Review by Daniel for Voivod - Nothingface (1989)

It’s quite alarming to think that my relationship with the unusual Canadian metal institution known as Voivod is now pushing out past the three decade mark but their 1989 album “Nothingface” was where it all stems from. I can vividly still recall my first encounter with the band. It was through a late-night radio program around that 1989/90 period & the song in particular was the opening track “The Unknown Knows”. I’d read a little bit about Voivod through articles in metal magazines but this particular track didn’t sound like any metal I’d heard before & I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it at first. But I used to tape all of these underground radio programs as they were only on once a week & I’d give them repeat listens for the next seven days. I’d even keep the best songs on mix tapes that I’d make up. Needless to say that there was something about that song that kept me coming back even though it took me well outside of my comfort zone & I think that sums up the “Nothingface” album in a way too. 

Voivod had begun life as a rough & ready speed metal outfit in the early 80’s with their influences ranging from Motorhead & Venom to hardcore punk with a little progressive rock thrown in for good measure. I didn’t mind their first two albums but things really started to take off when they began expanding on their prog rock influences & in doing so they created the critically acclaimed & seminal “Dimension Hatross” album in 1988; a record that had a particularly large impact on me personally. But 1989’s “Nothingface saw Voivod’s transition being completed with the band finally having reached a sound that was completely on the other side of the musical spectrum from where they first began. 

The production job on “Nothingface” is exceptional. Music this complex & dissonant requires a level of audio quality to be fully appreciated & producer Glen Robinson has done an excellent job at representing the nuances of what Voivod were trying to achieve here. Piggy’s dissonant guitar riffs are always beautifully defined while bassist Blacky offers just the right balance of grit & clarity whilst filling out the bottom end & front man Snake sits in a nice little niche all of his own. The overall balance & separation is excellent throughout & it’s hard not to compare it to the noisy mess that made up Voivod’s 1986 sophomore effort “Rrröööaaarrr”.  

Voivod have always been affiliated with the thrash metal movement but I have to admit that I’ve never been comfortable with that association to be honest. Their first two records hardly contained a single thrash riff & I’m much happier to describe them as dirty speed metal from a theoretical point of view. Those speed metal roots would become progressively more diluted with each effort though & “Nothingface” represents somewhat of a climax in the band’s musical & artistic development. Snake’s vocals take a cleaner & slightly quirky direction as he’s now completely dropped the abrasive edge of his early days.  He still sounds a little bit wacky though. Kinda like he could be a combination of Faith No More’s Chuck Mosley & Mike Patton. His delivery won’t be for everyone but I think he suits the unusual sound that Voivod were pushing at this stage in their career. Guitarist Piggy has always had a unique & noticeably dissonant sound built on Motorhead & punk rock but his ability to take that into new & progressive territory without ever sounding like he’s losing control is a real highlight. His guitar solos are perhaps more sporadic than in the past but when they have their time in the sun they generally offer something fresh & interesting from a melodic point of view. I could argue that Piggy’s ALWAYS been the highlight of Voivod’s sound but that would be down-playing his band-mates a little more than I’m comfortable with. And besides, the performance of bassist Blacky is nothing short of phenomenal here as he’s stepped out into waters that are generally reserved for the elite musicians of the prog rock spectrum. Particularly Chris Squire of Yes. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it’s Blacky’s contribution that leaves the most lasting impression on me here. 

Most fans would readily admit that “Nothingface” was the least metal & most light-weight album that Voivod had released to the time but I’m gonna go one step further & suggest that what we have here is no longer a metal release at all. It fits much more comfortably alongside the great works of King Crimson, Rush & Yes than it does the elite progressive metal releases. For starters, the guitar sound & style is completely devoid of palm-muting & the tone is much more akin to that of punk rock. The tempos are substantially more laid back than the band’s more ferocious earlier works & there’s nothing too intimidating about the overall atmosphere. There’s also a weird & adventurous feel to the music that I relate to bands like Mr Bungle (who were more than likely influenced by this record) & a less obvious but still apparent alternative element that makes me think of a band like Jane’s Addiction. It’s exhilarating stuff really & even though I don’t find any of this material to be genuinely classic, even the weaker tracks keep you on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what strange direction Voivod will take off to next. There’s a lot of talk on the internet about how ridiculously complex & technical “Nothingface” is too but that’s not exactly true when you put it into a prog rock context. The changes don’t sound forced & I never feel that the band are simply throwing out technicality for the sake of impressing despite the clear abundance of skill on offer. But what this added complexity does when combined with the quirky vocal approach is make Voivod's product less accessible & despite being a noticeably lighter Voivod record, there’s no suggestion that “Nothingface” is a sell-out. It’s still an extremely challenging record as you won’t find any hit singles amongst this lot.  

A lot of the album’s marketing has been focused around the cover version of Pink Floyd but people need to remember that “Astronomy Domine” was taken from Floyd’s more psychedelic debut album rather than their radio-friendly mid-70’s to mid-80’s heyday & it’s a very good example of the cover version too. Some people seem to think that it interrupts the flow of the album but I disagree. If you forget that it’s a cover & simply listen to the music then I find that it works in the overall context of the tracklisting & is in fact one of the highlights of what is a very consistent album. There isn’t a weak track included although I have to admit that I don’t see a genuine classic here either & the high quality fades a little over the last three tracks which are still quite interesting but lack the hooks of the earlier material. 

Overall, “Nothingface” is more of an intriguing record than a classic one in my opinion. It may not be a match for Voivod’s genuinely amazing “Dimension Hatross” album from the previous year but it’s certainly a worthy addition to any collection & I rate it comfortably more highly than the band’s early speed metal works. 

For fans of: Rush, Yes, Mr. Bungle