One cannot claim that there has been a shortage of releases celebrating Voivod's catalogue in recent years, be it in the shape of reissues, remasters, re-recordings, demos or live albums. It doesn't bother me, since there's thankfully still enough sensational new material coming, but I'm also happy just to be a fan - and not a completionist.
The French-Canadians' latest live release however is one impossible to leave out - a culmination of their career in full orchestral bombast.
The French-Canadians' latest live release however is one impossible to leave out - a culmination of their career in full orchestral bombast.
VOIVOD - Symphonique (2LP) (2026)
It still somehow feels like this shouldn't have happened. Of course the unique Prog Punk Sci-Fi Thrash Metal of Voivod has earned them a global cult status for over four decades now, and especially in their home country the visible well-earned respect for both their current work and legacy has grown significantly. In the greater picture they still remain a mysteriously obscure phenomenon, forever too out there to be recognized as the defining force of Metal they truly are. And surely not one the first names coming to mind, when you think of bands, which might play a special show with a huge "Symphonique" setup.
But Voivod played that show - even twice - in Montreal in January 2025. Both performances were an exclusive experience for those in attendance, since there was no professional recording. Luckily the whole thing was repeated later that year with the Orchestre Symphonique De Quebec. And that show from the fourth of June is what we can listen to on this album now.
If you think about it from a strictly musical point of view a lot of Voivod's chord progressions, (dis)harmonies and structures come pretty ready-made not only for a Classical adaption, but for one which avoids the cheesiness several Rock/orchestra collaborations of the past are guilty of. Many Voivod songs already have parts which seem to emulate the drama of old-school historical, sci-fi and horror scores in a way that makes you almost hear strings, horns and orchestral percussion in your head.
And of course the most obvious ones are part of the show's tracklist: "Pre-Ignition" from "Nothingface", in which Piggy famously quoted Igor Stravinsky, and much more recently from "The Wake" the decidedly cinematic "The End Of Dormancy", which we've already heard with a 1960's soundtrack style horn section - and a full-on Jazz sax solo in the live version - on its own EP. Now it seems as if the track has reached its final stage of evolution.
More than half of the setlist consists of the two classic albums "Dimension Hatröss" and "Nothingface" - and it would have been pretty hard to explain if the band had left classics such as "Tribal Convictions", "The Unknown Knows" and of course the mandatory Pink Floyd cover "Astronomy Domine" fall aside. Luckily however Voivod don't insist on the band-name-titled theme song from their rowdy debut "War And Pain", since "Nuclear War" surely was the way better option for this orchestral treatment.
There are also tracks from newer releases. Especially "Fall" from the "Post Society" EP proves itself once again as one of the strongest Voivod pieces of the millenium.
Of course a lot of albums aren't covered at all. Both "Angel Rat" and "The Outer Limits" feature several songs I would have loved to hear too, but also the dark Eric Forrest era and even the more straight-forward Jasonic phase offer plenty material worthy of being symphonified. But which tracks would I strike in favour of that stuff? Certainly not "Into my Hypecube"! "Forgotten In Space"? "Cosmic Drama"? The opener "Experiment"? I'd probably sacrifice one of those, albeit with a heavy heart, because all the arrangements here are so phenomenal. So ultimately the real complaint is that this album cannot last infinite hours and some choice just had to be made.
And even if some songs may seem such eternal staples of Voivod history that it would have felt fair if they had yielded to less overplayed material, the orchestration of courses justifies their inclusion in spades. I've already mentioned that the orchestra has a distinct cinematic style, which matches the tone of Voivod perfectly. Instead of watering them down, it amplifies their songs' characteristics. And in the mix a clear decision has been made: One could keep the Metal band in the foreground and present everything else as an augmentation. Or one could blow the violins, flutes, trumpets, organ etc. right into the listeners face, even if sometimes overpowers the band and especially the singer, who of course doesn't possess the kind of operatic pipes to command an ensemble of this magnitude. Voivod opted for the latter.
So if you want audiophile perfection and Snake not sometimes sounding desperately lost in the spectacle - which he uses to his advantage -, this might not be for you. "Symphonique" is a live recording and despite the setting is still has the same raw energy you'd expect from any Voivod show. The merging of strings, winds and orchestral percussions with the Thrash Metal quartet would probably work objectively better in several instances if recorded in a studio environment. But what would a little bit more clarity even mean against the special vibrancy of the moment captivated here?
Anyone who was at this show can consider themselves blessed in my book - and "Symphonique" leaves no doubt about why I think so.
And do I even need to mentioned that Away's cover artwork hits the nail on the head with its Victorian Jules Verne bombast, the Cyberpunk technology, the rust, bombast and scale of nuclear destruction? Fantastique!
Since the drummer has stated that Voivod would love to bring this experience to other parts of the world in the future, my mind of course automatically goes to the Netherlands, to my beloved Roadburn Festival, which not only hosted the band - and even had Away curate in 2012 -, but also to the Metropol Orkest, which is known for its many successful collaborations and has played there with Die Wilde Jagd and Triptykon before, too. So if this is to happen anywhere in Europe - it's not too wild imaging it happening there, right? Fingers crossed!
But Voivod played that show - even twice - in Montreal in January 2025. Both performances were an exclusive experience for those in attendance, since there was no professional recording. Luckily the whole thing was repeated later that year with the Orchestre Symphonique De Quebec. And that show from the fourth of June is what we can listen to on this album now.
If you think about it from a strictly musical point of view a lot of Voivod's chord progressions, (dis)harmonies and structures come pretty ready-made not only for a Classical adaption, but for one which avoids the cheesiness several Rock/orchestra collaborations of the past are guilty of. Many Voivod songs already have parts which seem to emulate the drama of old-school historical, sci-fi and horror scores in a way that makes you almost hear strings, horns and orchestral percussion in your head.
And of course the most obvious ones are part of the show's tracklist: "Pre-Ignition" from "Nothingface", in which Piggy famously quoted Igor Stravinsky, and much more recently from "The Wake" the decidedly cinematic "The End Of Dormancy", which we've already heard with a 1960's soundtrack style horn section - and a full-on Jazz sax solo in the live version - on its own EP. Now it seems as if the track has reached its final stage of evolution.
More than half of the setlist consists of the two classic albums "Dimension Hatröss" and "Nothingface" - and it would have been pretty hard to explain if the band had left classics such as "Tribal Convictions", "The Unknown Knows" and of course the mandatory Pink Floyd cover "Astronomy Domine" fall aside. Luckily however Voivod don't insist on the band-name-titled theme song from their rowdy debut "War And Pain", since "Nuclear War" surely was the way better option for this orchestral treatment.
There are also tracks from newer releases. Especially "Fall" from the "Post Society" EP proves itself once again as one of the strongest Voivod pieces of the millenium.
Of course a lot of albums aren't covered at all. Both "Angel Rat" and "The Outer Limits" feature several songs I would have loved to hear too, but also the dark Eric Forrest era and even the more straight-forward Jasonic phase offer plenty material worthy of being symphonified. But which tracks would I strike in favour of that stuff? Certainly not "Into my Hypecube"! "Forgotten In Space"? "Cosmic Drama"? The opener "Experiment"? I'd probably sacrifice one of those, albeit with a heavy heart, because all the arrangements here are so phenomenal. So ultimately the real complaint is that this album cannot last infinite hours and some choice just had to be made.
And even if some songs may seem such eternal staples of Voivod history that it would have felt fair if they had yielded to less overplayed material, the orchestration of courses justifies their inclusion in spades. I've already mentioned that the orchestra has a distinct cinematic style, which matches the tone of Voivod perfectly. Instead of watering them down, it amplifies their songs' characteristics. And in the mix a clear decision has been made: One could keep the Metal band in the foreground and present everything else as an augmentation. Or one could blow the violins, flutes, trumpets, organ etc. right into the listeners face, even if sometimes overpowers the band and especially the singer, who of course doesn't possess the kind of operatic pipes to command an ensemble of this magnitude. Voivod opted for the latter.
So if you want audiophile perfection and Snake not sometimes sounding desperately lost in the spectacle - which he uses to his advantage -, this might not be for you. "Symphonique" is a live recording and despite the setting is still has the same raw energy you'd expect from any Voivod show. The merging of strings, winds and orchestral percussions with the Thrash Metal quartet would probably work objectively better in several instances if recorded in a studio environment. But what would a little bit more clarity even mean against the special vibrancy of the moment captivated here?
Anyone who was at this show can consider themselves blessed in my book - and "Symphonique" leaves no doubt about why I think so.
And do I even need to mentioned that Away's cover artwork hits the nail on the head with its Victorian Jules Verne bombast, the Cyberpunk technology, the rust, bombast and scale of nuclear destruction? Fantastique!
Since the drummer has stated that Voivod would love to bring this experience to other parts of the world in the future, my mind of course automatically goes to the Netherlands, to my beloved Roadburn Festival, which not only hosted the band - and even had Away curate in 2012 -, but also to the Metropol Orkest, which is known for its many successful collaborations and has played there with Die Wilde Jagd and Triptykon before, too. So if this is to happen anywhere in Europe - it's not too wild imaging it happening there, right? Fingers crossed!
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