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All-Music
Guide review
2
pts.
After the success of 1989's excellent Nothingface,
progressive-metal experimentalists Voivod were poised for their
big breakthrough with their follow-up, Angel Rat. It didn't happen.
For reasons unknown, the album quickly sank from sight upon its
release in the fall of '91, which is surprising, since it's
nearly as good as its predecessor. Founding member/bassist Jean-Yves
Theriault left the group after Angel Rat's recording was completed,
and was not officially replaced until bassist/vocalist Eric Forrest
would take over for both Theriault and singer Denis Belanger in
time for 1995's Negatron.
The band's ongoing science fiction imagery is still conveyed in
both the music and lyrics, which sounds like a cross between early
Pink Floyd (circa Meddle)
and Rush (circa Caress of Steel),
with a heavy metal edge added to it. Angel Rat also to proves to
one of Voivod's most consistent releases, without a weak track in
sight. Included are such spacy highlights as "Panorama," "Clouds
In My House," "Golem," and the moody psychedelia of the title track.
Produced by former Rush knob-twiddler Terry Brown, Angel Rat definitely
deserved more attention and commercial success.
-- Greg Prato, All-Music Guide
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Angel
Rat
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METAL
FORCES magazine review,
November 1991, p. 28.
© 1991 Force 10 Publications, Ltd.
VOIVOD - Angel Rat (Mechanic/MCA - MCA 10293)
EXCELLENT (90)
When CELTIC FROST voluntarily (and inexplicably) gave up their mantle
as the pioneers of Avant-Garde Metal, they left a clear path for
Canada's VOIVOD not only to fill the gap, but also to explore new
musical territories and textures. And over the past few years, this
is certainly something that the foursome have done to great effect,
taking their Freeform Jazz and Psychedelic inflections into a number
of weird yet exciting directions.
The result has been albums of worth, weight, and substance, such
as "Dimension Hatross" and "Nothingface," LPs which have set standards
on both the musical and ideological fronts many have found a basis
for inspiration. Strangely though, as the ears of a generation have
become more open and accepting than has ever been the case in the
Metal genre, VOIVOD have made (seemingly) their most accessible
record to date. Not that you should run away with the idea that
the band have suddenly taken on the hue of EUROPE, merely that the
territory they choose to explore musically owes much to RUSH, U2,
PRIMAL SCREAM, and very early PINK FLOYD. And if anything, this
makes them even more virulent than previously!
Eschewing their Thrash roots and also the metaphysical/physical
adventures of the Voivod creature that has dominated their work
to date, the band take on a range of identities from the 'Chaos
Theory' of Glick through the folklores of various European histories.
Don't worry, this isn't an academic's orgasm, merely the clothing
for a breathtaking panoply of musical indentations. It's difficult
to sum up this record simply because it has too much depth and breadth.
The likes of "Panorama," "Clouds In My House" and "The Prow" may
seem inoffensively accessible on the surface, but with Piggy's guitar
ratio spiking the smoothly controlled vocals of Snake, they unnerve
perhaps more than anything the band have yet attempted. "Best Regards"
is a turmoil of cataclysmic philosophy and musical fractures. The
title track is hauntingly suicidal; "Golem" tells the tale of the
unthinking clay creature brought to life by magical code; "Nuage
Fractal" is a plasma flow of deranged dreaminess; "Freedoom" proffers
a dischordant crimson stain across a misleadingly aural landscape
of caress.
"Angel Rat" is superficially the most listenable VOIVOD offering
thus far. In truth, though, it is more fitting to call it their
most mature work to date. Yet in maturity, they have sharpened rather
than rounded their skills and become an even more volatile act than
ever.
-- Malcolm Dome
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