In the late 80s, two bands turned the whole concept of metal on its head – and it took years for most people to realise the impact and importance of what they did. While the greatness of and Slayer is unquestioned, their achievements rest on expanding on styles and sounds already in existence. But Switzerland’s Celtic Frost and Voivod from Canada pushed beyond the boundaries of the genre.
They were true pioneers. Celtic Frost had their finest moment with 1987’s remarkable album. For Voivod, everything crystalised a year later with their mind-bening fourth album, .
Its creation is a tale of near death experiences with bikers, rocket attacks in Berlin, and an intensity so great it nearly tore the band apart. But this album also opened Voivod to the rich possibilities in their musical vision. “We discovered electronics!” says drummer Michel ‘Away’ Langevin,.
“When we recorded in Berlin we made the transition from thrash metal to something very, very different.” The band were formed in Jonquière, Quebec 1983, a combination of Langevin’s artist conception of ‘The Voivod’ – a post-nuclear, vampiric creature – and the musical acuity of Denis D’Amour, better know as Piggy, on guitar. With vocalist Denis ‘Snake’ Belanger and bassist Jean-Yves ‘Blacky’ Theriault, they quickly became cult heroes, thanks in no small measure to the raw rampage of their debut album , released in 1984 by .
And then chance dealt them a full house. “We moved to Montre.
