VOIVOD
Symphonique
Century Media

Minor falls!
Major lifts!
And lots of different strings and secret chords!

They may not be the first band to bring hard rock/metal and classical music together in a casually live audience setting, but as far as their own 40+ year history of progressive sci-fi metal innovation is concerned, Quebec’s VOÏVOD are perhaps one of the first extreme bands to experiment with such a project. Behold their latest effort titled Symphonique, which sees the legendary band team up with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra for 12 songs and 73 minutes of violins and force in front of an audience at the Grand Théâtre in Quebec City on June 5 of last year. Indeed, if you thought that VOÏVOD’s entire catalogue was already quirky-sounding and atmospheric enough on its own, imagine that same catalogue being set to much of the equally complex yet dulcet tones of classical music – and you’ll be surprised at how stronger both groups come out through this collaborative performance.

It’s no coincidence that the opening number on this album happens to be the aptly-titled “Experiment” from 1988’s Dimension Hatröss– a progressively raw-sounding cosmic thrash track finding a new identity as a sonically challenging workout with a lengthy oboe jam and clanging doomsayer bell intro. The well-known gritty vocals of longtime frontman Denis “Snake” Bélanger still remains distinctive enough throughout the blistering track to keep the song’s identity and fury intact. Indeed, the best way to describe the overall bulk of the aural experience on Symphonique would be like watching Apocalypse Now set to Disney music. The quiet calm of the intro to nearly every song, particularly evident on songs like “Fall” and “The Unknown Knows”, sets the impeding course of heavy chaos which appears afterwards. And sometimes, the chaos was already present and brings the orchestra sounds along with it, as is the case when Michel “Away” Langevin’s familiar punishing blast beats on the intro to “Tribal Convictions” directs the song nicely; even with backing orchestral arrangements, the song is just as powerful-sounding and riveting. Same with the closing track, their well-known captivating cover of PINK FLOYD’s “Astronomy Domine”, retaining its acid thrash spirit but with the added bonus of an array of rising and falling crescendos backing up the song’s blackened aura. And somehow, for a well-known guitar-driven band like VOÏVOD are, both Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain (guitar), and Dominic “Rocky” Laroche (bass) are well-versed in ensuring that their performances and instruments are never overlapping on the orchestra’s own sounds. It’s not an easy task at first on particularly lengthy numbers such as “Holographic Thinking” and even the aforementioned “Experiment”, but as they’re just customizing themselves into playing alongside a larger gathering of equally well-established musicians from a different musical background, they also catch on quick nevertheless by “The Unknown Knows”.

In fact, Symphonique both reads and listens like a band documenting its own musical growth throughout its own experience in the making of this album just based on the selected song choices alone – experimentation through “Experience”, adapting to new analytical mindset patterns through “Holographic Thinking” and “The Unknown Knows” while also not fearing the possibility of failure through “Fall” all the way to the climax through “Tribal Convictions” and “Astronomy Domine”, in which VOÏVOD have both faced and conquered their own adversities and found themselves back in a familiar-sounding environment as a stronger band than from when they first embarked on their latest cosmic journey.

4.5 Out Of 5.0

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