]”
Later this month, VOIVOD will carry out with the Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal. This legendary Quebec band, identified worldwide for redefining the boundaries of metallic for over 40 years, will take the stage for 2 extraordinary live shows, carried out by Dina Gilbert, at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 29, 2025 and January 30, 2025 in a groundbreaking collaboration.
Concerning how the collaboration with the Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal happened, VOIVOD drummer Michel “Away” Langevin informed The Steel Voice: “Oh my God, I believe we have been dreaming about that perpetually. Nevertheless it got here by way of an odd chain of circumstances, the place I did an interview for the journal L’Itinéraire, for homeless folks promoting magazines on the road, after which I did an interview with one of many journalists for the journal, and it ended up being printed on-line by La Presse. After which the folks directing the orchestra, the group, they had been made conscious of that by one of many musicians from the orchestra, which is a metallic dude and he is a fan.”
The drummer continued: “It is humorous as a result of since my cousin Richard Langevin is married to Diane Dufresne, a well-known singer from Montreal, and he or she had performed the orchestra earlier than, so that they bought in contact with him, as a result of I used to be mentioning him within the article as a result of he confirmed me how to attract. [Laughs] And anyhow, they phoned Richard, my cousin, and he phoned my mom. [Laughs] And after I got here again from touring with VOIVOD, I had a message on my answering machine saying that the orchestra had been on the lookout for us. So, fairly superb.”
Langevin added: “We did not method [the orchestra], however we all the time talked about both doing symphonic reveals or doing a soundtrack for a sci-fi film or one thing like that. It is a part of the desires now we have.”
Mongrain, who beforehand wrote an eight-minute association for the brass quintet that carried out with VOIVOD on the Montreal Worldwide Jazz Competition (Competition Worldwide de Jazz de Montréal) in June 2019, went on to say that the collaboration with the Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal is “a dream come true.”
“I by no means tried to put in writing for an entire orchestra,” he defined. “I do know a little bit bit about it, finding out orchestration at college and understanding my music concept and all that. However what occurred is that my assist with the challenge was to offer the music sheets to the arranger, Hugo Bégin. He did an incredible work. He took the music sheet that I wrote for guitar and bass. So he had a template to work on. And so he orchestrated it for the entire orchestra and added his personal shade to it. And it’s extremely environment friendly. It is like a film soundtrack, just like the film we used to look at, like ‘Planet Of The Apes’ and ‘Ben-Hur’ and ‘Mad Max’ and all that. VOIVOD has been influenced because the starting by these films, so you’ll be able to hear it, however with the entire orchestra, it’s extremely thrilling. So I exchanged numerous e-mails and messages with Hugo, the arranger, and we labored actually onerous on it and he was actually, actually quick and environment friendly. And till the final minute, the final day, there was little modifications right here and there, however it’s gonna be superb. It is a dream come true, however it’s so huge that you just solely think about one thing like that in your wildest desires, however you understand it isn’t gonna occur. So that is only a life-changing expertise, a bonus in a profession. It is gonna be grandiose.”
Added Langevin: “We’re additionally gonna put numerous work into the visuals with an organization referred to as Noisy Head. They’re actually excessive tech. It is gonna be spectacular. They did stuff for Lizzo or CHEMICAL BROTHERS. And likewise they did a symphonic present with the music of Harmonium. And so, yeah, it is gonna be fairly sci-fi visually as properly.”
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VOIVOD is a Canadian heavy metallic band from Jonquière, Québec. Their musical fashion has modified a number of instances because the band’s origin within the early Nineteen Eighties. Beginning out as a pace metallic band, VOIVOD have added a mixture of progressive metallic and thrash metallic to create their very own distinctive metallic fashion, and are credited as one of many “huge 4” Canadian thrash metallic bands, together with SACRIFICE, RAZOR and ANNIHILATOR. They’re thought-about by many as one of the influential metallic bands from the ’80s, influencing and gaining reward from a number of bands and throughout quite a few genres.
VOIVOD discovered mainstream success within the late Nineteen Eighties with their fifth studio album, “Nothingface” (1989),which is the band’s solely album to enter The Billboard 200 chart, peaking at quantity 114.
As beforehand reported, VOIVOD‘s long-awaited official documentary, “We Are Linked”, acquired its world premiere on July 29, 2024 on the Fantasia Worldwide Movie Competition in Montreal, Quebec. Canada.
“We Are Linked” dives deep into the 40-plus-year legacy of one of the authentic and influential metallic bands in historical past. From their explosive beginnings in Jonquière to their groundbreaking international journey, VOIVOD‘s story is one in every of unparalleled creativity, resilience, and evolution. The movie covers VOIVOD‘s historical past from unlikely origins in northern Québec on the top of the Chilly Battle to underground success to sharing excursions and phases with IRON MAIDEN, RUSH and METALLICA. Included within the documentary are excessive and lows all through these 40 years, from major-label help and Billboard recognition to seismic lineup modifications and an occasion many critics claimed to be the top of VOIVOD: the dying of co-founding guitarist and composer Dennis “Piggy” D’Amour.
Directed by Felipe Belalcazar and produced with full entry to the band’s archives, this movie options unique insights and appearances by metallic icons like Tobias Forge (GHOST),Mikael Åkerfeldt (OPETH),Jason Newsted (METALLICA),Zach Blair (RISE AGAINST, GWAR),Tom G. Warrior (CELTIC FROST, TRIPTYKON) and Ivan Doroschuk (MEN WITHOUT HATS),amongst many others.
Final April, Langevin was requested by Jimmy Kay of Canada’s The Steel Voice why it has taken so lengthy to place the documentary collectively. Away stated: “It first began when Piggy handed in 2005, the place we had the thought of doing a little documentary, primarily to honor him. And so, when Piggy handed, we had been like perhaps two or three years with out doing any touring. At this level, Snake, [then-VOIVOD bassist] Jason Newsted and I had been on a mission to complete the 2 albums we had began in 2004. And so it gave me a while to assemble the archives and put it into digital format. After we reformed for the Heavy Montreal competition in 2008, we simply went on tour perpetually. And so every thing was form of put apart for a very long time. After which, it have to be about seven or eight years in the past when Felipe bought in contact with me. He actually needed to try this film, and he despatched me the DVD of the documentary he had performed concerning the band DEATH, ‘Loss of life By Steel’. And I used to be actually amazed. It’s kind of like a Ken Burns documentary vibe the place, if he is lacking some archives, he’ll do a pan or a zoom on an previous picture so the visible retains transferring. And I actually appreciated that documentary, and I used to be satisfied he may do one thing nice for VOIVOD. So we began engaged on this. And, after all, his travels had been lower quick by the pandemic. Nevertheless it’s a interval that it gave me the chance, since VOIVOD was not touring, it gave me the chance to assemble even extra archives and put them into digital format. So, now in spite of everything these years, it is nearly performed. [Laughs]. The final mile. [Laughs]”
Again in 2006, it was reported that VOIVOD had recruited Canadian documentarian Sam Dunn to helm the band’s documentary after he interviewed members of VOIVOD for his “Steel: A Headbanger’s Journey” film.
“It was an actual honor to be requested, and we have already began capturing,” Dunn stated on the time. “The documentary goes to be about Piggy‘s life and the making of the brand new report and the way these are tied collectively.”
After VOIVOD‘s collaboration with Dunn didn’t materialize for causes that aren’t clear, the band recruited Belalcázar, who has a confirmed report of delivering high quality productions to tens of millions of metallic followers all over the world, most lately the aforementioned critically acclaimed Chuck Schuldiner documentary “Loss of life By Steel”.
Earlier final 12 months, VOIVOD accomplished a North American tour with PRONG.
VOIVOD has been touring in help of its newest album, “Morgöth Tales”, which was launched through Century Media, The Orchard and Sony Music.
The band’s 2022 launch, “Synchro Anarchy”, garnered vital acclaim, profitable the 2023 Juno Award for “Finest Laborious Rock/Steel Album” in Canada.
As soon as extra recorded and combined by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio, mastered by Maor Appelbaum and produced by VOIVOD, “Morgöth Tales” consists of recent studio re-recordings by the band’s present lineup of 9 particularly chosen, not-so-obvious picks from the band’s hyper-classy and intensely numerous again catalogue (between 1984 and 2003) in addition to a brand-new music and the album’s title monitor, “Morgöth Tales”.
Picture credit score: Catherine Deslauriers
