The Hidden Details Behind Their Sci-Fi Masterpiece

Released on October 13th, 1989 Voivod “Nothingface” took the Canadian band far beyond their raw thrash metal roots. Strange guitar riffs, unusual time changes and a cold, mechanical sound helped create one of their most distinctive albums.

But there’s more to this record than weird sounds and science fiction. From a tragic story about losing one identity to classical music influences and unusual studio tricks “Nothingface” has plenty of details worth exploring.

1. The Dark Fate of Korgüll

Voivod drummer Michel “Away” Langevin created Korgüll the Exterminator, a post-nuclear vampire who destroyed worlds in the band earlier stories.

On “Nothingface” the conflict turns inward. After the events of Dimension Hatröss, Korgüll suffers a psychic breakdown and attempts to destroy his own identity by copying the personalities of others.

The experiment fails, leaving him as a “Nothingface” a being without arms, legs or a mouth, trapped in a state called “synchro-freeze” inside his fractured mind.

The story moves away from galactic warfare and into paranoia, alienation and the fear of losing yourself. Even for Voivod, it’s a dark turn: this time, the enemy is inside Korgüll own head.

2. The Classical Music Hidden in “Pre-Ignition”

Guitarist Denis “Piggy” D’Amour didn’t write riffs like most thrash metal guitarists. He used unusual scales, dissonant chords and ideas that pushed Voivod music into strange territory.

Listen closely to the middle section of “Pre-Ignition” and you’ll find a connection to Igor Stravinsky’s 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring.

Piggy transformed Stravinsky challenging rhythms into a mechanical guitar passage designed to evoke an automated aluminum extraction robot losing control.

It’s a perfect fit for the album futuristic atmosphere. The music twists and clashes instead of following familiar metal patterns, making the listener feel as if a machine is malfunctioning right in front of them.

3. Studio Tricks Behind the Mechanical Sound

Producer Glenn Robinson helped give “Nothingface” its precise, almost clinical sound. But some of the recording details are just as interesting as the music itself.

No click tracks: Despite the complicated time signatures and changing tempos, the band reportedly recorded the album without click tracks. The tight performances came from the musicians themselves, not simply from following a digital timing guide.

Fresh drumheads: Away changed his drumheads before recording each song to maintain a crisp, consistent drum sound.

Reversed metal sounds: Some of the strange cosmic effects were created by striking physical metal sheets, recording the resonance, reversing the tape and manually shifting the pitch. The results sound like radar signals or computer errors from a machine that has started to break down.

These weren’t just random noises. They helped build the cold, unsettling world that makes “Nothingface” stand out.

4. Blacky’s Bass Was More Than Background Noise

Jean-Yves “Blacky” Thériault was known for his heavily distorted “blower bass” sound. On “Nothingface”, it was compressed into a brighter, sharper tone.

That mattered because Piggy’s guitar parts were full of high-register notes, jazzy chords and dissonant patterns. Blacky bass could cut through beneath them instead of simply following the rhythm.

Listen beyond the guitar and the bass reveals another layer of the album. It’s an important part of what makes Voivod sound feel so different from straightforward thrash metal.

5. How Pink Floyd Helped Voivod Reach More Fans

One of the album biggest highlights is Voivod cover of Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine” originally written by Syd Barrett.

With its psychedelic atmosphere and cosmic themes, the song fitted the band sound surprisingly well. It was also recorded partly in the hope of gaining radio and video airplay.

The accompanying video became a fixture on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball, helping Voivod reach a wider audience.

“Nothingface” became the band most commercially successful album and their only release to enter the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 114.

There’s an interesting twist here: an album filled with dissonant riffs and unusual structures reached more listeners partly through a cover of a psychedelic rock song. Voivod didn’t need to abandon its strange musical identity to get noticed.

Four Musicians Behind the Madness

The lineup behind “Nothingface” was:

• Snake (Denis Bélanger) — vocals
• Piggy (Denis D’Amour) — guitar
• Blacky (Jean-Yves Thériault) — bass
• Away (Michel Langevin) — drums and artwork

Together, they pushed Voivod toward progressive metal and avant-garde space rock without losing the tension that made their earlier thrash records so compelling.

Why Nothingface Still Deserves a Deep Dive

The tragic fate of Korgüll, the Stravinsky connection, the strange studio effects, Blacky’s distinctive bass and the Pink Floyd cover all reveal different sides of “Nothingface”.

This isn’t an album that always makes sense on the first listen. The riffs twist in unexpected directions, the rhythms refuse to behave and the atmosphere feels more like a journey through a malfunctioning machine than a traditional metal record.

That’s exactly why it’s worth revisiting. Voivod took risks and created something that still has plenty to uncover.

Now it’s your turn, metalheads: Is “Nothingface” Voivod finest achievement, or do you prefer the band’s rawer thrash metal years? And can you hear the classical influence in “Pre-Ignition”? 🤘