Phobos

by Voivod

Overview

Voivod's second release for the Hypnotic label (their ninth studio album overall), Phobos, follows the same path the band laid down on 1995's Negatron. Fans of extreme metal sounds will obviously enjoy it, but will be a bit too much to handle for the crossover audience that the band aimed for on earlier releases. The band (still the trio lineup of Negatron) projects a dense and closed-in sound, a far cry from the three-dimensional music on Nothingface. Although the beginning of the title track may remind longtime fans of earlier material, the dream is crushed as soon as Eric Forrest starts in with his death metal vocal roar. Interestingly, the U.K. import version of Phobos contains two bonus tracks, which prove to be better than the majority of the songs penned by the band. The first song, "M-Body," is a Jason Newsted (Metallica bassist and friend of the band) original, which contains eerily effective lyrics. The other is a spirited cover of the King Crimson song "21st Century Schizoid Man," which is tailor-made for a metal band like Voivod, especially since subsequent bootleg tapes of Crimson performing the song live show them taking a heavier approach at times. Still, just two worthwhile songs doesn't warrant purchase, especially since they can only be found on the more expensive U.K. import edition. ~ Greg Prato

Product Details

Release Date:	08/31/2004
Label:	Linus
UPC:	0803057004522
Rank:	38506

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Voivod   Primary Artist
James Cavalluzzo   Electronic Sounds,Electronics
Denis D'amour   Guitar
Eric Forrest   Bass,Vocals
Ivan Dorschuk   Electronics,Electronic Sounds
Michel "Away" Langevin   Drums,Accordion,Electronics,Electronic Sounds

Technical Credits

Ivan Dorschuk   Composer
Voivod   Producer
Greg Lake   Composer
Jason Newsted   Songwriter
Robert Fripp   Composer
Denis D'amour   Composer
Peter Sinfield   Composer
Michael Giles   Composer
Eric Forrest   Composer
Danny Cohen   Photography
Bruce Longman   Layout Design
Ian McDonald   Composer
Rob Sanzo   Mixing,Producer
Michel "Away" Langevin   Artwork,Composer
Brett Zilahi   Mastering
Tom Treumuth   A&R,Direction
James Cavalluzzo   Mixing