#daniel mongrain

BY JORDAN MAINZER

While the sudden onslaught of COVID-19 lockdowns forced many musicians on national and international tours to scramble home, others were in the middle of a creative process. Fortunately for legendary Canadian metal band Voivod, going virtual didn’t stop them. They’re no strangers to projects that have dragged out; for instance, a film about the band that started with director Sam Dunn (of Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey fame) before guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour died from colon cancer in 2005, is in the process of being finished by Death By Metal director Felipe Belalcazar. This time, instead of totally switching gears, the band chose a multi-pronged approach. They continued to write their follow-up to The Wake virtually, doing demos with Logic Pro, live streamed a show, and released The End of Dormancy, an EP consisting of a reworked version of The Wake track of the same name as well as a couple live performances from last year’s Montreal International Jazz Festival. And on November 27th, Voivod drops The Lost Machine (Century Media), a full live album recorded in Québec City during last year’s tour, along with videos of performances directed by Belalcazar.

I spoke with drummer Michel “Away” Langevin (also the artist behind Voivod’s album covers) from his home in Montreal earlier this month about the band’s immediate and long-term future, and he’s excited about it all. So far, they’ve released the live album’s title track and “Iconspiracy” as singles with accompanying videos, with one more on the way. As their world tour from this year and next year has been postponed, they’re planning on doing another live streamed show early next year. Montreal’s been locked down again since October, but lead singer and lyricist Denis “Snake” Bélanger’s been working on his home studio for the band’s rehearsals and recording. (Langevin and bassist Dominic “Rocky” Laroche live downtown, Snake in the North Shore, and guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain a little bit outside the city.) Like they’ve always done as a band, whether venturing from speed metal to thrash metal to progressive metal or balancing constant changes of plans, Voivod continues to adapt.

Read my interview with Langevin below, edited for length and clarity.

Since I Left You: When had you originally decided to release a live album?

Michel Langevin: We decided actually when the lockdown started in mid-March. At this point, we were writing material [for a new record], and we didn’t have access to the rehearsal space, so we were looking into what we could release. Last year, when touring The Wake, we had recorded this show we thought was really well performed.

SILY: But you didn’t necessarily know when on tour it was gonna be a live album.

ML: We were playing two festivals in Quebec: the Montreal [International] Jazz Festival and the other was the [Festival d'été de Québec]. We asked an engineer who had worked with us to come with his recording gear. The shows were not built thinking about a live album, but we were just on a roll touring nonstop.

SILY: And there’s video of these performances, too.

ML: We documented the Montreal Jazz Fest with multi-camera and a multi-track module. We didn’t think about documenting the Quebec City show officially, but we really liked the performance there.

SILY: The setlist of the live album seems to be pretty consistent with everything from The Wake tour.

ML: Because we toured so much for it, we switched setlists. Sometimes, we had two that would alternate. With almost two years of touring, we changed the setlist a lot. When we played Montreal and Quebec City, it was the last stretch of the long part of the tour for The Wake. We had a bit of a break right after for the summer. With those shows, we were really in shape. The album is super tight.

SILY: The setlist is basically half The Wake.

ML: We played songs from the first 6 albums and songs from Post Society as well as The Wake. Sometimes, we play material from the Eric [Forrest] era from the 90′s and from the Jason Newsted era from the early 2000′s. But it’s mainly 80′s stuff, although now we play stuff from the first 7 albums. 

SILY: I did notice there wasn’t anything from Target Earth, which I love. Is it just because a record like that or some of the later 2000′s records you’ve more recently done big tours around?

ML: It’s just a matter of having too many albums, but I like when we play, let’s say, “Global Warming” from the Jason era back into the setlist. Right now, we try to cover our career as much as we can, but it’s getting more difficult every year. [laughs]

SILY: What was your inspiration behind the album art for this album?

ML: I tried to do the art listening to the recordings, mixing, and mastering. I was just listening to the music trying to represent a lost machine with a bunch of other lost machines that started following the main guy along the road.

SILY: What else has the band been up to during lockdown? Have you been able to record?

ML: We did an online show that went super well. We were able to gather and jam even with keeping our distances. We’re thinking of doing more, only if we’re able to rehearse. Snake is right now turning his house into a rehearsal studio. Right before the lockdown, we had templates for songs we were working on. We’re writing a new album [virtually]. This summer, we released The End of Dormancy EP with some songs from the Montreal show with videos we had shot November of last year. When the lockdown started, we looked at what we had to work with and went from there. There’s also a book about Voivod in the works. We’re trying to move forward as much as we can.

SILY: Is there anything you’ve been listening to, reading, or watching during lockdown that’s caught your attention?

ML: I’ve been working so much lately that I haven’t gotten to entertain myself a lot. After the release of [The Lost Machine], I really want to take some time to watch Raised By Wolves. I’ve heard a lot about it. I really like Westworld as well, so I want to watch season 3 of that.

SILY: You’re a key part of Voivod’s sci-fi themes. Is that what you tend to absorb in other art?

ML: I really like sci fi movies and series, but I don’t really read fiction that much. I read paranormal magazines.

SILY: Have you enjoyed the process of writing the studio album remotely?

ML: It’s interesting. I don’t have a studio in my apartment, so I have to program the drums. It makes me listen to Rocky and Chewy’s playing very carefully. It makes me catch stuff I wouldn’t catch at the rehearsal space and changes my playing. I can’t wait to get together, but I can tell that the situation will have an impact on the album.

SILY: The themes, too?

Michel “Away” Langevin discusses Voivod’s concepts for 7”s, recalls infamous tour with Soundgarden and Faith No More

Thrash metal and prog rock are no strangers to each other. Yet only a few bands are capable of seamlessly blending the two into its own unique sound. And over the course of three decades, despite setbacks caused by lineup changes, deaths, and simply changes in the music industry, Voivod has stood out as one of those bands.

While the Montreal metal staples came through New York City’s Gramercy…