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Bacteria13
Hatross Overlord


Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 2465

PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:24 am    Post subject: VOIVOD - KATORZ Reply with quote

Voivod – Katorz

(The End Records)

It is with a heavy heart that I write this review for, as Canada’s finest punk/thrash/prog metal ever release their 14th studio album, the first anniversary of their late guitarist rapidly approaches (August 25th). Nearly a year to the day that Piggy passed away from colon cancer and Katorz, the album he so desperately wanted to see completed is upon us. I need not remind Voivod fans or metal fans in general who followed the tragic chain of events which lead to the bizarre recording of this album, something that may have been found in a 1940’s sci-fi pulp magazine – Musician Records From The Grave! Would Piggy, who saved his guitar parts onto his PC for friend and drummer Away to find later smile at the headline, I wonder? But the fact remains that Denis D'Amour is gone, and is dearly missed by all who knew him and all who knew his music. Where were you when you heard the news of Piggy’s passing? And where were you when you first heard the cathartic Katorz?

Cathartic? Very much so; Katorz is on one hand a testament to a unique and incredible individual, not to mention an influential band who still inspires today, yet, on the other one is constantly reminded whilst listening to Voivod’s latest opus that Piggy is sadly no longer with us. We may mourn him, but we should take comfort that his spirit glides the cosmos-infinite. And besides, we still have his music …

Which leads me to the album in question; Katorz is a tour-de-force in modern Voivod, taking the lead from their previous (weaker?) album, Voivod, and running with it, adding dibs and dabs of early 80’s LA Punk with hints of the sci-fi weirdness found on Dimension Hatross and Nothingface. Must I dissect individual tracks? It seems pointless with Katorz, for each number flows fluently and coherently. Opener The Getaway bounces along like a driver’s dream, very uplifting despite its gloomy lyrics. Mr. Clean rumbles and throbs with that Punk attitude mentioned earlier, After All is cynical and quirky, Odds & Frauds boasts an amazing riff you’ll be humming for hours after you hear it, Silly Clones simply ROCKS and Polaroids is a bona-fide Voivod classic. Everything is hear, from Snake’s idiosyncratic lyrics and snarling vocals, to Jason Newsted’s blower-esque bass to Away’s distinct drumming (some nice double-bass work, too). It goes without saying that Katorz is a wonderful, laudable Voivod album which long-time fans will hold dear to their hearts.

How tragic, then, that we won’t get to see Piggy, (or at the time of writing) his band mates perform this album live. The live circuit as a whole is losing out, big time. Still, we can take solace in the knowledge that there’s another album due in the next year or so. This, my fellow Voivodians, is Piggy’s legacy.

Long live Piggy!

Long live Voivod!

Bacteria13.
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LSD



Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got a feeling that this album was something that guys really wanted to do despite of the fact that it's still more like demo or something. A lot of material here is fake. If you take the essence of this record you have like about 30 minutes of pure ideas. But we know that it had to be like this. Band could release this album or nothing. So I'm glad they did it. It's the last work of Piggy. It's very raw and not so excellent as before. Especially that Piggy was one of the best guitarists ever. he didn't show it here but we still have classic Voivod albums.
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Bacteria13
Hatross Overlord


Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 2465

PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Re-reading this review I'm reminded of that Friday evening when I first heard of Piggy's passing and the couple of beers I had with my wife in a bar in Vancouver, sitting there, totally stunned.

Time of writing (11pm, April 17th, '09) I'm currently listening to Katorz, thinking what a great fucking record it is & eagerly looking forward to Infini.

And I'm also of the opinion that despite his good intentions LSD didn't need to post what he did ...
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