In a constant quest to be more globally accessible, we often include items from our nearby nations such as Canada and their own music awards, The Junos. The nominations for the 2024 awards have just been revealed and I’ve edited the massive list to feature those in the Rock and Metal categories. The Alternative stuff has been thrown in for good measure. Feel free to queue up “Oh Canada” as you read this brief.
ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR (ALBUM ALTERNATIF DE L’ANNÉE)
“Here and Now” by Aysanabee (Ishkōdé*Universal)
“Dizzy” by Dizzy (Royal Mountain*Universal)
“To Learn” by Leith Ross (Republic*Universal)
“See You In The Dark” by Softcult (Easy Life*The Orchard)
“Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees” by TALK (Capitol*Universal) Continue reading Presenting The 2024 Juno Awards Nominations for Rock and Metal→
With the New Year in full sway and winter making the days and nights colder and colder, its nice to see a number of Spring tours being announced. Here is the latest adventures by Voivod who will be hitting the road with Yob and Amenra. Dig in.
The Press Release:
Canadian progressive sci-fi metal innovators VOIVOD continue to promote their newest and much acclaimed studio effort “The Wake”, which was released via Century Media Records worldwide last September and ranked high in various year-end polls by international media outlets. Currently underway for shows in Japan and Australia starting today, VOIVOD have recently announced a North American tour with YOB and Amenra for March/April and a return to Europe for a few selected Summer festival events. Here is a list of all upcoming VOIVOD shows announced so far: Continue reading Voivod Announce North American Tour→
Artist: Voivod Title: “Katorz” (re-release) Label: Metal Mind Productions Release Date: 11/11/2014 Genre: Hard Rock Rating: 4/5
Originally released in 2006 on The End Records, “Katorz” is the eleventh album by the legendary band Voivod. The recording was recently re-issued by Metal Mind Productions and now comes in a Digipak holder but features no additional tracks or expanded liner notes. With that being the case my original thoughts on it remain the same and I have restated those views in the review that follows. The edition is limited to 2000 copies so diehards might want to act fast if interested in purchasing.
Everyone knows the phrase “with triumph comes loss”, but as I listened to the most recent release by the band Voivod, I had to wonder if “with loss comes triumph” as well. The reason I bring this theory to light is due to the sad truth that the group would lose founder and riff wizard Denis “Piggy” D’Amour to colon cancer in August of 2005. Prior to his illness and throughout his treatment demos were written and worked on in hope that he would recover and the new recording could be completed and released for their fans. When this would not be a possibility anymore and Piggy succumbed to the illness and died, the band was faced with what should be done and more important – what would be right to do. Before his death, Piggy had instructed drummer Michel “Away” Langevin on the whereabouts of the demos and that he wanted this music completed and reach their fans. From there it would be far from simple, but yet it would be done and the results serve as a fitting reminder to the creative musician D’Amour was. It’s an interesting album that sounds quite good especially when you take into account the means that it was recorded and what the members had available to them to do it. From the demos with Piggy’s last guitar work and Jason’s bass, drums were added by Michel while vocals were hammered out by “Snake” Belanger in his home. It is not the typical album creation scenario but the guys rose above it all. As you play this Hard Rock & Punk influenced album at any volume you will be hard-pressed to find any limitation to it. “Getaway” is a great opener and has a slight Motorhead vibe to which is never a bad thing and Snake has a great feel to his vocal here and on “After All” (two of my preferred tracks). An interesting observation to the recording is the tightness between bass and drums which was fantastic as while the two instruments are normally recorded together that was not possible for the demo work and found Michel figuring out the feel from the tapes. He shines through especially in how he slows down and speeds up as if he was sitting there with the other guys. Continue reading “Katorz” (re-release) by Voivod→
