Voivod: Katorz

By now most of you know the sad story-Voivod's pioneering guitar player and leader, Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour, passed away from colon cancer in August of 2005. His loss was tragic, as not only had this unique and talented musician touched the world with his skills and creativity as a musician, but most who knew him have stated that he was just an overall wonderful human being. Up to the time of his death, Piggy was working on a slew of songs that he had recorded complete guitar part to, which after his passing the remaining members of Voivod decided to then record their parts around and complete the ultimate tribute to the late guitarist. Singer Denis "Snake" Belanger, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin, bassist Jason "Jasonic" Newsted, along with producer Glen Robinson, would all put their minds and talents together to create Katorz (their first on The End Records), a very strong and focused album that utilized all of Piggy's guitar parts and ultimately perhaps became something even more special than the surviving members had originally imagined. Katorz is not the thrash metal beast that some of the early Voivod material was, nor is it the sci-fi soaked progressive metal of the bands mid-90's repertoire. Instead, this album is a fast paced, punky mix of hard rock and metal anthems, sort of like a combination of early Motorhead, The Sex Pistols, and The Who, fueled by plenty of jagged and crunchy guitar work from Piggy, the beefy rhythm section from Away and Newsted, and Snake's aggressive yet catchy vocals.

One of the things that immediately hits you about Katorz is how much damn groove is contained within these songs, and how memorable each track is. Check out the catchy hooks and monstrous riffs of "The X-Stream", or the pounding rhythms and driving guitar crunch that accompany Snake's anthemic vocals on "The Getaway". In fact, Snake approaches Lemmy-like territory on many songs on this CD, not so much in style but certainly in attitude. When the band slows things down a bit, like on the grinding "Dognation", you really hear the influence of Newsted, whose muscular and gymnastic bass grooves brings out the best in Away, as he pummels and flails at his kit with new found vigor. The two form a formidable duo alongside the crushing riffs from Piggy on "After All", a song that's also notable for the guitarists effective use of dissonant and varied guitar textures and chords. It's hard not to love the almost futuristic punk sounds of "Silly Clones", but I think the most fun piece here is the utterly addicting "Odds & Frauds", a straightforward and catchy rock anthem with beefy rhythms and huge guitar chords that remind me of the early music of The Who.

Katorz is one of those albums that will get under your skin and continue to spread throughout every organ in your body until it completely grabs a hold of your very existence. It's a shame that Piggy did not live to see this project come to fruition, but the remaining members of Voivod should be very happy that they have completed his vision, and that somewhere he is looking down at them and feeling very proud. Word has it that there is enough material left behind from Piggy for Part Two of this album, so be on the lookout.

Track Listing
1) The Getaway
2) Dognation
3) Mr. Clean
4) After All
5) Odds & Frauds
6) Red My Mind
7) Silly Clones
8) No Angel
9) The X-Stream
10) Polaroids

Added: January 14th 2015
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Voivod Website
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Language: english

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