Around their fortieth anniversary Voivod fans get plenty of chances to spend their money of both old and new releases and I guess it depends a lot on personal preference and the intensity of your collecting addiction, how essential they are.
The importance of last year's studio album "Synchro Anarchy", being my album of the year and all is of course out of question.
But then we also have the long-awaited Real Gone Records vinyl reissues of my holy trinity "Nothingface", "Angel Rat" and "The Outer Limits", which I'm thankful for, even though they all could have been presented better in my opinion. Then there has also been another "Outer Limits" reissue, which I probably would have prefered, but there's too much other good stuff out there to buy one album multiple times.
The "Ultraman" EP certainly is too special interest to fall into the must-have category, which also goes for "Chaotic Harmony", a hymn for the Polish Mystic Festival, which is only physically available on a limited and thus now quite pricey seven anyway.
And since metalheads are a nostalgic bunch, the milking of the Noise Records years isn't just limited to the "Nothingface" reissue. In fact there's the huge "Lost In Space" vinyl box, but since it hasn't been that long ago that I bought the extended CD versions of "Rrröööaaarrr", "Killing Technology" and "Dimension Hatröss", I don't really need all that stuff and the bootleg quality bonus and live material of the Eighties once again now, no matter how fancy all those coloured records look.
Into a similar category fall the releases on former bassist Blacky's label. I'm a fan of completing a product and presenting the final result. So given that the final products of "Nothingface" and "Angel Rat" have been imprinted and revered in my brain as they are for such a long time, I don't feel an overwhelming urgency to sell my kidney, so I can afford the price and shipping costs of the demos for those.
Yet now I bought this rather backwards-looking album (or rather compilation?), which naturally begs the question: Do I regret it?
The importance of last year's studio album "Synchro Anarchy", being my album of the year and all is of course out of question.
But then we also have the long-awaited Real Gone Records vinyl reissues of my holy trinity "Nothingface", "Angel Rat" and "The Outer Limits", which I'm thankful for, even though they all could have been presented better in my opinion. Then there has also been another "Outer Limits" reissue, which I probably would have prefered, but there's too much other good stuff out there to buy one album multiple times.
The "Ultraman" EP certainly is too special interest to fall into the must-have category, which also goes for "Chaotic Harmony", a hymn for the Polish Mystic Festival, which is only physically available on a limited and thus now quite pricey seven anyway.
And since metalheads are a nostalgic bunch, the milking of the Noise Records years isn't just limited to the "Nothingface" reissue. In fact there's the huge "Lost In Space" vinyl box, but since it hasn't been that long ago that I bought the extended CD versions of "Rrröööaaarrr", "Killing Technology" and "Dimension Hatröss", I don't really need all that stuff and the bootleg quality bonus and live material of the Eighties once again now, no matter how fancy all those coloured records look.
Into a similar category fall the releases on former bassist Blacky's label. I'm a fan of completing a product and presenting the final result. So given that the final products of "Nothingface" and "Angel Rat" have been imprinted and revered in my brain as they are for such a long time, I don't feel an overwhelming urgency to sell my kidney, so I can afford the price and shipping costs of the demos for those.
Yet now I bought this rather backwards-looking album (or rather compilation?), which naturally begs the question: Do I regret it?
VOIVOD - Morgöth Tales (LP) (2023)
Answer: Yes, I regret at least that I didn't by the CD version, since that one contains an extra track with the P.I.L. cover "Home". You could of course add that one in the digital download, but sadly Century Media Records still doesn't do those. If you don't own "Nanoman" yet, there's also the Japanese CD release, which has that whole EP as bonus material.
But bonus to what actually? Ok, "Morgöth Tales" is basically a run through Voivod's history, starting from the demo track "Condemned To The Gallows" and ending with one track both from the Eric Forrest and the Jason Newsted era.
So it's a best of or deep cuts or whatever compilation? Yes and no, because all songs have been re-recorded by the current line-up, except "Rise" and "Rebel Robot", which feature the aforementioned original singer and bassist as guests.
Do we need this? Well, we wouldn't starve without it. But it definitely is a delicious dish.
Of course many of these songs have been played live in recent years, like "Fix My Heart" has celebrated its glorious return to the setlist last year. But it's undoubtly very enjoyable to also hear these songs in studio versions with the sound of the current SnakeChewyRockyAway line-up.
Instrumentally the band is capable of honouring every phase and beyond. You've read my praise in several reviews before, I hope? There are just very few groups of that age operating with that amount of fresh energy. Of course the quality of re-recordings like this above all stand and fall with the vocals. Not every singer can go back decades and capture that spirit again. Even Snake doesn't exactly try to do that either, since he knows that his voice has aged. But damn, it has aged well and he uses it with such an experience and confidence! You just never get the sad wow, the guy's gotten old feeling. No, he nails this shit!
If these new renditions of "Thrashing Rage", "Pre-Ignition", "Nuage Fractal" etc. are just great reminders of the band's legacy or even pose improvements to the originals is up to one's individual taste. I'm always happy to hear the ancient stuff with a decent sound, whereas from "Nothingface" forward it's really hard to improve anything. But since those productions differ a lot from the recent "Post Society" / "Synchro Anarchy" sound, it's also a good thing to hear them translated into that language here.
And of course it also underlines my burning question: When will Voivod finally return to Roadburn Festival to play the complete "Angel Rat" album?
But wait, we're not done with "Morgöth Tales" yet! The album ends with the title track, which is the only actual new composition. The very tongue-in-cheek piece is basically made up of old song and album titles and tells the story of the band itself, something which really wouldn't work on any other album than this one. Musically it combines their classic Sci-Fi Thrash Metal with the current very fluent fusion of catchy dissonant Prog Metal and Psychedlic elements. A very fitting conclusion.
The vinyl comes with lyrics and liner notes - and of course a great artwork from the master Away himself.
Answer: Yes, I regret at least that I didn't by the CD version, since that one contains an extra track with the P.I.L. cover "Home". You could of course add that one in the digital download, but sadly Century Media Records still doesn't do those. If you don't own "Nanoman" yet, there's also the Japanese CD release, which has that whole EP as bonus material.
But bonus to what actually? Ok, "Morgöth Tales" is basically a run through Voivod's history, starting from the demo track "Condemned To The Gallows" and ending with one track both from the Eric Forrest and the Jason Newsted era.
So it's a best of or deep cuts or whatever compilation? Yes and no, because all songs have been re-recorded by the current line-up, except "Rise" and "Rebel Robot", which feature the aforementioned original singer and bassist as guests.
Do we need this? Well, we wouldn't starve without it. But it definitely is a delicious dish.
Of course many of these songs have been played live in recent years, like "Fix My Heart" has celebrated its glorious return to the setlist last year. But it's undoubtly very enjoyable to also hear these songs in studio versions with the sound of the current SnakeChewyRockyAway line-up.
 |
| Voivod live 2022 |
If these new renditions of "Thrashing Rage", "Pre-Ignition", "Nuage Fractal" etc. are just great reminders of the band's legacy or even pose improvements to the originals is up to one's individual taste. I'm always happy to hear the ancient stuff with a decent sound, whereas from "Nothingface" forward it's really hard to improve anything. But since those productions differ a lot from the recent "Post Society" / "Synchro Anarchy" sound, it's also a good thing to hear them translated into that language here.
And of course it also underlines my burning question: When will Voivod finally return to Roadburn Festival to play the complete "Angel Rat" album?
But wait, we're not done with "Morgöth Tales" yet! The album ends with the title track, which is the only actual new composition. The very tongue-in-cheek piece is basically made up of old song and album titles and tells the story of the band itself, something which really wouldn't work on any other album than this one. Musically it combines their classic Sci-Fi Thrash Metal with the current very fluent fusion of catchy dissonant Prog Metal and Psychedlic elements. A very fitting conclusion.
The vinyl comes with lyrics and liner notes - and of course a great artwork from the master Away himself.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen