NEGATRON

Here's where Voivod's fascinating evolution went slightly off track. Having gone from muddy apocalyptic nuclear black thrash to adventurous progmetal sci-fi brightness over a string of 7 amazing albums, the modern aggro-churn of 'Negatron' seems like not only a poor step back, but it feels like a legendary band slumming. Shifts in direction are par for the course with this band, and you could expect this would happen when vocalist Snake left after 'The Outer Limits', leaving only original members Michel "Away" Langevin and Denis "Piggy" D'amour to carry on the Voivod name, but something just doesn't feel right here.

I have to admit a huge admiration for Piggy's work on this album. He carves out yet another intriguing facet of his style on what is the most aggressive album they'd offered since 1987's groundbreaking 'Killing Technology'. His alien chords and cold tone certainly leave you with no doubt as to what band you're listening to, but unfortunately the rhythms feel a little stiff and the clicky bass-drum sounds are horrible. The biggest disappointment, however, is the vocal approach of new member Eric Forrest (also bassist, the band opting to continue as a trio). Sounding like a fish out of water, his aggressive tone doesn't convince. His monotone robotic voice is a nice attempt to capture Snake's trademark vibe, but it's quite clear the master has been replaced by a mere apprentice.

There are certainly worthwhile moments on this album. It's hard to dislike the huge open spaces created on the intro of "Nanoman". "Bio-TV" is appropriately spacey, exuding the slower, more hypnotic energy that follow-up album 'Phobos' would offer 2 years later. Highlight here is easily "Cosmic Conspiracy", a sprawling journey with some satisfying spacey tones and signature drum work from the always consistent Away. But again, Forrest's vocals sound like an affectation. It wasn't really surprising to find out he wasn't a huge fan of the band before he joined. You can hear that he doesn't quite understand what's going on here. (In all fairness, I think his performance on the next album was worthy, and he certainly carried his own weight in the live setting.)

Many of these songs are forgettable at worst, interchangeable at best. I've listened this album quite a bit, because there are bits and pieces worth the effort, but I still can't distinguish "Project X" from "Planet Hell", and I really don't have any feeling for "Meteor", "Insect" or "Reality?". Things are not helped with the tacked-on final track "D.N.A. (Don't No Anything)", which sees the band collaborating with Foetus man Jim Thirlwell. It's an excursion into industrial music, an unlistenable mess that would've been better relegated to a B-side or rarities album.

As of this writing, Voivod have released 10 studio albums. This one, their eighth, is the only one I cannot highly recommend, but it does have enough redeeming moments to save it from being a complete waste of time. The band were definitely hit by two key original members leaving in the 3 or 4 years previous to its creation, and they would eventually rebound brilliantly, so call this one of those uncomfortable "transitional" albums, and go for 'Phobos', 'Nothingface' or 'Angel Rat' instead.

"Negatron" is the eighth full-length studio album by Canadian metal act Voivod. The album was released through Hypnotic Records/Mausoleum Records in November 1995. It´s the successor to "The Outer Limits" from August 1993 and there´s been a significant lineup change since the predecessor as lead vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger has left. As the bass parts on "The Outer Limits" were recorded by session musician Pierre St-Jean, and Voivod had not found a new permanent bassist, they were now both a lead vocalist and a bassist down. Enter lead vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest who along with remaining members Michel "Away" Langevin (drums) and Denis "Piggy" D-Amour (guitars) complete the trio lineup who recorded "Negatron". Voivod would work in this trio constellation (and also release the 1997 "Phobos" album) until 1998 when Forrest was severely injured in a car accident in Germany. During his recovery period the remaining members of the band felt that they weren´t able to continue and after Forrest left in 2000, Voivod shortly disbanded in 2001.

But´s that´s of course getting way ahead of the story, as the new trio lineup in 1994/1995 was a breath of fresh air and a new start for Voivod, who did taste limited commercial success with their three preceding major label releases, but never really broke through to the mainstream. "Negatron" signals the return to a much more harder edged and aggressive style of music, and it´s probably the most heavy, angry, and punchy release from Voivod up until then. While Forrest on occasion can deliver semi-clean melodic vocals (the chorus on "Nanoman" is the best example of that), he predominantly delivers raw screaming vocals and as the riffs and rhythms are also heavy, brutal, and hard edged, Voivod have never sounded more potent. When "Negatron" was released I remember being a bit baffled by the change of musical style and if you compare the psychedelic tinged progressive metal of "The Outer Limits" with the brutal thrash/groove metal (spiced up with some industrial tinged atmospheres) assault of "Negatron" it almost sounds like it´s two different bands playing.

That´s of course not the case and if you listen a bit more closely it´s still unmistakably Voivod playing. The signature dissonant riffs are in place, and so are the organic drumming, and the sci-fi themed lyrics and image. So it´s mostly the more raw vocals and the increased heaviness of the music, which make "Negatron" a different listening experience to the earlier material by the band. "Negatron" features a raw, heavy, and punishing sounding production, and it´s the perfect sound production for the equally raw and heavy material.

The eleven tracks, 57:24 minutes long album opens with the strong trio of songs: "Insects", "Project X" and "Nanoman". The latter being the melodic highlight of the album and one of the only times Voivod sound slightly like they did on the last couple of albums. But from there the tracks become harder and harder to tell apart and remember. It´s not that the rest of the tracks are of a poor quality or anything like that and listened to individually they are actually quite enjoyable and powerful material, but as a full album listening experience there´s not enough variation between the tracks. When Voivod try something a bit different they aren´t necessarily successful either. The closing track "D.N.A (Don't No Anything)" is for example a track where Voivod go all the way into industrial metal territory and it´s quite a tedious listening experience. It´s not a good way to end an otherwise decent album and I find that I have more fond memories of "Negatron" when I simply stop the album before "D.N.A (Don't No Anything)" and imagine that "Drift" is the last track on the album.

Upon conclusion "Negatron" is another unique release in Voivod´s discography. It´s harsh, heavy, and aggressive (and not nearly as progressive as it´s direct predecessor), which may turn off some of the fans of the last couple of releases, but while the abrasive nature of the sound production, the relentless aggression of the material can be a bit hard on the ears, and the album overall lacks a bit in the variation department, it´s still overall a good quality release from Voivod, showing their most heavy and brutal side. A bit unexpected upon release but with time I´ve learned to appreciate "Negatron" more and it´s overall a nice addition to Voivod´s discography. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Second's Out. I never would have thought that the departure of vocalist 'Snake' would have had such an impact on Voivod's sound. The style change after 'Blacky's earlier departure on Outer Limits was a lot smaller actually. But maybe the personal changes weren't a decisive factor at all, maybe Negatron was the trajectory that guitar mastermind 'Piggy' wanted to steer Voivod into anyway. It's a direction that would take Voivod back to their thrash beginnings, entirely forsaking melody and their grown progressive standing.

There's absolutely nothing here that reminds us of the stellar, multidimensional music that Voivod had written before. Negatron is a mechanical sounding death metal-inspired thrash album that has a lot of power but that is completely devoid of interesting riffs and melodies. The vocals are gruff and tuneless throughout and will surely be repelling to everybody that is not into some or other form of extreme metal.

But it's not the change of style as such that disappoints me; it's the uninspired song writing and the low quality execution. This is generic metal fluff with a faint Voivod after-taste, a hint of what this band used to be capable of that is frustrating rather then appealing. In fact, to me this sounds like Pantera on a bad hair day. A Voivod release that is better avoided.

'Negatron' - Voivod (4/10)

For whatever reason, there came a point in Voivod's career where everything went to hell. up until 'The Outer Limits', Voivod were releasing album after album of classic, engaging, and even groundbreaking material, turning the thrash metal world on its side with a spacey, forward-thinking approach. Sadly, Voivod's vocalist Snake Belanger leaves after an impressive tenure with the band, and in comes his replacement, Eric Forrest. Not to mention that Voivod is just a three-piece at this point, the band has all but split up for all intents and purposes. What is left is a hollow shell of a band that once created some of the best albums metal has ever seen. Although the band would eventually pick themselves back up with Snake's return, 'Negatron' and its follow-up 'Phobos' represent the darkest period of Voivod's career.

AWhile band members have changed, so has the style. The music here would be completely unrecognizable from Voivod's signature prog-thrash sound, were it not for Piggy's distinct style of playing. Incidentally, Piggy's dissonant edge is the best thing about 'Negatron'. As for the rest, Voivod has gone down a fairly lo-fi avenue, throwing away their growing sense of melody in exchange for aggression and noise. In a sense, it is quite like Voivod's two earliest albums, but as all 'back-to-roots' albums usually end up, it doesn't possess the same power. Eric Forrest's contributions are the biggest disappointment. Although some of his vocals manage to get a strong aggression across, he usually sounds like he is trying to scream parts that should have been sung by Snake. Perhaps this is just a fan's bias, but the music feels the loss.

'Negatron' is a darker album than much Voivod work, and that does work to its benefit. I think that the style they chose to go in here is not inherently bad, but the uninspiring songwriting and lackluster ideas lead the album down a path to mediocrity that is best left forgotten by Voivod and their fans.

In my review of Voivod's The Outer Limits I equated the big sell on the packaging to seeing an ex and running off to the sack for a romping revisit to the glory days that ultimately was a little different, but satisfying. Well, as it turns out, I was drunk, and went to bed with The Outer Limits, but then I woke up with Negatron. Now, before I get beat up too much for my metaphorical objectification, be aware that I am self-delegating an appropriate punishment. Yes, I am actually getting drunk and climbing back into bed with Negatron, again. This time I am looking her in the eye. And you know what? This was a terrible idea.

First off, lets do just that, look Negatron right in the eye. By the eye, I mean the cover. See that robo-ant. Even the ant has no idea what's going on. That robo-ant (it occurs to me, that robo-ant *is* Negatron) with its shizzlebytes of memory and espialagogahertz of processing power is still oblivious. Seriously, look closely at the attached picture of the cover. He is absolutely doing this guy:

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And what is more metal than an "I-dunno-shrug robo-ant"?...oooooh, wait! I just got it! I dunno=Negative response=Negatron.

Well, its entirely possible Negatron the robo-ant doesn't know what is going on because he is receiving his verbal instructions from new Bassist/Vocalist Eric Forrest. Now here is a guy with some big shoes to fill. Both Denis "Snake" Belanger and Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault replaced by a single robo-ant confusion specialist. With his two screaming volumes of "on" and "more on", he is impossible to understand at times, and impossible to not understand the rest of the time. Mostly, he's just impossible.
The sci-fi approach so familiar to our favorite Canadian cyber-punk-punk-metallers is obviously there. Negatron the I- dunno-shrug robo-ant is not just sexy, he's sci-fi, and he is metal. That much we can re-assure him of. Its how he's drawn.What we can't reassure him of is that anything about the music conveys the sci-fi theme. It is 90% straight forward metal. There are moments of Denis d'Amour's sinister dissonance, but it misses the mark on pushing the sci-fi agenda. Any lyrics from emo, to black metal, to gangsta rap to country and western-tear-in-the-beerisms could be thrown in, it would make just as much sense. Other confusion ensues with the drum recording. Through much of the album it sounds like the drum track was lifted straight from the master tapes of Metallica's ...And Justice For All. Bass drums are not supposed to go "click-a-click-a-clickity-click". Oh outrageous fortune! Is this the harbinger of the band's eventual attempt of fixing everything by adding Jason Newstead 5 years later?

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It is hard to understand how things went so wrong, so quickly. The session bass player on The Outer Limits was proficient and didn't degrade the presentation at all. Its unfathomable that Denis "Snake" Belanger was such an important force in the character of the band, but it is the only variable outside of the producers and studio. Whatever the case, what occurred on Negatron applies some perspective on Angel Rat, another of my least favorite Voivod albums. There was at least an understandable logical progression to that point. Negatron is like a Star Trek transporter accident. The matter is just randomly scattered on arrival. It earns the coveted 1 star. And I've earned 600mg of ibuprofen.