Voïvod ‎– Dimension Hatröss (2017, Deluxe Edition, 2CD+DVD)

×

Voïvod ‎– Dimension Hatröss (2017, Deluxe Edition, 2CD+DVD)

Close

×

Voïvod ‎– Dimension Hatröss (2017, Deluxe Edition, 2CD+DVD)

Close

Remastered, with the CD versions containing a whole host of addition extras including a double CD of the album, a live set and an additional DVD of live performances, rehearsals and photos all compiled from the bands own personal archives.

This is Voivod's follow-up to Killing Technology. This isn't quite as good as KT, but this is still excellent. Piggy's unusual guitar playing is in full force, the vocals maintain their catchy, punky nature, and the song quality is still quite strong. The only problem for me is more of an atmospheric one.

The guitar work on here is great as usual. Piggy is an extremely underrated guitarist in metal. There really aren't many guitar players who sound much like this guy, and some of his ideas are fantastic. I wouldn't compare his technique to an Azagthoth, but he can play pretty well. Piggy's main strength is creativity. He isn't afraid to be weird, and it often works out for him. The riffs on this album are about as great as the previous masterstroke, though I feel the solos predominate a little more here. They're good solos, I just find their frequency odd. The Bass is fairly audible on this album. It doesn't at any point really dominate, but I can hear him without too much effort. I consider this a plus and he does a fair job. He doesn't separate from the guitar often, but it is probably quite difficult to go with Piggy's rhythms. The drumming is solid. For thrash, he does what he needs to. The time is kept, the drums are hit hard and fast, and the production is good enough that he sounds crisp compared to some of their earlier albums.

The vocals are pretty similar to the previous album, he still has his punky style. I feel that the vocals sacrifice a little of their previous aggression for some added catchiness. The listener may determine the worth of that trade. I was listening to Van Der Graaf Generator awhile ago, and I thought of the vocals. Peter Hammill is a good vocal comparison. Their vocals seem distant and not too perfect, but their emotion shines through regardless, and the performance is sublime. On the songs, I don't think anything here is horrible. Batman is something of a waste, but nothing offensive. Macrosolutions To Megaproblems is a career highlight. I would argue that this is actually the greatest song of their career. It's not that this song is particularly different from any of the others, so much as it all seems to work best on this song, and it's ends up being the catchiest. As a whole, the songs are shorter this time around. The prog shines through more in the unorthodox guitar playing, and the all-around peculiarity of the album, rather than structurally as seen on the previous album. I should mention the idea of "Chaosmongers" is repeated quite often. I assume this is in the same vein as "War Pigs," but I am not certain. I feel that it heightens the punk and Sci-Fi elements, giving the music an enemy of sorts, but it's odd nonetheless.

The atmosphere here is different than that of KT. That album gave you a feel of being lost in a grimy, futuristic dystopian regime. This is somewhat…safer. There is some idea of being against the "Chaosmongers," but that is vague. Also the shortening of the songs, for me, loses some of the experimental edge. I just feel the vibe caused by Killing Technology is stronger. This is a great album. For me, this is the best thrash band Canada ever created. KT and this are there main monuments, and even Sacrifice doesn't come that close. I would, lower rating aside, probably recommend this to more people. The song structures aren't as long, and the vocals are catchier. I would recommend this to anyone who likes prog or thrash metal.