Voivod | |
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Voivod at Hellfest 2013 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Jonquière (Saguenay), Quebec, Canada |
Genres | |
Discography | Voivod discography |
Years active | 1982–present |
Labels |
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Members | Michel "Away" Langevin Denis "Snake" Bélanger Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain Dominic "Rocky" Laroche |
Past members | Denis "Piggy" D'Amour Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault Pierre St. Jean Gilles Brisebois Eric "E-Force" Forrest Jason "Jasonic" Newsted |
Website | www |
Voivod is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière (now part of Saguenay) Quebec. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault. The band has had numerous members changes throughout its 42-year career, with Langevin as the only consistent member. Their current line-up includes Langevin, Bélanger, Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain (guitar) and Dominic "Rocky" Laroche (bass).
Voivod's musical style has changed several times since its inception. Starting out as a speed metal band, they have added a mix of progressive and thrash metal to create their own unique metal style, and have been credited as progenitors of the "technical thrash metal" sound along with Coroner, Watchtower, Dark Angel, Mekong Delta, Anacrusis and Blind Illusion, among others.[1][2]
To date, Voivod have released sixteen studio albums, as well as one EP, one live album, two compilations, seven demos and one DVD featuring a live concert. They have been grouped with Sacrifice, Razor and Annihilator in the "Big Four" of Canadian thrash metal.[3] The band found mainstream success in the late 1980s with their fifth studio album Nothingface (1989), which is Voivod's only album to enter the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 114.[4] The band won the "Visionary" award at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards.[5] In 2019, Voivod's fourteenth studio album, The Wake, won the Juno Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year.[6] Voivod's most recent studio album Morgöth Tales, a collection of re-recorded songs, was released in July 2023.