Voivod come from Canada and «Nothingface» is their fifth album, released on 13 October 1989 by Mechanic/MCA Records. The recording was done at Victor Studio in Montreal in 1989, with Glen Robinson and Steve Sinclair producing. Here the band leaves behind the clean thrash sound and opens up to a more progressive, almost spacey metal.
“`Country: Canada
Style: Progressive Metal
For fans of: Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Rush
The sound has its roots in progressive rock but keeps the drive of thrash. The riffs in places strongly recall Stravinsky’s «The Rite of Spring», especially in the central part of «Pre-Ignition», while the melody in the vocals carries more weight than on any other work of theirs.
«The Unknown Knows» opens the album with an enigmatic, slow build, the title track «Nothingface» ties the atmosphere to the riff, and the cover of Pink Floyd’s «Astronomy Domine» became its most recognisable moment — its video was played on Headbangers Ball. «Missing Sequences» and «Into My Hypercube» also stand out.
The line-up is the classic one: Snake on vocals, Piggy on guitar, Blacky on bass and Away on drums and artwork. «Nothingface» was their most successful album and the only one to enter the Billboard 200, and it is still regarded as one of the most important progressive metal albums of all time.
The lyrics move around science fiction themes and speak of technology, alienation and loss of identity, with a sense that the world has turned into a machine. Among the long tracks, «X-Ray Mirror» and «Inner Combustion» offer shorter, denser moments, while the closing «Sub-Effect» ends the album quietly, as if letting the narrative fade on its own, without haste and with a sense of drifting.
See also
Dream Theater – Parasomnia | Metal Territory and Opeth – The Last Will & Testament | Metal Territory.
