ANGEL RAT

I've been listening to a lot of Voivod recently and this album is perhaps the easiest to listen to. It is certainly their most accessible. But don't come to this album expecting the melody and intricate soloing of typical progressive metal. Voivod are not about that at all. Rather they are about edgy discord (especially from the late Denis d'Amour's guitar) and difficult rhythmic patterns. And Snake's vocals, whilst mature, have lost nothing of the power evident in the band's earlier releases.

What you can expect is an at times stark and frightening vision of the life we live and where it may be taking us. But it is a worthwhile vision and one that should be listened to. Carefully. Because things are not always as they seem in Voivod-land. Even up tempo happy, bounce of "The Prow", by far the most radio-friendly fare here, disguises a dangerously dark dialogue.

Thanks to the maturity shown by the perpetrators and the excellent production work by Terry Brown this one is certainly a masterpiece.