Kev Rowland Voivod have consistently been one of the most interesting bands to come out of the thrash scene and these days they are warmly embraced by progheads as they are who are way more into metal. There have been quite a few line-up changes over the years, with drummer Michel "Away" Langevin the only constant, but co-founder and singer, Denis "Snake" Bélanger, returned more than 20 years ago while the current line-up has been incredibly stable for the last nine years with Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain (guitars) and Dominic "Rocky" Laroche (bass). To celebrate their fortieth anniversary the band selected songs from the first half of their career, going all the way back to 1984, and re-recorded them with the current line-up along the new title cut. In a nice touch they also invited back past members Eric "E-Force" Forrest (vocals, bass) and Jason "Jasonic" Newsted (bass) to play on the song they each originally recorded.

It is certainly interesting to hear how the band have changed over the years, and it is nice they have put the tracks in original release order, so as we work through there is that progression. Voivod are often grouped with Sacrifice, Razor and Annihilator as part of the "big four" of Canadian thrash, yet to my ears they have always had an element which set them well apart from the rest of the crowd, being way more technical in their approach, never afraid to move in a different direction and their riffs are so sharp and jagged that they need to be classified as dangerous weapons. More than 40 years after their inception they are still taking music in different directions, and it is interesting to hear just how relevant this music is all this time on from when they wrote it. The earliest song is "Condemned To The Gallows", which originally appeared on 1984's 'Metal Massacre V' but it is still exciting and cutting today. The most recent song is "Rebel Robot" from their 2003 self-titled release, so there is nothing from the last five albums, but in many ways that makes sense as they look back over their history and concentrate on the earliest.

For those who have yet to come across Voivod (the question there must be, "Why?"), then here is a nice way to sample their catalogue with modern recording techniques from a band who really know what they are doing. This is thrash being taken to totally different level.

UMUR "The Epitome of Disgrace" is an EP release by US, Florida based technical death/thrash metal act Hellwitch. The EP was independently released in July 2005. The original CD-R version of the EP was a promo release which was limited to 100 copies and used to shop for a new label deal. Hellwitch formed in 1984 and released multible demos before being signed for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Syzygial Miscreancy" from 1990. They disbanded in 1998 without having released any further studio albums. Hellwitch however reunited in 2004.

"The Epitome of Disgrace" features 4 tracks and a total playing time of 18:22 minutes. All 4 tracks would appear in re-recorded version on the band´s second full-length studio album "Omnipotent Convocation" from 2009. These versions are very similar to the versions on "Omnipotent Convocation" though, so I´ve been in doubt if they were actually the same, but there are some differences in production choices and a few other details, which set these versions apart form the album versions of the same tracks.

Hellwitch were always a very unique sounding act combining aggressive and technical thrash metal with death metal brutality, and some pretty distinct sounding screaming vocals. The vocals are probably an aquired taste, and some may find them a bit too much, but personally I find them greatly enjoyable. Intensely aggressive, screaming, and raw. It´s like Rob Halford (Judas Priest) went insane and started to perform death/thrash metal vocals. It´s very much over the top, but also precisely the reason why Hellwitch are considered to be such an unique entity. The instrumental part of the music is also quite unique, featuring technical death/thrash riffs, explosive technical drumming, and an intense energy level.

"The Epitome of Disgrace" features a well sounding production job, which is perfect for the material. It sounds raw, brutal, and aggressive, but still clear and detailed enough for accessibility. "The Epitome of Disgrace" is upon conclusion a high quality release from Hellwitch, and while it may be slightly redundant since you can find all tracks in re-recorded and relatively similar versions on "Omnipotent Convocation", It´s still a worthy release for the fans. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Soliloquy" is a demo release by German tehnnical thrash/progressive metal act Demimonde. The demo was independently released in 1995. Demimonde was formed in 1990 and existed until 1999 when the band opted to change their name to Complex 7. "Soliloquy" is the only release under the Demimonde monicker.

The demo features 5 tracks and a total playing time of 24:33 minutes, and in that time Demimonde takes the listener through a journey of technical/progressive thrash metal. The band are well playing and lead vocalist/bassist Björn Müller has a strong voice and a harsh delivery. It´s not always pretty (it´s actually never pretty), but his raw shouting singing style suits the material pretty well. The music is quite technical with time signature changes, breaks, and tempo changes, but also both heavy riffs, fast riffs, and melodic guitar work. The drumming is quite varied and technical and there´s some nicely busy bass parts too. The opening track "Decay and Rebirth" features both clean guitars and distorted guitars complimenting each other, which gives off a strong Fates Warning vibe.

"Soliloquy" is a fairly well produced demo so although it´s just short of being a professional studio recording, it´s not far from being a product a label would pick up. In 1995 this type of music was out of fashion though. Had Demimonde leaned more towards their progressive tendencies and less on their technical thrash metal ditto, they may have succeeded, but it´s no wonder to me why they never received much interest from labels and few know about them today. Fans of technical/progressive thrash metal could find this interesting though, and the demo features quite a few interesting details and ideas, so a 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted.

UMUR "Staircase" is the fourth demo release by Canadian, Toronto based thrash/progressive metal act Beyond. The demo was released through Epidemic Records on cassette tape in 1989. It´s the successor to the "Framed Insanity" demo from 1988.

The material on "Staircase" is a complete left turn compared to the technical thrash metal style found on "Framed Insanity", and I´m sure fans at the time must have been shocked by what they heard. While the music still features some thrash metal riffs and harder edged parts, the music style on "Staircase" is best described as an alternative/progressive rock/metal style. It´s like a strange hybrid of Seattle rock (lead vocalist Paul Garvey leans towards sounding like Eddie Vedder) and tech thrash/progressive rock/metal. It´s an odd combination of styles on paper, and it´s even more strange listening to it.

When the shock of the drastic stylistic change has passed, I actually think Beyond pull their new adventurous style off pretty well. They are skilled musicians and Garvey has a good voice and a relatively strong delivery. It´s all a bit unpolished but that´s to be expected from a demo release. The sound production is of a good quality considering that this is a 1989 demo. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Framed Insanity" is the third demo release by Canadian, Toronto based thrash metal act Beyond. The demo was independently released on cassette tape on 1988. It´s the successor to the "Inner World" demo from 1987.

While the material on the four track, 19:22 minutes long demo continues the raw, aggressive, and technically well played thrash metal style of "Inner World", everything on "Framed Insanity" have become more intense, more technical, and more professional. This can even be labelled tech thrash metal as Beyond enters that territory here. The vocals are still one of the weak links of Beyond´s music, but the raw trash metal shouting is decent enough and gets the job done.

The sound production is unfortunately a bit on the thin side, and especially the guitars could have prospered from a more meaty sound, but it´s still a listenable demo, where you can just about make out everyting that´s going on. Upon conclusion "Framed Insanity" is a step forward for Beyond compared to the quality of "Inner World" and it´s especially in the songwriting department that the band have improved greatly. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.