KATORZ

Katorz is the first of two albums that were recorded after guitar player Piggy's death. Fans will know he had a computer full of recorded riffs, solos and song ideas. By means of tribute to their beloved guitar wizard and friend, the band chose to assemble the available material into songs. And they did a terrific job!

The song writing and style of Katorz is very similar to the 2003 come-back album Voivod, meaning we get an upbeat and rocking version of classic Voivod. The riffs and songs are a lot less progressive then on their masterpieces from the end of the 80's but Piggy's riffs and chords remain an interesting and original feature.

It is quite amazing how natural the songs flow. Given the source of this material I had expected a more disjointed feel and more haphazard transitions in the songs. But no complaints about this at all. Snake's vocals are in better shape then on the preceding album. He still strains his voice but it isn't as grating and tuneless as on the preceding album. Away and Jasonic lay down a solid rhythmic basis.

Every song is good on this album but none strikes me as really remarkable. As such I appreciate it slightly less then Voivod, which suffered from its length, but had more real highlights. A good album for the fans and a worthy tribute to one of the greatest guitar players in metal.