“WE’RE VOIVOD – WE’RE NEVER GOING TO SOUND LIKE ANYONE ELSE!”

In 1989, Canadians Voivod tapped into their love of Pink Floyd and classical music to create an album that would push them to the forefront of the growing progressive metal movement. Nothingface was their first release for a major label – and it remains their most successful to date. This is the story behind their “trippy” record that not only changed Voivod but also prog metal… forever.

Dave Everley

“Nothingface was definitely a turning point. We challenged ourselves with it, and we became bigger and more visible.”Michel ‘Away’ Langevin When Voivod guitarist Denis ‘Piggy’ D’Amour suggested his band cover Pink Floyd’s acid-edged trip into the solar system, Astronomy Domine, not everyone was on board with the idea. “Piggy wanted to do the long version from Ummagumma, because he was such a huge fan of David Gilmour,” says Voivod singer Denis ‘Snake’ Bélanger. “I listened to it and went, ‘Oh God, this is hippie-trippy stuff. Maybe it’s too trippy.’ It had a melody with harmonies, which scared me a little bit.” Bélanger was already suspicious of the idea of a cover, not least because it had originally been floated by the band’s new label. After a run of four albums…

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Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 136

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