Anomaly. Seminal. Iconoclasts. A "band's band." These are the nebulous words that sum up a group of artists now in their fourth decade of collaboration and creation. Michel "Away" Langevin conceived a universe, a character, an anti-hero; The Voivod and painted graphic images of future warriors and weaponry to match the lyrical concepts ofDenis "Snake" Bélanger. Denis "Piggy" D'Amour provided the music, composing a debut album (1984's War and Pain) of brutal power, metallic ferocity, mad jazz-shifts, and brash noise. He also started to develop an almost lunatic style here with chords, solos, and tones that combine the technicality of Robert Fripp with the lumbering heaviness of Tony Iommi. Rabid metalheads haven't been able to get enough of their violent sound ever since.