INFINI

Infini is the twelfth full-length studio album by Canadian progressive heavy metal act Voivod. After guitarist Denis D'Amour´s ( Piggy´s) untimely death from colon cancer in August 2005, the three remaining members of Voivod opted to continue and finish the album they had started to write at the time using the demo guitar tracks that Denis D'Amour´s had been recording for the album. The result was Katorz (2006) which I personally felt was a very weak album and an unsuitable testimony for one of the most influential guitarists in progressive metal. Therefore I was not especially happy when I heard that Voivod had dug up even more demo guitar tracks recorded by Denis D'Amour´s before his death. Using the same studio technique as when they recorded Katorz, I anticipated another weak album and I really wasn´t expecting much from Infini. Infini fortunately proves me wrong. At least partially.

Voivod´s sound on Infini is very close to the sound they had on Voivod (2003) and Katorz. The sound is closest to the former though. A mix of heavy metal, old school thrash metal, alternative rock and progressive rock. Denis D'Amour´s distinct guitar style is as present as ever on the album and Denis Belanger´s vocals also give away the fact that we´re listening to a Voivod album. The biggest difference from Katorz is that the songs are simply better and more memorable and in addition to that the production is warm. The album is a bit too long and towards the end I begin to find the music a bit trivial allthough never bad. The songs are a bit to close in sound for comfort though and a few more experiments would have suited the music well. With pre-recorded guitar tracks that probably wasn´t possible though.

There´s no doubt that Infini is a much better testimony to Denis D'Amour than Katorz, and if you enjoyed the selftitled album from 2003 this should be a sure purchase. They don´t come near the heights of earlier releases though so don´t expect something revalutionary. It´s a good album but nothing more IMO. 3 stars are deserved. RIP Piggy. You´re my hero.