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)
The X-Stream
Voivod Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything that exceeds
The point of no return
And this one's gonna hurt
All set before your eyes
A human sacrifice
It's time to clear the ramp
Who wants to take a chance
So let's roll
All night long
I like the smell of fuel
I got myself a bruise
The only time it's real
It's when I shift the gears
A few in every town
The death defying clowns
Gather with all their rigs
And kids are burning wheels
Yeah let's roll
All night long
Always pushing it to the X-Stream
Metal
One game to entertain
The gain is the pain
You might crash in flames
Or jump off the planes
The pavement's made of stones
In parts with broken bones
But you ain't out of luck
You live around the clock
Yeah let's roll
All night long
Always pushing it to the X-Stream
Metal
1001...1002...1003...Open
Another world record
And this one missed the curve
What's gonna make me stop
Who's gonna take my guts
One split second and go
One tire had to blow
C'mon and give me five
I died of what I liked
So let's roll
All night long
Always pushing it to the X-Stream
Metal
1001...1002...1003...Open
The lyrics to Voivod’s “The X-Stream” convey an intense desire for speed and adrenaline, and revel in the inherent danger of extreme sports. The singer describes the spectacle of a “human sacrifice” and “death defying clowns” gathered to push their limits and entertain the crowds. He speaks of the thrill of shifting gears and the realness of physical pain, even reveling in the possibility of dying doing what he loves. The chorus repeatedly calls to “roll all night long” and constantly push to the “X-Stream”.
In essence, the song is a celebration of extreme sports enthusiasts and their willingness to take risks for the sake of living life to the fullest. The singer seems to suggest that it’s worth it for the rush of the experience and the feeling of being truly alive.
Line by Line Meaning
There is the need for speed
I have a desire for speed
Everything that exceeds
Excess is always present
The point of no return
The moment of no going back
And this one's gonna hurt
This will be painful
All set before your eyes
Everything is shown to you
A human sacrifice
Someone is putting themselves at risk
It's time to clear the ramp
Time to prepare to jump
Who wants to take a chance
Who is willing to take the risk
I like the smell of fuel
I enjoy the scent of fuel
I got myself a bruise
I hurt myself
The only time it's real
When I am racing, that's when it feels genuine
It's when I shift the gears
When I change gears, that's when it happens
A few in every town
There are a handful in every city
The death defying clowns
The daring and risky performers
Gather with all their rigs
Come together with their vehicles
And kids are burning wheels
Even young people are racing recklessly
One game to entertain
A single activity for amusement
The gain is the pain
The reward is the suffering
You might crash in flames
There's a chance of crashing in a fiery disaster
Or jump off the planes
Or leaping from an airplane
The pavement's made of stones
The pavement is uneven and rough
In parts with broken bones
In areas with rough, jagged surfaces
But you ain't out of luck
You're not doomed yet
You live around the clock
This is your life, all day and all night
Another world record
Another record set
And this one missed the curve
But this time there was an accident
What's gonna make me stop
What will prevent me from continuing
Who's gonna take my guts
Who will have the courage to do what I do
One split second and go
A brief moment before acting
One tire had to blow
One tire failure occurs
C'mon and give me five
Come and congratulate me
I died of what I liked
I passed away doing what I loved
Always pushing it to the X-Stream
Constantly taking it to the extreme
Metal
This lifestyle is akin to heavy metal music
Contributed by Levi T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.