GMD Poll: Voivod's Discography Ranked

[HamburgerBoy]

He barely even sings in the verses presumably for effect, most of the album is about dehumanization and that kind of disaffected robo-voice fits the mechanical jerky nature of the song, but he sounds fine to me in the chorus where he has to sing a melody.

 

[Satanstoenail]

Just listening to the opener of Nothingface, there are dozens of flat or sour notes. Is he doing these on purpose because he thinks it enhances the music? Probably. But I would say it's an absolute failure that ruins an otherwise very creative and engaging song.

There is a clear vocal melody in the verse that compliments the angular riffing perfectly and there are no flat notes at all. Pretty bad example.

If you'd just said that the vocals ruin Voivod for you because you don't like the style and the tone of his voice then I'd understand. He's an unconventional vocalist and often sounds more punk/post-punk than metal, so obviously he's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. But coming at it from this position of technical critique and talking in absolutes with regard to the quality of his creative input and position within the band just makes you look like your obsession with intellectualising art has obstructed your ability to be impartial or open-minded in any way. There's a reason Omni remembers your "high-art" comment you know. It's because it's a running joke here. It’s pretty difficult to take someone seriously when they’re this comically pretentious.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

1. Nothingface
2. Dimension Hatröss
3. Killing Technology
4. Target Earth
5. The Outer Limits
6. Angel Rat
7. War & Pain
8. Rrröööaaarrr
9. Katorz
10. Infini
11. Voivod
12. Phobos
13. Negatron

The first two albums are badass and should be ranked higher in a list with any credibility. Even though they hadn't developed their characteristic style at that time, those albums have plenty of personality. They're just a little cacophonous for my liking and a bit grating to actually listen to.

The next three albums are immortal and all incredibly distinct from each other. Killing Technology marries the edge of their early work with their characteristic proggy discordant weirdness. Dimension Hatröss leaves the aggression behind as it blasts off into the farthest reaches of space. Nothingface is probably the purest distillation of their sound. It's shockingly accessible and catchy for how weird it is. I heard it for the first time in my early teens, knowing fuck all about music, and it sounded so natural it didn't occur to me that I was listening to highly experimental music. I still feel that way. It's like I'm listening to another (smarter) planet's Black Album. My ranking of these three albums is basically completely arbitrary because any of them could be #1 on any given day.

Angel Rat softens things up further and builds on the occasional psychedelic vibes of Nothingface. I'm okay with this development but there are only a few songs on the album that interest me. The Outer Limits is the far superior version of Angel Rat. A fantastic album, if a bit top-heavy.

Although he's not a very charismatic vocalist, the albums with Forrest are interesting, the second one especially. But they're a little too grim and humorless for my taste. I wouldn't say they're bad albums, they're just not what I want out of Voivod.

The first three post-revival albums are oddly straightforward, almost hard rock-sounding and to my ears the least characteristic of their sound. I enjoy them but they're thoroughly nonessential.

Target Earth is a spectacular return to form and the cynics who think it's a hollow attempt at recapturing their old sound can go eat a dick. Mongrain is a treasure and the spirit of Piggy lives on in him.

It's a shame we're not including EPs, because Post Society is the best metal release of the past decade.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

He barely even sings in the verses presumably for effect, most of the album is about dehumanization and that kind of disaffected robo-voice fits the mechanical jerky nature of the song, but he sounds fine to me in the chorus where he has to sing a melody.

So maybe there was a purpose behind it from a conceptual framework. However, it was a failure. As far as choruses, I would need you to point me to one in particular. I did think his performance on choruses improved by Angel Rat (not all songs, but some) and on Outer Limits, but I didn’t notice it on Nothingface but maybe I’d see what you were saying if I heard an isolated song.

There is a clear vocal melody in the verse that compliments the angular riffing perfectly and there are no flat notes at all. Pretty bad example.

You’re putting lipstick on a pig. Clearly, he thinks it compliments it, but the vocal melody is intrinsically flawed in strcuture and execution and singlehandedly ruins the song.

 

[Vegard Pompey]

You’re putting lipstick on a pig. Clearly, he thinks it compliments it, but the vocal melody is intrinsically flawed in strcuture and execution and singlehandedly ruins the song.

You're intrinsically flawed in strcuture and execution.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Currently going through some of their later stuff and i have yet to hear a bad album from these guys. Their eponymous album is the weakest though so far.

 

[Satanstoenail]

As far as choruses, I would need you to point me to one in particular. I did think his performance on choruses improved by Angel Rat (not all songs, but some) and on Outer Limits, but I didn’t notice it on Nothingface but maybe I’d see what you were saying if I heard an isolated song.

He’s clearly talking about the chorus in the song that you used as an example. Your intellectual feeblemindedness is showing.

the vocal melody is intrinsically flawed in strcuture and execution

Please explain how it’s flawed.

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

I find Snake to be quite good when it comes to melodious singing. Case in point, the chorus to Angel Rat:

 

[crimsonfloyd]

He’s clearly talking about the chorus in the song that you used as an example.

Oh in that case I totally disagree. That chorus is all bad.

Please explain how it’s flawed.

The pre-chorus is a series atrocious of nasal, out of tune notes annunciated with a grating choppiness in a sorry attempt to mimic the guitars. It's followed by a clashing but equally poor chorus that has an awful melody that is divided into two uncomplimentary but equally bad lines.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

I find Snake to be quite good when it comes to melodious singing. Case in point, the chorus to Angel Rat:

Yeah, I think he sounds a lot better on parts of Angel Rat and Outer Limits. Here he sounds like a poor man's Peter Murphy.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

The pre-chorus is a series atrocious of nasal, out of tune notes annunciated with a grating choppiness in a sorry attempt to mimic the guitars. It's followed by a clashing but equally poor chorus that has an awful melody that is divided into two uncomplimentary but equally bad lines.

The melody =/= the voice. Voivod is not a band with music that needs lengthy vocal melodies. He sings the melody just fine even if you don't like the melody.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

The melody =/= the voice. Voivod is not a band with music that needs lengthy vocal melodies. He sings the melody just fine even if you don't like the melody.

The melody as expressed through his voice. Something can sound good through one medium (i.e. guitars) and bad through another (i.e. the voice of a poor singer).

 

[HamburgerBoy]

You specifically described the chorus as "divided into two uncomplimentary but equally bad lines", which made it sound like you were criticizing the actual construction of the chorus, in addition to Snake's ability to sing it. They're two rather simple and obviously related lines and he sings them just fine.

 

[Satanstoenail]

The pre-chorus is a series atrocious of nasal, out of tune notes annunciated with a grating choppiness in a sorry attempt to mimic the guitars. It's followed by a clashing but equally poor chorus that has an awful melody that is divided into two uncomplimentary but equally bad lines.

So it’s the pre-chorus now? I thought we were talking about the verse? In any case, the pre-chorus is semi-yelled. On purpose. It’s not “out of tune”, and the “notes” you’re referring to would be sharp, not flat, if they were actually supposed to be “notes”.

It’s pretty clear that you have absolutely no fucking clue what you’re talking about here with regard to technicality and everything you have said is based on the fact that you just don’t like his voice and nothing else.

 

[CiG]

This is one of those moments wherein, if crimson were on the other side of this disagreement, he would dismiss the critic as "unable to understand/get the point" of the music in question.

Of course in this instance, him being on the side he's on, he refuses to admit that he just doesn't get Voivod and is stubbornly sticking to this idea that Voivod fans as well as everybody in here just doesn't understand why Snake sucks both technically and in the context of Voivod's music.

What an insufferable cunt.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

You specifically described the chorus as "divided into two uncomplimentary but equally bad lines", which made it sound like you were criticizing the actual construction of the chorus, in addition to Snake's ability to sing it. They're two rather simple and obviously related lines and he sings them just fine.

What I'm talking about is the clash between the melody on the line "Things come and go" and "This world is droll." The clash of the lines is disconsonant and his tone is awful.

This is one of those moments wherein, if crimson were on the other side of this disagreement, he would dismiss the critic as "unable to understand/get the point" of the music in question.

Of course in this instance, him being on the side he's on, he refuses to admit that he just doesn't get Voivod and is stubbornly sticking to this idea that Voivod fans as well as everybody in here just doesn't understand why Snake sucks both technically and in the context of Voivod's music.

What an insufferable cunt.

You and some others are just far too sensitive to opinions that contradict the status quo. It seems like you need me to put "in my perspective" at the beginning of every argumentative post. No shit it's my perspective. This is all aesthetics, for which there is no objective measure, which is why I express my perspective as the absolute. It's the only medium through which I will ever directly experience art. Of course, I am open to other's perspectives, but if someone cannot give me a compelling angle that leads me to see the work in a new light, I am not going to get into the "well you know, that's just my opinion, different strokes for different folks!" bullshit because of how that all should be obvious to anyone who has reflected on the nature of art and aesthetics for more than five minutes. If it helps you, just pretend each of my posts starts with "Well in my humble opinion" and ends with a the line "DISCLAIMER: THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION! #differentstrokesfordifferentfolks".

 

[CiG]

You and some others are just far too sensitive to opinions that contradict the status quo.

Yeah that's it. I'm well known to be a worshiper of the status quo.

It seems like you need me to put "in my perspective" at the beginning of every argumentative post. No shit it's my perspective. This is all aesthetics, for which there is no objective measure, which is why I express my perspective as the absolute. It's the only medium through which I will ever directly experience art. Of course, I am open to other's perspectives, but if someone cannot give me a compelling angle that leads me to see the work in a new light, I am not going to get into the "well you know, that's just my opinion, different strokes for different folks!" bullshit because of how that all should be obvious to anyone who has reflected on the nature of art and aesthetics for more than five minutes. If it helps you, just pretend each of my posts starts with "Well in my humble opinion" and ends with a the line "DISCLAIMER: THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION! #differentstrokesfordifferentfolks".

No retard I'm pointing out the irony of a smug douchebag (such as yourself) that is known to boil down people's opinions as simply an inability to get something and then when you find yourself in comparative situation suddenly this idea that people just don't get something isn't an option that you might settle on for yourself, instead you plod on in ignorance.

I know that opinions are opinions and that should always be implied and never said, I'm not fucking Ozzman.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

No retard I'm pointing out the irony of a smug douchebag (such as yourself) that is known to boil down people's opinions as simply an inability to get something and then when you find yourself in comparative situation suddenly this idea that people just don't get something isn't an option that you might settle on for yourself, instead you plod on in ignorance.

So in other words you think I have a double standard. I can see why that would frustrate you and I would actually say you had a good point if I was ripping Viovod's music, which is rather complex. However, I'm not ripping the music. In fact, while I won’t go so far as to say I’m a fan of their music, I will say I appreciate what they do after the first two albums. I appreciate the prog influence, especially King Crimson influence, particularly in the guitar progressions. I also appreciate the influence they clearly had on a number of black metal acts. Thus, they've actually helped me see a bridge between one of my favorite bands and my favorite subgenre that I previously never even knew existed. For that reason alone, exploring their discography has been worthwhile.

On the other hand, the aspect of their music I am criticizing is Snake’s vocals, and even if you like them, let's not pretend that those are especially nuanced or complex to "get."

 

[Omni]

This argument is super exciting and all, but the best part is when crimsonfloyd implied that any of his opinions on anything have ever been expressed in a humble manner.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

What I'm talking about is the clash between the melody on the line "Things come and go" and "This world is droll." The clash of the lines is disconsonant and his tone is awful.

That's what I thought you were talking about and I don't think it clashes, it's one of the simplest and catchiest hooks in their discography.