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)
Phobos
Voivod Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Log on
Spy wed satellite
Network spider site
Digital neurons
DTA system on
Enter master plan
Locked on
Restart fear program
Virtual readout
Data system down
Exit master plan
Log out
Phobos moon
Dying star
Phobos doom
Lying star
The song Phobos by Voivod is a dystopian portrayal of the near-future, where humanity has become fully entangled in the digital world. The lyrics describe the insidious nature of this interconnectedness, using technological terms to paint a picture of the world in which we live. The opening lines give us an insight into the creation of this digital world, describing the signal design and login process, through which humanity is now linked together. The next two lines use the metaphor of a spider web to describe this connection, as the entire world is now wrapped up in this digital web.
The song goes on to describe the consequences of this connectedness. The "global multi-scan" suggests that nothing is safe from scrutiny, with surveillance now all-encompassing. The "fear program" is a reference to the control that this surveillance can exert over people's minds. Finally, the song brings in the element of outer space, mentioning the Phobos moon and dying star. This suggests that humanity has pushed itself to the brink of extinction, with only a few remaining outposts in the cosmos.
Overall, the song Phobos is a cautionary tale about the dangers of our current technological trajectory. It warns us to be careful of the world we are creating and to keep a watchful eye on the ever-increasing power of technology.
Line by Line Meaning
Design the signal
Create the transmission
Log on
Connect to the system
Spy wed satellite
Illegally monitor communication from outer space
Network spider site
Connect and gather information from multiple sources
Digital neurons
Network of computer systems
DTA system on
Data analysis system started
Enter master plan
Begin executing the ultimate scheme
Locked on
Fully committed to the objective
Global multi-scan
Scanning and analyzing data on a global scale
Restart fear program
Reactivate the psychological manipulation tactics
Virtual readout
Digital display of information
Data system down
Communication systems are failing
Exit master plan
Cancel the ultimate scheme
Log out
Disconnect from the system
Phobos moon
One of the moons of Mars
Dying star
A star that is reaching the end of its life cycle
Phobos doom
The impending destruction of the Phobos moon
Lying star
A star that is losing its luster or no longer shines bright
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEPHAN BODZIN, MARC ROMBOY, MORITZ VON OSWALD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Super Unknown
Love this album so futuristic and atmospheric you can totally tell it came out in the 90s when a lot of bands where in full experimental mode.
Time Ravager
Since 1997, I have had this album as a trophy in my collection. And it has, and will remain like that for a long time. In your face, strong, mysterious, futuristic, dark and so much more. One of their best albums still. I might kill or wound someone if it got stolen or something... ¬¬
Deaf2Demands
Get help soon. I hear there are hotlines.
André Castro
I really like the Phobos and Negatron albums with E-Force on the bass and vocals, but not many people, which ironically these two albums are a return of the band to the progressive thrash of Dimension Hatross and Killing Technology, and yet there are a lot of people who do not like.
Master Voland
@Undisputed Attitude Абсолютно уверен, что "Voivod" всегда шли по своему собственному пути. О каком влиянии "Pantera" может, ВООБЩЕ, идти речь? Или Вы считаете "groove" исключительно ее изобретением? Я обожаю "Voivod" и этот альбом для меня - один из лучших и самых любимых во всей дискографии группы. "Panterа" же люблю только самые ранние альбомы. А более поздние работы группы (начиная с "Cowboys From Hell") просто терпеть не могу. Они для меня просто пытка какая-то и невыносимая скука...
Rus Saturn
Согласен полностью, по мне эти 2 релиза - лучшие времена их творчества! Самые тяжëлые и жирные альбомы. Потом они вообще какую то хуйню начали играть, со сменой состава.
LuckyFair
Ι think these two albums are more mid tempo and have raw hardcore influences and that's probably the reason a lot of fans didn't get the vibes. I think with time passing, most of them appreciate these amazing albums now. Especially phobos which has an ultra hard out of space feeling
Alpha Omega
@Undisputed Attitude I ask since when was early 1980s punk technical? It might not sound technical but try churning some old voivod riffs specially when Piggy (r.i.p.) ripped it up fast (very unusual and intricate stuff by the time you reach "Killing Technology"). Its Punk its Speed metal its Thrash and NWOBHM and Postpunk (Dead Boys and Exciter Venom and Motorhead and Killing Joke) mangled under a sci-fi Quebec francophone pressure-cooker of art and literature influences (Metal Hurlant/Heavy Metal mag). Post killing technology then we can say the Thrash was reduced to a few spots under the Prog experimental groove
Hericium Coralloides
Still one of my favourites in their entire discography, which also contains many of my favourite albums in any genre, period. Such an oddity. Like some kind of unique blend of prog, industrial textures and post-thrash/metal. Love it.
Super Unknown
Agreed