Review VOIVOD ‘Morgöth Tales’

To celebrate 40 exciting years in sci-fi thrash metal, Canadian powerhouse Voivod is turning as we speak and just played a thunderous show at Markthalle, Hamburg. Furthermore, the quartet has with ‘Morgöth Tales’ a new album in the starting blocks.

A look on the tracklist of the album shows some familiar titles and the question is, what’s new. First of all the final track on the album, the title track, is a new song that is fully in line of the latest work of the four guys. Progressive twists, pounding grooves and the typical riffs are trademarks of the band and they are all present when it comes to ‘Morgöth Tales’. To give the song even more extras, Voivod invited former band members to contribute to the tune. Eric ‘E-Force’ Forrest and Jason ‘Jasonic’ Newsted added some parts to the title track which is for sure a special treat for fans.

The other nine songs are from the band’s back catalogue and cover the years between 1984 and 2003. The current line-up re-recorded these milestones in metal history and gave the songs a contemporary feel while still keeping the original vibe and spirit in place. It is a pleasure for ears and mind to listen to these revived versions of songs like ‘Killing Technology’ and ‘Thrashing Rage’, but also to the dark and gloomy ‘Rise’.

‘Morgöth Tales’ is more than just an anniversary compilation album. It is a summary of excellent metal song that contributed to the definition of progressive thrash metal. Voivod is a band that created their own trademark sound and ‘Morgöth Tales’ mirrors this in a great fashion.

Tracklist:

Condemned To The Gallows (2023 Version) [Originally on Metal Massacre V Compilation, 1984]
Thrashing Rage (2023 Version) [Originally on “Rrröööaaarrr”, 1986]
Killing Technology (2023 Version) [Originally on “Killing Technology”, 1987]
Macrosolutions To Megaproblems (2023 Version) [Originally on “Dimension Hatröss”, 1988]
Pre-Ignition (2023 Version) [Originally on “Nothingface”, 1989]
Nuage Fractal (2023 Version) [Originally on “Angel Rat”, 1991]
Fix My Heart (2023 Version) [Originally on “The Outer Limits”, 1993]
Rise (2023 Version, feat. Eric Forrest) [Originally on “Phobos”, 1997]
Rebel Robot (2023 Version, feat. Jason Newsted) [Originally on “Voivod”, 2003]
Morgöth Tales