Voivod
Nothingface
[MCA/Mechanic]
After becoming media darlings and violating my "everything French is
pretentious shit" rule with 'Dimension Hatross', VoiVod took another
musical turn and unleashed this album to moderate success. 'Nothingface' is
significantly more dependent upon melody than any of the albums that
preceded it and yet I can recall hearing little talk of "selling out" at the
time. Perhaps that's because 'Nothingface', although musically more
accessible than the early albums, is still too mired in reclusive insanity
to ever make the Metal Edge hot list. Songs like "Unknown Knows" and the
storming "X-Ray Mirror" are theoretically catchy in places, but the band's
reliance upon jagged, acid-damaged tempo shifts (and this album's cold,
eerily distant production) keep them firmly placed in cult territory. Even
so, 'Nothingface' signalled a shift into rock and roll that would last
until 'Negatron'...but it was rock and roll of the highest order. Apart
from the not-bad-but-predictable Pink Floyd cover, "Astronomy Domine",
'Nothingface' smolders from start to finish with an otherness that's by
turns endearing and weird. Mix metal with psychedelia and boil for one
light year in an android's skull to get a taste. If 'Hatross' didn't prove
it, this one did: VoiVod was moving into areas where "hard music" had never
been. 'Nothingface' is different from its predecessors in every area except
quality...even success couldn't ruin this band. Not bad for a bunch of damn
Canadians.
© 1999 craig