#voivod

[slavghoul]

As you may remember, a few weeks ago I made a post about the upcoming Voivod documentary "We Are Connected" which features interviews with various musicians who are fans of Voivod, including Tobias. Above you can see a short snippet.

Here's some news from Felipe, the director of the documentary: so far, the film has been officially submitted to five Canadian film festivals and one in Europe. The world premiere will take place at Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada this summer, though exact date is not known as of now. Digital / DVD release will follow after the festivals. Currently the film is still in post-production, but the work is moving fast. Stay tuned!

[starfuckerzzz]

shoutout to old metal band posters, gotta be one of my favorite genders

[facts-i-just-made-up]

Got any facts about Vlad the Impaler?

Vlad III was the voivod of Wallachia in the 15th Century. "Voivod" is an ancient term for military leader that suggested the ruler's tolerance for war and pain, ability to develop killing technology, and roar into the outer limits of thrashing rage.

He is best known today for having impaled lots of people. This is less scary than it sounds because "Țepeș" did not literally mean he impaled people, but simply that he drove sharp sticks through them. This misunderstanding made him infamous through later history and inspired Mary Shelley to base her famous horror character, Imhotep the Mummy, after him.

[cimmerian-war-shrine]

[thrashingrage]

Voivod signing records at Zig Zag records in Brooklyn, NY, June 28th, 1986

[leoevilbanger]

[possible-streetwear]

[jgthirlwell]

I just received my copy of the Cardiacs book, "A Big Book and a Band and the Whole World Window". The book is 300 pages of photos of the band and their history as well as pieces of writing by myself and many others, including Shane Embury (Napalm Death), Chewy (Voivod), Alexander Tucker, Weasel Walter, Kavus Torabi and many more. It was lovingly assembled by Aaron Tanner, who also authored two Residents books, and it is being published by Melodic Virtue. The book will be released on Jan 3 2025. A must for all Pondies!

[rei-ismyname]

SENTINELS #3 From The Ashes Review

For those of you who haven't been reading the series, the basic premise is that Chuck resurrected Larry Trask (son of Bolivar, inventor of the first sentinels) on Krakoa. His mutant gift is limited but very accurate precognition, he only sees days at most into the future but he doesn't know how to control his powers properly. After Krakoa fell, he returned to running Trask Industries and won a contract with Graymalkin prison. Alex Paknadel is writing the series after an excellent run on Infinity Comics.

There's Larry and his four 'sentinels.' Also Magneto, somehow.

Having ostensibly learnt his lesson from most of his family dying from the robots they created, he's running a paramilitary outfit with traumatized veterans and nanotechnology grafts, power armor, and augments. These are the Sentinels, and the tech requires all kinds of mood stabilisers, surgery, and psychiatric care - these people are hallucinating and having psychotic breaks all the time. His stated motivation is to prevent wars between mutants and humans, using his precognition to identify the most dangerous ones. So far they've captured Omega Red and Sebastian Shaw, but everyone involved is a mess - personally, mentally, professionally, financially. Sentinels is set in Post-Krakoa America (mostly) but it is not an X-Men book. It's not even a hero book. It's paramilitary horror with transhumanist themes. Larry believes he's protecting mutants and humans but he has constant flopsweat and is clearly out of his depth.

The Krakoa continuity is excellent

Issue #3 begins in media res, with Warden Ellis interviewing Drumfire about their most recent mission - capturing Fabian Cortez. Drumfire clearly has about as much respect for Ellis as I do, which is a nice touch. We're meant to try to sympathise with these sentinels, and showing tension with someone we know to be awful helps. The fuckhead doesn't even get her name right. The chain of command is a little confusing, but I don't remember the first two issues that well. The important takeaway is that while these people work together, there's tension and dehumanisation there. Ellis doesn't treat anyone with respect, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

The fireteam boots down the door Cortez is behind only to find that he's healing a child. Cortez sucks, but he did experience some growth on Krakoa. That he's doing this altruistically isn't completely out of the question. So immediately their mission becomes complicated. A civilian's present, and Cortez isn't doing anything wrong.

This throws the team off so they run it up the line to Trask. He makes the (probably correct) assumption that Cortez' healing abilities were amped up through resurrection. He certainly died enough. Larry tells them to bring him in but Lockstep, the field leader, insists it's his call. Before he can make that decision a civilian grabs him, affording Cortez the opportunity to flee. He did want to abort, but the point is moot.

Ellis pressed Drumfire on her mood stabiliser usage and she lies that they'd been helping with her hallucinations. She refuses to discuss them, though Onslaught (who she's been hallucinating) is obviously not receptive to being stabilised. Lockstep/Hansen's tech/mind fizzes out and comms stop working so the team is on their own. They finally catch up to Cortez but he's face down in the dirt. Possibly dead. They didn't do it, though that they have to ask says a lot.

What's left of the fireteam runs into the last person a mutant hunter wants to see - Magneto. This clearly takes place after X-Men #3, as Ellis has intelligence on Magneto's medical woes, but for all we know it takes place after Raid on Graymalkin. It doesn't seem like how Magneto would act these days, or is able to act, but there he is. He's blocking bullets and throwing metal around, though he's less dramatic than I'd expect. I'm not going to speculate on whether it's actually him - the characters don't reach consensus and that's by design.

One of the difficulties with this book is telling the identically-dressed soldiers with similar names apart, not helped by personnel turnover. It's not Drumfire, so I just have to accept what I'm shown. It's most likely Voivod hulking out and attacking Mags - he's the most heavily augmented and as we'll see has some other secrets in that body. There are clearly mysteries afoot, so I assume it'll be revealed in time. However, these are our protagonists. There's something to be said for the interchangeability of their personhood, which just adds to the feeling of confusion and terror.

Mags, the scamp, drops a classic EMP blast - not a good time to be a cyborg. He not only gets away but takes Cortez with him. The team are in shambles, with Voivod speaking in binary and others unable to move. Ellis expresses surprise that they survived, but not concern.

The team is suspended with pay while they're being investigated, and Ellis still calls Drumfire the wrong name. She's surely taking notes or recording the interview, plus she'd have their records, so it's probably on purpose. We already know she sucks, but this scene does a lot for Drumfire. She's clearly miserable in a wretched work environment and nobody cares. I have no respect for the US military or sentinels, but I have sympathy for this broken person who's suffering with no support system. The hiring practices are clearly predatory, seeking traumatized people out and withholding medication unless they do as they're told.

Drumfire isn't cartoonishly evil like most mutant hunters have been portrayed, and considering the mutants they're hunting she probably thinks it's ethical. Everyone has been made to feel like they don't matter before though, and being dehumanised and dismissed by those who should be looking out for you is relatable (at least it is to me.) I'm invested.

Looks a lil bit like Scurvy?

We don't have full context for what Voivod and Trask are discussing, but Larry is clearly in over his head. He confesses his problems to someone he's supposed to be in a position of power over, but Voivod spits bile at him. He's clearly not happy as a guinea pig for whatever medical horror Trask is up to, and Larry feebly tries to regain the power by beating someone who can't fight back. His anxiety is palpable but his declaration of righteousness and good intent feels hollow. This is a man on the edge and he's taking these poor fucks down with him. They do seem to know each other well enough, I wonder if it's someone we know.

Yeah Trask has no power here. He's cracking up and hiding it poorly with pressure coming from every direction. Maybe he can take solace from Havok still wearing the weird gimp suit he designed in 1967. Sawtooth catches the end of the conversation plus Larry's appearance and makes that face up there - 'we're so fucked!'

The C plot involves Lockstep's son confiding in him that his mother has unmanageable Mafia Maggia debt. He resolves to do something about it and perhaps to snatch what little control and self respect he can from his trainwreck of a life. He gives the gangsters everything he has on his (ex?) wife's behalf, but they try to squeeze him further and push him around. It only takes up 3 pages but it's an effective development in line with what we've seen of him so far.

The issue ends with him using his augmentation/nanotechnology fuckery to kill them all. It's not presented as heroic or a good decision, rather the act of a desperate man at the end of his tether with only bad decisions available. He definitely enjoys it, though. It's easy to see how someone fluent in violence with abilities beyond regular humans might respond when pushed into a corner - after all, the military industrial complex is built on devaluing certain lives. Enemies, acceptable targets, guinea pig soldiers, mutants. It'd be dishonest to tell a story about it without going there, so it's both a grim character beat and a further exploration of the book's themes. Can you really do state violence 9-5 and be a good person? Can you even keep the violence to work hours? Nope, and the honesty is refreshing.

Marvel has been very pro-military and police for its entire publication history - less so in the X-books, but it's still absolutely there. It's a bold direction to take and a new kind of X-story. Sentinels is definitely focused on these things, but ultimately it's about people - as all good stories must be. I recommend it and feel confident in saying it's in the top tier of From The Ashes books right next to Exceptional X-Men.

[gorehoundhammett]

Jason Newsted, your midwestern accent has bewitched me.

[heckcareoxytwit]

Mystique as "Magneto" VS Sentinel Cyborgs

Mystique is on her mission in Madripoor when she notices a group of cyborgs in Sentinel armor waiting to apprehend a rogue mutant. These cyborgs used to be humans who volunteered for experiments which involves in grafting sentinel armor onto their bodies and taking mood-regulating drugs. Mystique shapeshifts herself into Beast to sprint across the roof to check what is happening below. She sees Fabian Cortez dashing out of the building and running away from the Sentinel Cyborgs. Then, Cortez bumps into "Magneto" (who is actually Mystique in disguise) and begs for help.

As Cortez touches "Magneto", he gives a new-found power boost that he/she unexpectedly gains magnetic powers. "Magneto" throws Cortez to the wall and starts fighting the Sentinel Cyborgs. One of the Sentinel Cyborgs notices that something is off with "Magneto" as he heard the rumors that Magneto is crippled and the opponent whom he is fighting with is using martial arts instead of the usual magnetic field barriers. Magneto-Mystique counters by using the magnetic powers to impale the cyborg and ties him up with steel cables. Then, more Sentinel Cyborgs arrive to take down "Magneto" but they are easily defeated. As the Sentinel Cyborgs are finally defeated, "Magneto" changes back to Mystique, tired out from the battle and wonders how she could manage in replicating powers of any mutant she shapeshifts. Mystique tries to put the Sentinel Cyborg out of his misery but she spares him instead as she decides that he isn't worth killing. Then, Mystique shapeshifts herself in Colossus and takes the unconscious Fabian Cortez out of Madripoor.

Mystique v2 #3, 2024

[slavghoul]

"VOÏVOD: We Are Connected"

Tobias will be featured in an upcoming Voivod documentary scheduled for release this year, where he was interviewed alongside fellow musician and close friend Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth). Their interview was filmed in Stockholm recently.

TF is an avid Voivod fan and has cited them as a major inspiration on numerous occasions, particularly in relation to his pre-Ghost band, Subvision. As his MySpace bio stated: "With the intention of making something different than the death metal that I had become synonymous with, I wanted to create music with a slightly more melodic/pop edge. The wish was to make something along the lines of Voivod’s Angel Rat." A song off that album ("The Prow") was also included in a playlist he crafted for Apple Music in 2021 featuring some of his most formative influences.

The documentary is currently in post-production and you can help funding its completion by making a pledge on Kickstarter:

The goal is to fund the completion of a theatrical cut in time to screen at festivals and events this summer, and a physical release later on.

The project is a labor of love of numerous Voivod enthusiasts, Tobias included, so consider pledging even a small amount in your support and spread the news around, if you can.

For more information: IMDB, Facebook

Thank you to Felipe Belalcazar for the info.

[metalcultbrigade]

Voivod - War And Pain 10/08/1984

[rastronomicals]

1:09 AM EDT September 23, 2024:

Voivod - "Technocratic Manipulators" From the album Dimension Hatröss (June 29, 1988)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

'Inside a giant particle accelerator , a beam of protons, traveling at near the speed of light meets a beam of antiprotons moving equally as fast in the opposite direction. The protons and mirror-image antiprotons annihilate each other, creating the fiery chaos of a parallel micro-galaxy. Experiment One complete, the Voïvod goes into that new dimension, meeting different civilizations and psychic entities, extracting knowledge and energy in the eight programs of this project called: Dimension Hatröss'

Prolog.

File under: Cybermetal

[cimmerian-war-shrine]

[filth-hounds-of-hades]

bitch ur going to the science hospital