JUSTIN’S METAL REVIEWS W/C 22/6/09

VOIVOD / INFINI

This is the last album to feature Dennis “Piggy” D’Amour, who sadly passed away in 2004; all the songs were laid down and written by Dennis before this date and like the two previous ones, finished off by the rest of the band.

This give the last 3 albums a very strong continuity as the writing was done the same way, Voivod have always been one of the bands that set trends and not follow them and there originality shines though on this CD, its not what they do it’s the way they do it, take opening track “God Phones” a quirky sub Thrash number that would have been so ordinary if recorded by any of the bands peers and D’Amour’s unique vocal style and delivery just adds to the charm. They have a knack for world play as “Room With A V.U” demonstrates and they can still pump out the intelligent Metal, check out “Global Warning”, “Earthace” or the superb eruption that is “Volcano”.

Is there a future for Voivod without Dennis? At this point who knows but one thing is for sure they have left behind a fine Metallic legacy that will enthral Meal fans for decades to come, buy, listen and enjoy and you can bet your headphones that I will play plenty of track on my Metal Mayhem show.

WEBSITE http://www.voivod.com

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 58 mns + 13 TRACKS

DREAM THEATER / BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS

Lets face it, if your talking about Progressive Metal then Dream Theater are the kings and have been for sometime, only Symphony X come close, for technical precision and aggressive Metal content but that doesn’t mean they have no dynamics because they do.

Only one of the tracks on this CD is less than 10 minutes long and chocked full of complex time changes and as many twists an turns as a down hill slalom course, any band that opens an album with a 15 minute, aptly named track “A Nightmare To Remember” has plenty of confidence to keep the listener’s attention and you better believe it. The next track “A Rite Of Passage” is a little shorter, just under 9 minutes but still has all the Dream Theater trademarks and the sheer complexity leaves you breathless. The short track “Wither” is simpler by contrast and almost commercial compared to the other tracks, the epic track is “The Count Of Tuscany” a 19 minutes plus blow-out that is totally awe inspiring, how the hell do you write such a complex, lengthy track and how do you know when you’ve finished it?

I have been fan since Images & Words and this just confirms how good the band are, this CD also comes in 3 formats, a mega expensive one, a normal CD and a limited edition 3 x CD digi pack that has the regular album, an instrumental version and a 6 track covers CD that features covers by the likes of Rainbow, Iron Maiden, King Crimson, Zebra, Dixie Dregs, and a Queen Medley, so go buy it NOW, Justin has spoken.

WEBSITE http://www.dreamtheater.com & http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 74 mins + 6 INCREDIBLE TRACKS