ALBUM REVIEW: Morgöth Tales – Voivod
Forty years of science fiction thrash and prog metal. Fifteen studio albums. Former members playing under the guises of Blacky, Jasonic and the late, great Piggy, with the beating heart still represented, after all this time, by drummer Away and vocalist Snake, and the current line-up completed by guitarist Chewy and bassist Rocky. If all this is making your head spin, rest assured you won’t be the only one; welcome to the strange, compelling world of Canadian legends VOIVOD. Unwavering in their approach over the past four decades, the quartet are celebrating their milestone anniversary with Morgöth Tales, the follow-up to last year’s Synchro Anarchy which won Best Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year at the Junos, Canada’s equivalent of the Grammys. Released on July 21st via Century Media, Morgöth Tales comprises nine specially selected re-recordings of songs from their back catalogue, along with one brand new tune.
A big plus about this collation of tracks is that VOIVOD haven’t just taken their most well-known songs and refreshed them for 2023; this is a compilation of some of their deeper cuts, with most having less than 100,000 plays on Spotify and two not featuring at all. Hell, they’ve even gone right back to the beginning of their storied career to their days on Metal Blade and the track Condemned To The Gallows, which initially featured on the fifth edition of the record label’s famed Metal Massacre compilation that also helped launch the likes of SLAYER and some unknown oiks called METALLICA. Where the original growled, the re-recording snarls, hurtling out of the speakers and showing off Francis Perron‘s outstanding abilities as a producer.
As things progress and we get ever closer to the present day, VOIVOD show that whilst they may be half a step slower nowadays (Thrashing Rage from 1986’s Rrröööaaarrr isn’t, as one might expect, quite at the breakneck speed it was at the time), the fire in their collective bellies still burns brightly; just listen to the hardcore elements in Killing Technology, still just as potent as they were way back in 1987.
Admirably, VOIVOD are also aware enough of their history to invite some old friends along for the ride as well. When 1997’s Phobos was released, the band were fronted by Eric ‘E-Force’ Forrest, who has been brought back to help out on the new version of Rise that appears on Morgöth Tales. Similarly, the man known as Jasonic within the band, but more commonly going by his real name of Jason Newsted, pops up on Rebel Robot from 2003’s self-titled album, before the title track and only original piece finishes proceedings; filled with jarring guitars and rumbling bass lines, it’s a perfect coda, VOIVOD showing what they are in 2023 after taking the listener on an extensive trip down memory lane.
There’s a high chance that Morgöth Tales will only really be valued by completists and diehards, but this is far from a VOIVOD on cruise control rehashing their back catalogue. They’re giving everything they can and clearly relishing in the opportunity throughout; it makes for a lot of fun and, given the amount of pitfalls that snare re-recordings of metal tracks, it does well to dodge them.
Rating: 7/10
Morgöth Tales is set for release on July 21st via Century Media Records.
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