Thursday, April 18: E-Force, “Mayhem”
Eric Forrest took a fair amount of grief when he fronted Voivod in the mid ‘90s, but his two records with the band had their own character and over the years have managed to garner their own cult following. So Forrest’s return to action with E-Force was welcomed in some circles, and Evil Forces wasn’t far removed from the likes of Negatron and Phobos, though it was perhaps a bit less technical. “Mayhem” was a punky and furious number that leaned in on the harsher elements of Forrest’s vocals and bass, and worked both as a Voivod adjunct and on its own terms. The rest of E-Force was more than capable of keeping up, though all would soon be replaced upon Forrest’s relocation to France, so in its own way, “Mayhem” helped set the stage for the rise of French acts like Gojira. And it is not at all difficult to imagine Gojira taking some inspiration from “Mayhem” and E-Force, as its thrash underpinnings and general roughness were a clear precursor to that band’s approach. This ultimately proved that not only was Forrest’s tenure in Voivod underrated, but he was more than capable of leading his own crew.
