Voivod - The Outer Limits (1993)^{Release ID: 1158}

Worthwhile for Jack Luminous, but this is Voivod-lite.

It took me a long time to get into Voivod in the first place. Their sci-fi themed thrash metal was totally alien to my ears and it took quite a few listens to all the earlier albums before they began to click. Once they did though, the tracks worked their way into my psyche and all the bizarre riffs and wacky vocals just made sense. By the time The Outer Limits was released, the band had settled down into far less metallic, much more fluffy sounding entity. That's not to say that this doesn't sound like Voivod because I guess the evolution was gradual enough for instant recognition. But I have to say I miss the thrashing edge and moments of complete spasmodic madness that sat alongside all the catchiness on albums like Dimension Hatross and Nothingface.

Still, I can't say that I don't enjoy The Outer Limits. There may be several average tracks that don't really do much for me, such as Moonbeam Rider, Time Warp and Wrong Way Street. But Fix My Heart, Le Pont Noir and The Nile Song are all thoroughly entertaining, and likely to stick in your mind for days. Then there's Jack Luminous! This 17-minute track is one of the greatest moments in these crazy Canadians long and distinguished career. Not only is it the thrashiest track on the album, but it moves from fantastic riff to fantastic riff for almost the entire running time. Absolute highlight in my opinion! If you're into Voivod, then there's no reason not to give this a shot. For anyone that doesn't know the band and wants to know what this is like, then the only comparison I can make is another insane Canadian musician, Devon Townsend.

I have to admit that there are some pretty big gaps in my knowledge of post-1980’s Voivod. I was always a fan of the band in the late 80’s & early 90’s but they somehow dropped off my radar to an extent with 1995’s “Negatron” & 2011’s “Warriors of Ice” live album being the only releases I’ve checked out since 1989’s highly regarded “Nothingface” album. I guess they never really sat 100% within my taste profile so I tended to stick closer to my lane for the most part, even though I generally enjoyed their material. I recently noticed that the fanfare around the Canadian progressive metal icon’s eighth studio album “The Outer Limits” seems to have slowly gained momentum over the years though, so much so that it seems to be held up as another prog classic of sorts. That’s been the catalyst for me exploring the album this week & with generally positive results.

The “Nothingface” album had seen Voivod moving away from metal to an extent with the band having adopted more of a progressive rock sound &, from what I can make out by the critical response, their 1991 seventh album “Angel Rat” took them even further away from metal realms. “The Outer Limits” sees Voivod returning to metal in the most part & sounds quite familiar (if that can ever be said of a Voivod release). The angular & unusual guitar riffs of guitarist Piggy are as potent as ever & lead proceedings with Snake’s signature vocal delivery ensuring that you’re never in any doubt as to which band you’re listening to. You see, there’s simply no one that sounds remotely like Voivod, even if they’re consciously trying to. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re a complete musical anomaly & that’s extremely rare in the modern music scene. “The Outer Limits” certainly fits into the progressive metal genre pretty comfortably though & I’d suggest that fans of that particular scene are the most likely audience for a record like this one with very little speed/thrash metal to offer those that are hanging out for a mid-80's revivial. “Le Pont Noir” & “Wrong-Way Street” see Voivod traversing the rockier prog territories of “Nothingface” while the epic seventeen minute album highlight “Jack Luminous” is a psychedelic monster that oozes of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd influence. We even find the boys attempting some alternative rock sounds that wouldn’t feel out of place alongside the Detroit elite on “The Nile Song”.

Unlike Voivod’s very strong trio of progressive albums from 1987-1989, “The Outer Limits” struggles a touch in the song-writing department. There are no weak songs included with all nine tracks being presented with class & professionalism but the hooks aren’t consistently strong enough to see the album competing with the band’s best work. In saying that though, I do slightly prefer it to Voivod’s early speed metal releases like “War & Pain”, “Rrröööaaarrr” & the “To The Death” demo. It's always refreshing to hear these Canadians taking on spacey sci-fi topics as there are few artists that have the ability to sound so alien & “The Outer Limits” is yet another example of why we need bands like Voivod in a modern metal market that’s flooded with copy cats & pretenders.