Iron men

>> The survival instincts of prog-metallists Voivod

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

There's no questioning the resilience of Quebec metal legends Voivod in the face of tragedy. In 1989, guitarist Piggy was stricken with cancer, but bounced back in time for their landmark Nothingface record. After Piggy's remarkable recovery, the band would soon find two original members leaving the fold.

But the worst was yet to come. Two years ago, during a tour of Europe, their van's tire blew out, rolling the van six times and jettisoning bassist/singer Eric Forest out of the vehicle altogether. Not knowing if Forest would even live or walk again, let alone sing, the band put things on hold for a year while he underwent hospitalization and physical therapy. Last year, Voivod's triumphant rise from the ashes was marked as the opening slot for Iron Maiden's Molson Centre show. Aside from his crutches, Forest was in better form than ever, adding some truth to the old adage, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"The last couple of years were really fucking hard for us," admits drummer Away. "When Eric came back after the hospital to rehearse it was just so intense, y'know? Just to be lucky enough to be playing in the same room with him again. It was really inspiring."

After a hugely successful tour with metal giants Neurosis, Voivod have once again turned around and made a full recovery. Forest underwent surgery this summer, removing 70 per cent of the metal gear attached to his spine and the band quickly began work finishing the demo stages of their new record. After their upcoming Canadian dates, they will tour Australia in support of their new record, with the all-too-telling title Lives, and then begin recording their new record in Chicago with hipper-than-thou producer Steve Albini.

"The Neurosis guys were talking to Albini," says Away, "and told him we were looking for a producer. I talked to Steve on the phone and he said he was a big fan. He has two copies of Nothingface, one for his car and one for his home, and we have always been big fans of his, so that kind of clinched it."

The mark that Voivod has left on the metal world thus far is undeniable. Just look at the effect of Dimension Haetross, with its groundbreaking tribal drumming, or the psychedelic leanings of the monumental Nothingface, and put that up against most of the so-called "innovative" bands of today. Next year, extreme-metal label Relapse are compiling a tribute to Voivod with bands like Mr. Bungle, Sepultura and Primus all signing up on the roster.

"Things are going really good now. It's like night and day. The last couple of records dealt with a lot of nihilism, but with Eric's recovery we really started to not take things for granted. Things like being given the gift to make music with your friends. The new album we're about to record deals a lot with peace--it feels really good to be able to be optimistic again." :

With High on Fire at Foufounes Electriques on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 7:30pm, $10