Voivod - Morgöth Tales (2023)

I've made it no secret through the years that Voivod is my favorite band, so the prospect of an album of re-recordings is dubious. Why mess with what has largely been perfection, or close to it? The thing is, I've been proven wrong on these specific sorts of compilations often enough that I've no question that, when done patiently, or done 'right', they can have some value in the modernization of limited recording technology or production values that in some way might have crippled the original sessions. Or maybe the band just wants to give the current roster a chance to lay down their spin on the band's legacy, or gloss up some golden oldies for the younger audience used to the sound on the more contemporary output in the discography. The idea behind Morgöth Tales is all of the above, but it's also a 40th year anniversary offering with the idea to take one track from each of previous albums, or at least eight of them, and 'update' them with Rocky and Chewy; plus a few added bonuses.

For me, those three bonuses were initially the biggest draw, since they tackled their Metal Massacre track "Condemned to the Gallows" and made a neat sweep of it, tightly controlled with a tone that wouldn't be out of place on their recent records, but structurally just as fun and punk-driven as the original. Daniel's lead is great and the thing is just infused with youthful vitality, although I can imagine a swath of the purists might rue the lack of real rawness and underground vitriol to the recording. The title track, which closes off the album, is a very cool new track, but with a style that more closely resembles Dimension Hatross, with a spacious atmosphere due to some of the reverb on the vocals, but some real amazing, cycling grooves and a nice psychedelic break which lapses into Nothingface territory. This is ultimately my favorite part of the collection, although their slightly metalized cover of Public Image Limited's "Home" is also quite good, and fitting with Snake's vocals and the overall odd vibe of the band. I like some of their sillier covers of stuff like "Batman" or the "Ultraman" theme plenty enough, but they do their best tributes with more serious fare like this or "Astronomy Domine".

I'm not sure I'm entirely in love with the idea of picking one track from each of the albums, since I think some really wouldn't have needed to be touched, like "Fix My Heart", "Nuage Fractal" or "Rebel Robot"; the differences are minor, and I don't know that these versions truly embellish on the originals, even with the tonal evolution and alternate studio. It's more fun to hear early stuff like "Thrashing Rage", and I wonder if just re-recording War and Pain or its successor would have been better. The versions of "Killing Technology" and "Macrosolutions to Megaproblems" here are damn tight, and they will certainly give a better idea of how the band would sound performing them today with this lineup, but the originals come from works I praise so highly that any small detail will feel more abrupt to me. Perhaps I'm just too biased, but I'm certainly not trying to bash this, I think overall it's a worthwhile pickup for the longtime fan or initiate, I bought it day one, and I'd buy six more volumes if they were intent on release them. But at the same time...I'm looking forward to the band's energy being focused back on the infinite universes they still might explore, the past they've lest us is already so awesome, expansive and unforgettable that I'd never get sick of playing around in it.

Verdict: Win [8/10] 

https://www.voivod.com/