Nothingface (Voivod album)
Nothingface is the fifth studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Voivod. It was released by Mechanic/MCA Records on October 13, 1989. The album marked a change for the band, expanding their music and exploring more progressive sounds. Several riffs are heavily influenced by Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring", specifically the centre section of "Pre-Ignition".
Nothingface | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 13, 1989[1] | |||
Recorded | 1989 | |||
Studio | Victor Studio, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |||
Genre | Progressive metal,[2] heavy metal, progressive rock | |||
Length | 44:27 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Glen Robinson, Steve Sinclair | |||
Voivod chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[4] |
NME | 9/10[5] |
Rock Hard | 9.5/10[6] |
Sputnikmusic | 5/5[7] |
Nothingface was Voivod's most successful album to date, and their only album to enter the Billboard 200 charts, where it peaked at number 114.[8] A music video made for the album's third track, a cover of Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine", received airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball.
In 2005, Nothingface was ranked number 350 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[9]
Loudwire named the album at #23 in their list "Top 25 Progressive Metal Albums of All Time."[10]
Track listing
All music written by Denis D'Amour, Jean-Yves Thériault and Michel Langevin, all lyrics by Denis Bélanger, except "Astronomy Domine" written by Syd Barrett.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Unknown Knows" | 5:55 |
2. | "Nothingface" | 4:14 |
3. | "Astronomy Domine" (Pink Floyd cover) | 5:30 |
4. | "Missing Sequences" | 5:49 |
5. | "X-Ray Mirror" | 4:28 |
6. | "Inner Combustion" | 3:48 |
7. | "Pre-Ignition" | 5:11 |
8. | "Into My Hypercube" | 5:03 |
9. | "Sub-Effect" | 4:29 |
Note: Two versions of this album exist. The original version combined an intro track and "The Unknown Knows" into one track. On the other version, both tracks were separated, with the intro track being the first track, which is followed by "The Unknown Knows".
Personnel
- Voivod
- Snake (Denis Bélanger) – vocals
- Piggy (Denis D'Amour) – guitar
- Blacky (Jean-Yves Thériault) – bass
- Away (Michel Langevin) – drums, artwork
- Production
- Glen Robinson – producer, engineer, mixing
- Benoit Lavallée, Rob Sutton – assistant engineers
- Steve Sinclair – executive producer
References
- "Voivod - Nothingface". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
- Prato, Greg (10 September 2005). "Voivod's Denis D'Amour, 45". Billboard. Vol. 117 no. 37. p. 96.
- Prato, Greg. "Nothingface - Voivod | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 401. ISBN 978-1894959315.
- Staggers, Harley (18 November 1989). "Voivod – Nothingface". NME: 35.
- Stratmann, Holger (1989). "Review Album: Voivod – Nothing Face". Rock Hard (in German). No. 35. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- "Review: Voivod - Nothingface". Sputnikmusic. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- "Voivod Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 70. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Hill, John (2 August 2017). "Top 25 Progressive Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved 27 October 2019.