DANIEL 'CHEWY' MONGRAIN Is Hoping To Add 'Thrashy' Elements And 'Some Dirtiness' To VOIVOD's Sound On Next Album

Guitarist Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain of Canadian metal innovators VOIVOD spoke to The Metal Voice about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2018's "The Wake" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're still in the writing process. Things have been a little bit slower since we had to learn the whole albums again [for the VOIVOD full-album livestreams]. So we're still sharing files and trying to catch up and put more time into it. We hope to go into the studio and start recording this fall, but it's hard to tell. I think the situation will get better and maybe we'll have a chance to meet more often and jam together; that's where the magic happens, usually. But we've learned to work in this context as well. And that's cool, because I received a bunch of tracks from [drummer] Away, who is programming drums in Logic [audio software] with his computer, and it sounded exactly like Away's playing. I was super impressed, because sometimes when you use a computer, it kind of sounds square. But everything was perfect. So it's really fun to do. It's a different way. So it's gonna bring it different ideas, I think, if we welcome it in a creative way."

Regarding the musical direction of the new VOIVOD material, Mongrain said: "[It's] hard to tell at the moment, but personally, I feel like [injecting] a little bit more thrashy [elements and] some dirtiness, so to speak, to the sound. Compexity has always been part of my influence in songwriting — I don't know what's the problem with me, but it's always there, so I'm not worrying about that side. But maybe [make it] a bit less polished and more rock and roll, I guess."

On May 30, VOIVOD will perform its "Nothingface" album for the first time ever as part of the "Hypercube Session 2" livestream event. The date also coincides with Michel "Away" Langevin's 58th birthday. "Hypercube Session 3" will feature the classic "Dimension Hatröss" album and will stream on June 27.

Both shows will be available for 48 hours after the initial broadcast. Don’t miss these unique performances by one of metal's most acclaimed and innovative bands. The exclusive event will include an afterparty live chat with the band hosted by "Vox&Hops".

Ticket options for each session are available for purchase below:

* Purchase "Hypercube Session 2" featuring "Nothingface"here.

* Purchase "Hypercube Session 3" featuring "Dimension Hatröss"here.

* Purchase "Hypercube Session 2" and "Hypercube Session 3" bundle here.

VOIVOD released a new live album, "Lost Machine - Live", in November via Century Media Records. The disc was recorded in Québec City during the worldwide touring cycle for "The Wake".

Last summer, VOIVOD released a new three-track 12-inch vinyl and digital EP titled "The End Of Dormancy" via Century Media Records. The EP is centered around a special "Metal Section" version of the title track (off VOIVOD's latest album, "The Wake") with added trumpets, saxophone and trombones. The complementary songs on this release are exclusive live versions of "The End Of Dormancy (Metal Section)" and the group's classic "The Unknown Knows", recorded at Montreal Jazz Fest 2019.

"The End Of Dormancy" EP came with artwork by Langevin and is available on 180-fram 12-inch vinyl.

"The Wake" was released in September 2018 via Century Media Records. The disc was recorded and mixed by Francis Perron. The album's artwork was once again created by Away.