Voivod - Nothingface: Classic or Dud?

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I can't believe my ears but it's a bleeding college rock record. Not in any faint echoes way either. A bleeding angular lo-fi nasally-sung post-hardcore (slightly gothed-out maybe?) Sonic-Youth-y-guitars college rock record. It's really good, BTW.

sundar subramanian, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

There's a guy on the Slint-related list who figures "Nothingface" is the long lost influence on Slint's "Spiderland". I finally had a chance to ask Brian McMahan myself if Voivod was a major influence on Slint one random night in L.A. while a friend of mine was interviewing him, and he said "Um, no".

John MacEnroe, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Well, there you go. Isn't that their jump-to-major-label album? Great version of "Astronomy Domine," but I think I'd rather listen to Dimension Hatross, which I know I've got around here somewhere...

Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

RRRROOOOAAAAARRRR! Why isn't there a band called The Ripping Headaches yet? (I've never heard Nothingface)

Kris, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Classic.

Omar, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

talking fucking greek to me. if it was any good i wouldv heard of it. aint never heard of void shitface ergo crap.

fuckin 20p out record tape exchang shit. talk about real rock action i.g. slipnot fucking brilliant, lim biscuits kool.

XStatic Peace, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I like that album as well as Angel Rat and The Outer Limits, which is way cool and sounds more like Pink Floydian heavy metal than Sonic Youth. I also dig Dimension Hatross and there's something about that album that is uniquely great. The earliest Killing Technology sucks in my opinion and the later power trio stuff is horrible.

Have I mentioned that Voivod is reforming the original line-up with Jason Newstead from Metallica playing bass? Should be interesting. I believe Jason quit Metallica to join Voivod and they've always been one of his favorite bands.

Nude Spock, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

classic. i've been saying so for going on 10 years now. dahlia seed did a lovely cover of "missing sequences" subtitled (voivod rules), and it's real fucking nice, too.

your null fame, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

by the way, hooray for the voivod reformation! maybe their next album won't be a moronic, thugged out embarassment.

your null fame, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

two months pass...
Classic. That was the first Voivod CD I bought. In fact I went and bought everythinng else they had up to it's release and everything after it (except greatest hits,I already had the song cockroaches). I was a bit disapointed in some of the responses I read about this album annd comments on their new stuff. Point is you either like the band or you don't. They tried new ideas and changed their produced sound so much between albums they were like a different band everytime (then they were, but it rocked!)Nothingface to me is their best effort all around. Theme, playing, sound quality( DDD ), overall production and artwork. Looking forward to new material.

Mark Newingham, Tuesday, 26 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

voivod's a band i haven't heard for a dog's age, am feeling the need to re-hear/re-evaluate, but can't find any of their stuff here. could one of you nice ppl make me a tape or a CDR? please please?

duane, Tuesday, 26 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Here are some live mp3s to tide you over. . .

http://www.voivod.com/downl oad/mp3/

Alex in SF, Wednesday, 27 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

eh? Jason Newstead isn't in Voivod, he's in some fucking awful san francisco shitty Soundgardeny type band called Echobrain.

Wyndham Earl, Wednesday, 27 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

eleven months pass...
Er, Newstead is in fact in Voivod. Listening to the new album right now. RRRROOOOAAAAARRRR! indeed

Chris Barrus (xibalba), Saturday, 1 March 2003 21:01 (twenty-one years ago) link

Voivod were big enough when "Nothingface" came out to have Soundgarden (before Ben Shepard) & Faith No More (right after Patton joined) open for them on tour.


earlnash, Saturday, 1 March 2003 21:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

Holy crow, for the Pink Floyd cover alone....massive CLASSIC

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 1 March 2003 21:52 (twenty-one years ago) link

I SAW that Soundgarden/Faith No More/Voivod tour!! Twice!! Fucking awesome. Yeah, that was when SG had that Everman dude on bass. Faith No More was great live.

I just saw a special on Voivod last night on some music channel. They showed the making of a their new video. I was excited about Newstead joining the group, but the track they played last night was somewhat underwhelming.

Chris, what do you think of the record?

Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 1 March 2003 23:45 (twenty-one years ago) link

i saw that tour, too. voivod owned.

there are three new voivod songs at mp3.com - listened to the new single and one other and they had kind of an "angel rat" sound. i was hoping for "missing sequences 2," i guess, but good enough.

your null fame (yournullfame), Sunday, 2 March 2003 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

"Missing Sequences" - that's my favourite too. They were fantastic when they opened for Motorhead last summer. Blew away Motorhead IMO.

sundar subramanian (sundar), Sunday, 2 March 2003 00:34 (twenty-one years ago) link

I SAW that Soundgarden/Faith No More/Voivod tour!! Twice!!

Haha...so did I. Once at L'Amour at once at the New Ritz.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 2 March 2003 16:52 (twenty-one years ago) link

three years pass...
"There's a guy on the Slint-related list who figures "Nothingface" is the long lost influence on Slint's "Spiderland". I finally had a chance to ask Brian McMahan myself if Voivod was a major influence on Slint one random night in L.A. while a friend of mine was interviewing him, and he said "Um, no".
-- John MacEnroe (johnmac7...), January 22nd, 2002."

Ah, and then Dave Pajo busted out with wearing the Voivod shirt at Slint's All Tomorrow's Parties show...


sa, Sunday, 21 May 2006 06:35 (seventeen years ago) link

six years pass...

I saw an interview where they said they were working on the Nothingface reissue but the article had no date. Discogs website said they had already been reissued last year but amazon aint got them yet if they are official reissues at all.

Anyone know when the official reissue is? I heard about the band about 7 years ago and heard this album was their best and I assumed it would be out in a couple of years but it still isnt, in a time when I'm finding cheap reissues for a lot of obscure classics. Dimension Hatross seems to be the runner up in popularity, would that be a good introduction?

Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 8 July 2012 02:40 (eleven years ago) link

The Outer Limits is a little closer to this style. Dimension Hatross is great but with more metal elements.

Amoeba, Fish, Monkey, Shame (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Sunday, 8 July 2012 03:11 (eleven years ago) link

Total classic. I bought it when it came out and wass forever my introductory record when persuading indie rock friends to listen to metal.
On the subject of re-issues I feel like this band and metal in general has been passed over in the remastering department. I'd love to see a comprehensive remaster and reissue of their earlier releases. I've owned 8 copies of Dimension Hatross and all of them have skipped horrifically.

Oblique Strategies, Sunday, 8 July 2012 08:40 (eleven years ago) link

This is one album where remastering couldn't possibly make it sound any better. It's a stone classic, and one of the rare digital productions that I totally stand behind.

Robert--it really shouldn't be that hard to find used on cd?

Nate Carson, Sunday, 8 July 2012 10:03 (eleven years ago) link

BTW, there's an incredible remaster of War & Pain. 3 cd set.

Nate Carson, Sunday, 8 July 2012 10:03 (eleven years ago) link

Oblique Strategies- Do they skip because they are badly made or because you played them so much?

The used copies of Nothingface are a bit expensive, so I think I'll wait and just get Dimension Hatross for now.

Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 8 July 2012 13:17 (eleven years ago) link

Yeah, used CDs of it have been expensive for a while now. Cheapest copy on Amazon right now is twenty-nine dollars.

timellison, Sunday, 8 July 2012 14:32 (eleven years ago) link

Robert, A bit of both. There's a skip at one point on side 1 that's been the same across all copies. Nate, I actually agree with you about Nothingface not needing a remaster per se. But I'd still like to see a better vinyl pressing of it.
Did I miss any remastering / re-issue campaign on any of the other acts of the era though? It seems like Slayer / Metallica / Sepultura etc... are sitting on a missed opportunity. Or is there just less rehashing of the past in metal than in indie rock?

Finally, am I alone in feeling that Angel Rat is woefully under appreciated?

Oblique Strategies, Sunday, 8 July 2012 14:59 (eleven years ago) link

For the amount I worry about cds skipping, I dont know much about it. Do you mean there is a skip in the sound when the cd plays along normally, or is there an actual disruption in flow of the cd playing? I've never heard of the latter being a problem of a whole printing of cds.

There is a part on Love's Forever Changes with that big trumpet solo climax where I always thought the cd was skipping but it has always sounded like that. Also on Can's Tago Mago I made that mistake.

Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 8 July 2012 16:56 (eleven years ago) link

I think some reissues have been over the top, I've heard theres a lot of complaints about Deluxe Editions coming out shortly after a perfectly good reissue. But Nothingface is a different case completely.

Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 8 July 2012 17:00 (eleven years ago) link

My copies are all vinyl. All the Noise International pressings seem a little flawed. I generally dislike teh re-issue / remaster culture but there have been a few instances where it's made a massive difference to my enjoyment of the record (Faust 4 and My Life In the Bush Of Ghosts specifically). I'd love to hear an amped up version of these records.

Oblique Strategies, Sunday, 8 July 2012 18:07 (eleven years ago) link

Nothingface is one of my favorite albums ever, endlessly rich and enjoyable, and I don't even remotely like metal! I've been waiting for a re-issue too, my copy is really beat up. I didn't know the album was recorded digital, interesting. I agree the cd version sounds awesome, no need for re-mix or master whatsoever although I can indeed imagine the vinyl version is a different story.

I've never been able to convince myself to check out Angel Rat for some reason, I think because I feel all 4 members are of equal importance and I can't imagine the band without one of them. I guess I should rectify that!?

liam fennell, Tuesday, 10 July 2012 12:58 (eleven years ago) link

two years pass...

Okay, as you can see above I was looking for this reissue in 2012 but supposedly it came out the year before from Metal Mind label. Oh well, at least I'm getting it now.

Robert Adam Gilmour, Thursday, 31 July 2014 22:05 (nine years ago) link

two months pass...

"Cold.. Choke.. Choke.. Cold"

Really nice to finally have this album after several years of wanting it, it's very good but I still prefer Dimension Hatross. I guess my next stops are Killing Tecnology and Angel Rat.

Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 6 October 2014 21:05 (nine years ago) link

one year passes...

Someone just posted this on Facebook; Voivod special from the SolidRok TV show with great live performances throughout. Interviews are en francais, unfortunately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH8uh4_PspQ

bulbs in the VU meters of God (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 25 March 2016 07:22 (eight years ago) link

Anyone seeing a video there? Nothing's showing up.

bulbs in the VU meters of God (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 25 March 2016 07:24 (eight years ago) link

The video is there three times.

Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 25 March 2016 07:43 (eight years ago) link

Sorry! First time I thought I had typoed the URL; second time it didn't show up either; third time I tried to put it in as preformatted text and it still converted.

bulbs in the VU meters of God (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 25 March 2016 10:00 (eight years ago) link


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