VOIVOD's New Concept Album Tentatively Due In Late 2027: 'It's Gonna Sound A Bit Like A Movie Soundtrack'

In a new interview with Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules, VOIVOD's drummer and founding member Michel "Away" Langevin spoke about how the band's "Symphonique" live album, a special collaboration with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra (Orchestre Symphonique De Québec),inspired the songwriting process for new material from Canada's progressive sci-fi metal innovators. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I think that the symphonic concerts really influenced us in the writing and recording of the future studio album. In between tours, we are doing — we write a new album, and we are recording the album three songs at a time. And I think it's gonna sound a bit like a movie soundtrack. It's a concept album with the [VOIVOD mascot cyborg] Korgull coming back and everything. So, it's kind of interesting what's going on right now."

Elaborating on VOIVOD's creative mindset at the moment, Away said: "We're trying to be more and more experimental. And the last couple of albums were pretty intricate, and we won awards for them, so it's giving us confidence. And we do have a secret weapon — it's Chewy [Daniel Mongrain], our guitar player. He teaches jazz at college, and he has a lot of notions. And he already charted music for [VOIVOD's 2018 album] 'The Wake'. We had the string quartet for the Montreal Jazz Festival and [2020's] 'The End Of Dormancy' EP, he charted parts for a brass quintet. And so we try to include newer sounds in our music that will make it even more like a journey for the listener. There are no limits for us, it seems like, so we're gonna try to push it really."

Asked when he thinks the new VOIVOD album will be released, Away said: "We have so many shows planned and so many projects in the works. I would say late next year [2027]. At least people will be able to enjoy the symphonic album. And also we have a video game coming out called 'Nuclear Warrior', and it's based on end-of-'80s, early-'90s aesthetics. And again, we are all involved. I supplied a lot of low-res art Chewy's working on turning the VOIVOD music into 8-bit style. [VOIVOD frontman] Snake [Denis Bélanger] is doing the voice for the main character, and [VOIVOD bassist] Rocky [Dominic Laroche] is testing the game, so it's pretty fun. And the documentary 'We Are Connected' is coming out soon as well. And we just released a book with Jeff Wagner, 'Always Moving' — it's more than 500 pages long. So many things are in the works, and tons of reissues all the time."

Away added: "I've dedicated my life to VOIVOD for 43 years now, and it's pretty fun to be able to release all of these projects, because the people into VOIVOD are very loyal. So we try to supply them with as much stuff as possible."

"Symphonique" is due on June 5, 2026 worldwide via Century Media Records. "Symphonique", which functions like an epic piece of cinema, showcases VOIVOD's pioneering futuristic metal with the strains of a symphony orchestra, and features a carefully curated VOIVOD best-of setlist composed of 12 songs across 73 minutes, recorded live on June 4, 2025, at the Grand Théâtre in Québec City, Canada.

VOIVOD previously played two shows with the Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal on January 29, 2025 and January 30, 2025 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletie in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Mongrain, who wrote an eight-minute arrangement for the brass quintet that performed with VOIVOD at the Montreal International Jazz Festival (Festival International de Jazz de Montréal) in June 2019, called the collaboration with the Orchestre Symphonique De Montréal "a dream come true."

VOIVOD is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Québec. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s. Starting out as a speed metal band, VOIVOD have added a mix of progressive metal and thrash metal to create their own unique metal style, and are credited as one of the "big four" Canadian thrash metal bands, along with SACRIFICE, RAZOR and ANNIHILATOR. They are considered by many as one of the most influential metal bands from the '80s, influencing and gaining praise from multiple bands and across numerous genres.

VOIVOD found mainstream success in the late 1980s with their fifth studio album, "Nothingface" (1989),which is the band's only album to enter The Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 114.

VOIVOD's long-awaited official documentary, "We Are Connected", received its world premiere on July 29, 2024 at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Quebec. Canada.

"We Are Connected" dives deep into the 40-plus-year legacy of one of the most original and influential metal bands in history. From their explosive beginnings in Jonquière to their groundbreaking global journey, VOIVOD's story is one of unparalleled creativity, resilience, and evolution. The film covers VOIVOD's history from unlikely origins in northern Québec at the height of the Cold War to underground success to sharing tours and stages with IRON MAIDEN, RUSH and METALLICA. Included in the documentary are high and lows throughout those 40 years, from major-label support and Billboard recognition to seismic lineup changes and an event many critics claimed to be the end of VOIVOD: the death of co-founding guitarist and composer Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour.

Directed by Felipe Belalcazar and produced with full access to the band's archives, this film features exclusive insights and appearances by metal icons like Tobias Forge (GHOST),Mikael Åkerfeldt (OPETH),Jason Newsted (METALLICA),Zach Blair (RISE AGAINST, GWAR),Tom G. Warrior (CELTIC FROST, TRIPTYKON) and Ivan Doroschuk (MEN WITHOUT HATS),among many others.

VOIVOD's official biography, "Always Moving - The Strange Multiverse Of Voivod", came out last November. The book celebrates the extraordinary 40-plus-year career of Canada's cosmic metal visionaries VOIVOD. Author Jeff Wagner draws from exclusive interviews with band members, managers, producers, record label reps, family, peers, and musicians profoundly shaped by VOIVOD's ever-mutating sound to tell their full, fascinating story.

"Always Moving: The Strange Multiverse Of Voivod" is presented as a monumental oral history woven with Wagner's narrative. "Always Moving" casts a bright arc light on every creative era — from the raw chaos of the early years to the tech-prog heights, through tragedy, reinvention, and ultimate triumph.

VOIVOD has been touring in support of its latest album, 2023's "Morgöth Tales", which was released via Century Media, The Orchard and Sony Music.

The band's 2022 release, "Synchro Anarchy", garnered significant acclaim, winning the 2023 Juno Award for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Album" in Canada.

Once more recorded and mixed by Francis Perron at RadicArt Studio, mastered by Maor Appelbaum and produced by VOIVOD, "Morgöth Tales" includes fresh studio re-recordings by the band's current lineup of nine especially selected, not-so-obvious picks from the band's hyper-classy and extremely diverse back catalogue (between 1984 and 2003) as well as a brand-new song and the album's title track, "Morgöth Tales".

Photo credit: Catherine Deslauriers