Review by Ben for Voivod - Phobos (1997)

A harsher and more focused Voivod that contains some of the band's finest work.

After reviewing this Canadian thrash metal band’s most loved albums, I wasn’t sure whether I was willing to continue my journey down the rabbit hole to work my way through the rest of their extensive discography. On the one hand, albums such as Dimension Hatross and Nothingface contain wonderfully creative and at times truly bizarre science fiction themed thrash metal. But on the other hand, 1991’s Angel Rat and to a lesser extent 1993’s The Outer Limit, had taken the strangeness a little further than I was perhaps willing to go, while also moving away from the harsher thrash landscapes that made the band so enjoyable for me. Considering the critical panning that 1995’s Negatron album received along with vocalist Snake’s departure from the band prior to the recording, I figured it was time to jump this sinking ship before things got well and truly out of hand. Yet I have to admit that almost despite myself, I missed Voivod’s unique sound and found myself drawn back into the fold to find out where their zany adventures went next. I guess with thrash metal seemingly destined to repeat itself, the intentionally distinctive and unapologetically strange world of Voivod fills me with as much intrigue as it does apprehension.

So it was that I chose to venture to Phobos. The word itself has many associations, not least of all being the name for the Greek God of fear, but I think I know which Phobos the guys from Voivod were referring to with their ninth full length album. One look at the album cover (once again created in truly primitive yet striking form by drummer Away) gives the impression that it’s Mars’ closest moon (the other one is called Deimos) that was on their mind. It’s a perfectly fitting subject for the band considering their fascination with all things mysterious and alien and sums up the mood of their sci-fi thrash nicely enough. Speaking of sci-fi thrash, I was delighted to hear on my first listen to Phobos that Voivod hadn’t, as I’d assumed given their previous projection, completely shed themselves of all metal aspects. I figured they’d still be experimenting with weird progressive and psychedelic rock tunes but what I got instead is possibly the darkest and most intense material that these Canadians have produced since their inception. There’s absolutely no doubt that this is Voivod, particularly given Piggy’s unique guitar style, but it seems as though the band reinvented itself while I wasn’t paying attention.

New vocalist Eric Forrest has a much more aggressive style than Snake, yet he strangely manages to sound somewhat similar. If I wasn’t aware of the previous vocalist’s departure, I would have assumed Snake had popped a few angry pills and gone a bit rabid. Away’s drumming has never been overly technical and it’s no different here, but the new production makes his presence felt far more than on previous albums. But as with pretty much everything Voivod has ever done, it’s Piggy that steals the show. His riffs are beautifully discordant as always but there’s a harsher edge to them now that gives Phobos a threatening, ominous atmosphere that I really love. He also adds smatterings of keyboards that increase this atmosphere to stratospheric levels without taking away from the austerity at all. I’m stunned at how good this album is to be honest and Mercury, the title track, Bacteria and Forlorn are some of the very best pieces of work in Voivod’s long history. I’d give Phobos an even higher rating if it didn’t finish so poorly. M-Body has a totally different mood to the rest of the album and stands out like a sore thumb, and the less said about the King Crimson cover the better. But it’s easy to press stop after track 11 and the preceding hour is consistent and typically alien Voivod magic.