Voivod has always been light years ahead of their time. Since "Target Earth" the band has locked into a sound that takes the classic tones from "Dimension Hatross " and pushes it forward in a modern production. This ep is the quality of both songwriting and production as "Target Earth" in fact the arrangements might be even more progressive, like the surreal breakdown on the title track that kicks the ep off. They have always been able to shift in a very organic manner from one movement to the next . What amazes me more upon hearing this is how true they are to their legacy even though half of the original members are not on this recording. Chewy and Rocky did comprise the live band on their last pass through the states with Napalm Death and both really do justice to the Voivod legacy.
"Forever Mountain" was released as a single last year and carries a pretty heavy chromatic crunch. Snakes vocals sound even better than he did on "Target Earth" . He actually sings more. Rocky's bass line twist around the riffs with perhaps a cleaner tone than "Blacky" used, but he displays the needed dexterity and melodic sense to pull of their sound. "Forever Mountain" finds Snake placing some times angular vocal lines the twisting sinew of guitar before they go into a melodic metal section that doesn't have their trademark dissonance. It all works and Voivod certainly has a sound that is uniquely theirs.
They dip into more off of their psychedelic space rock days with "Fall" that recalls more of the "Angel Rat" era at first before they get into a heavier groove. Rocky really earns his place in the band with this one. "We Are Connected " was first premiered on tour , then released as a single so it's might not be new but would rather own it as part of this album, as my ocd side dislikes having random mp3's hanging out in need of a folder of their own. This song takes its twists and turns through all of the facets of the band's sound. I love the really dark riff that slithers in at the three minute mark. Chewy's guitar playing really stands out on this song and the solo really ripped live. They close things out with a cover of Hawkwind's "Sliver Machine" . A song that is not even more timely since Lemmy is handled the vocals on the original song. It was one of the band's rare hits and Lemmy cut the vocals for it in a last minute attempt to save the session after lead singer Robert Calvert who suffered from bi-polar disorder had an episode during his takes. It makes sense for Voivod to cover this song since the lyrics are about riding on a space ship. So I am sure it was recorded well before Lemmy's death. It's actually the most straight forward song they have done in some time, which aside from the Bat-man theme song their other covers have been Pink Floyd, King Crimson songs.V oivod once again doesn't disappoint or dial it in. They balance out all the sides of their multi -faceted sound and give fans of the band what they expect. This is obviously a 10.
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