Things started slowly sliding downhill for them after, their next album being poorly received, 1991's Angel Rat. 'Grunge' was taking hold, with bands such as their former opening act, Soundgarden, enjoying a rise to stardom. Blacky left the band just before Angel Rat's release. 1993 saw the release of The Outer Limits album. Following the subsequent tour, Snake quit Voivod. The former Liquid Indian man, Eric "E-Force" Forrest replaced Blacky and Snake in one fell swoop on bass and lead vocals, and would stay with the band for two albums, 1995's Negatron and 1997's Phobos. 2000 saw an EP (Kronik) and live album (Lives), and in 2001 a car accident invalidated E-Force with a broken back. The group was put on hiatus, until eventually the decision was made to reform the band with Snake. Voivod fan Jason Newsted, fresh from Metallica, filled the vacant bass slot. This version of the band would go on to release 2003's self-titled album, Voivod.
Guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour sadly died on 25th August 2005 from colon cancer aged 45. After his diagnosis he spent the last 2 months of his life recording ideas & guitar parts for several albums worth of new songs. After his death the rest of the band completed work on Voivod's 14th album, Katorz, released in July 2006 and Infini in 2009.
By July 2010, Voivod had been writing and recording new music (including Dan Mongrain on guitar). On July 4, 2012, Voivod announced the title of their thirteenth studio album, Target Earth, which was released on January 22, 2013. Target Earth has a more progressive sound than some of their last few albums, and is a return to a more "classic" Voivod sound that can be heard on Dimension Hatross and Nothingface. All the music was written by Blacky and Chewy, while Snake focused on lyrics, and Away took care of the artwork.
On July 10, 2014, it was reported that Blacky had left Voivod again. It was announced that he was forced out of the band. For months he requested meetings regarding the band business and artistic affairs, but was denied such talks by one of the other members. In late January 2015 the band released the new single "We Are Connected" which is the lead track from the 7-inch split vinyl disc with the band At the Gates. It is the first music to feature new bassist Dominic "Rocky" Laroche. They also released a new, five-track EP, entitled Post Society, featuring two new tracks and a cover of Hawkwind's "Silver Machine", on February 26, 2016.
As early as February 2015, Voivod began work on their fourteenth studio album, which was to be released in 2016 but later pushed back to 2017. The band was expected to begin recording the album in August 2017. In June 2017, Langevin told Rock Sverige that the songwriting was almost completed with an estimated release for early 2018. He also said that the album would probably be a double-album on vinyl due to the songs being "really long and progressive", describing them as "seven or eight minutes long songs" and with it being a concept album as well. In November 2017, the Voivod members began recording another album, titled The Wake, which was released in September 2018. The master tapes for Voivod's MCA-era albums were long thought to have been destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire; this was later disputed by Blacky, who revealed in late 2019 that the master tapes for Nothingface, Angel Rat and The Outer Limits were located in a facility in Pennsylvania, after persistently questioning Universal staff, and claimed that they are now in his possession.
Voivod's fifteenth studio album, Synchro Anarchy, will be released on February 11, 2022.
Current members
Michel Langevin (Away) – drums (1982–present)
Denis Bélanger (Snake) – vocals (1982–1994, 2002–present)
Mongrain (Chewy) – guitar (2008–present)
Dominic Laroche (Rocky) – bass (2014–present)
Mr. Clean
Voivod Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another club eviction
I wonder what he did
To get this lesson
Just like that crazy singer
Yeah what's his name?
Anyway,
To get thrown out?
Just like a garbage bag
Go join your friends
It is time to conform
with conformity
Plastic holds, robot souls
Last call for the rascals
Mr. Clean says
Last call for the rascals
The good old days expired
New kind of people
Prototype generation
All inspected
Shiny chromes, spirit sold
Last call for the rascals
Mr. Clean says
Last call for the rascals
Mr. Clean kills germs
Removal
The homeless out! The poor out!
The punks out!
The colored out! The striped out!
The stains out!
The troubled out! The wilds out!
The wrongs out!
The problems out! The bugs out!
The bands out!
Wipe them out...Wipe them out
The leathers out! The queens out!
The freaks out!
The misfits out! The loud out!
The fly out!
The ugly out! The olds out!
The smalls out!
The bums out! The bad out!
And me out!
And you and you and you all pure?
Nice and clean society
Long live democracy
The lyrics to Voivod's song Mr. Clean describe a scene where the singer witnesses another person being evicted from a club, and muses about who will be next to be thrown out. They compare the situation to a garbage bag being discarded and encourage conformity with society's expectations. The chorus repeats "last call for the rascals," while the verses detail different groups of people who are perceived as outsiders and are being excluded, from the homeless to the punks to the misfits. The bridge introduces the character of "Mr. Clean," who is associated with killing germs and removing flaws or imperfections. The final lines of the song, "And me out! And you and you and you all pure? Nice and clean society, Long live democracy," seem to sarcastically comment on the idea that society as a whole doesn't have any flaws, and that it's only those deemed by those in power to be "outside" who are seen as problematic.
This song can be interpreted as a critique of conformity and exclusion in society, and a call to question who gets to decide who is "clean" and who is not. The repetition of the line "last call for the rascals" is particularly poignant, as it highlights how those in power often use different criteria to decide who is allowed to be part of a community, and how those excluded may feel like outsiders even though they haven't done anything "wrong." By portraying the "outsiders" as a diverse group of people who don't fit society's norms, the song invites listeners to question why these people are being excluded and whether that exclusion is justified.
Line by Line Meaning
I just witnessed
I just viewed, observed or watched something occur
Another club eviction
Another club was emptied or where people go for leisure or entertainment closed down
I wonder what he did
I think and question what the previous person ejected from the club did
To get this lesson
To have experienced punishment or consequence for whatever actions carried out to have led to eviction from the club
Just like that crazy singer
This person is likening himself to another person that has also been crazy in the past, perhaps to make the point that being evicted from the club is not an uncommon occurrence or being likened to the person he mentioned
Yeah what's his name?
Asking the person listening to the song if they know the name of the crazy singer being referred to
Anyway,
Despite the crazy singers name being forgotten, still moving on with the point at hand
Who will be the next one
Predicting the next person who will be evicted from the club
To get thrown out?
To be thrown out of the club or to be asked to leave
Just like a garbage bag
Comparing the ejected patrons to trash that is thrown out
Go join your friends
Telling the ejected persons to leave the club and find solace with like-minded persons just like them
It is time to conform
Time to be like everyone else in the society, conform to the regular societal norms and behaviors
with conformity
Being in line with popular behavior or thoughts
Plastic holds, robot souls
Societal behavior is plastic and not genuine, people act like machines or robots who can't think for themselves
Last call for the rascals
A warning or reminder that troublemakers would need to leave the club soon
Mr. Clean says
Someone called 'Mr. Clean' is issuing a directive or making a demand
The good old days expired
The period of times before societal change had occurred is over and gone for good
New kind of people
Different persons who are only just entering society
Prototype generation
A new, unique or experimental set of persons who have just entered society or the club
All inspected
All persons would undergo scrutiny, investigation, and tests before they can be granted access into society or the club
Shiny chromes, spirit sold
The 'prototype generation' have plastic and fake behavior, their souls and spirits have been sold, similar to a chrome product
The homeless out! The poor out!
Directives have been made for poor people or persons who cannot afford access to be bounced out of the establishment
The punks out! The colored out! The striped out!
Persons with visible differences in dressing, mannerisms or identity would be forced to leave the establishment
The stains out! The troubled out! The wilds out!
Persons who have negative experiences, errant or change from societal norms would be kicked out or forced to leave the establishment
The wrongs out! The problems out! The bugs out!
Persons who are deemed societal problems, errors or nuisances are to be removed from the establishment
The bands out!
The musicians or performers who have issues with societal norms or societal malaise would be removed from the establishment
Wipe them out...Wipe them out
A directive to remove all persons who do not meet the approved societal standards
The leathers out! The queens out! The freaks out!
People with alternative lifestyles, queer or abnormal habits would be forced to leave the establishment
The misfits out! The loud out! The fly out!
Persons who don't fit into societal norms or who are loud, excessive or fly are not allowed into the premises
The ugly out! The olds out! The smalls out!
Persons who are not attractive, who are old or who are not of an acceptable body size are forced to leave for not meeting societal standards
The bums out! The bad out!
People who don't conform to societal norms, who are deemed nuisances or problems have to leave the establishment
And me out!
The artist of the song believes he would be kicked out or removed from the establishment
And you and you and you all pure?
The singer is asking the listener if they too are not guilty of society's perceived misgivings or misconducts
Nice and clean society
Describing the type of society the directive is trying to build based on societal standards
Long live democracy
Opining that societal standards and behavior is not democratic, but rather, controlled and forceful
Contributed by Logan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.