VOIVOD's Official Documentary To Receive World Premiere At Montreal's FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

VOIVOD's long-awaited official documentary, "We Are Connected", will receive its world premiere tonight (Monday, July 29) 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 will cover 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 will be 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.

In celebration of the "We Are Connected" premiere, don't miss the "Rebel Robots" exhibit at BBAM! Gallery in Montreal. This intimate showcase features original art pieces, photographs, instruments, and artifacts from VOIVOD's archives, celebrating their extraordinary 40-year legacy. Step into the multiverse experience of VOIVOD and explore the visual and musical artistry that has defined their unique space in the metal world.

This past April, VOIVOD drummer Michel "Away" Langevin was asked by Jimmy Kay of Canada's The Metal Voice why it has taken so long to put the documentary together. Away said: "It first started when Piggy passed in 2005, where we had the idea of doing some documentary, mainly to honor him. And so, when Piggy passed, we were like maybe two or three years without doing any touring. At this point, Snake, [then-VOIVOD bassist] Jason Newsted and I were on a mission to finish the two albums we had started in 2004. And so it gave me some time to gather the archives and put it into digital format. When we reformed for the Heavy Montreal festival in 2008, we just went on tour forever. And so everything was sort of put aside for a long time. And then, it must be about seven or eight years ago when Felipe got in touch with me. He really wanted to do that movie, and he sent me the DVD of the documentary he had done about the band DEATH, 'Death By Metal'. And I was really amazed. It's a bit like a Ken Burns documentary vibe where, if he's missing some archives, he will do a pan or a zoom on an old photo so the visual keeps moving. And I really liked that documentary, and I was convinced he could do something great for VOIVOD. So we started working on this. And, of course, his travels were cut short by the pandemic. But it's a period that it gave me the opportunity, since VOIVOD was not touring, it gave me the opportunity to gather even more archives and put them into digital format. So, now after all these years, it's almost done. [Laughs]. The last mile. [Laughs]"

Back in 2006, it was reported that VOIVOD had recruited Canadian documentarian Sam Dunn to helm the band's documentary after he interviewed members of VOIVOD for his "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" movie.

"It was a real honor to be asked, and we've already started shooting," Dunn said at the time. "The documentary is going to be about Piggy's life and the making of the new record and how those are tied together."

After VOIVOD's collaboration with Dunn failed to materialize for reasons that are not clear, the band recruited Belalcázar, who has a proven record of delivering quality productions to millions of metal fans around the world, most recently the aforementioned critically acclaimed Chuck Schuldiner documentary "Death By Metal".

Earlier this year, VOIVOD completed a North American tour with PRONG.

VOIVOD has been touring in support of its latest album, "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".

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.

Photo credit: Catherine Deslauriers