Martin Popoff
Worlds Away: Voivod And The Art Of Michael Langevin
Spider Press
A must have for fans.
Even though genuine mainstream success has eluded them throughout most of their career, Québec (Canada) based progressive/thrash/avant-garde act Voivod have certainly had a huge influence on the metal scene throughout their lengthy twenty-five years together, which continues through to the present day. But while the impact of Voivod’s music on the metal movement is without question, it’s also drummer/song writer Michel ‘Away’ Langevin’s outlandish post-apocalyptic/sci-fi themed artwork that has adorned all of the band’s releases that have drawn as many people to the band as the music as the music itself.
Painstakingly put together over the course several years, Langevin and distinguished Canadian journalist Martin Popoff have finally completed work on the long awaited "Worlds Away: Voivod And The Art Of Michel Langevin".
With the book being released in a hard cover format (Which comes with a lavish glossy dust jacket), measuring nine inches by twelve inches and featuring one hundred and eighty-eight full colour pages, it’s clear that "Worlds Away: Voivod And The Art Of Michel Langevin" has been a true labour of love to ensure that Langevin’s artwork be given the respect that it truly deserves.
Written in the same narrative style that Popoff previously used on his Iron Maiden artwork release "Run For Cover - The Art of Derek Riggs" (2006), "Worlds Away: Voivod And The Art Of Michel Langevin" is part Voivod biography, and part exploration into Langevin vast body of work throughout the years. While the history surrounding Voivod has been well documented in recent times (Due to the passing away of guitarist Denis ‘Piggy’ D’Amour in 2005), Popoff’s correlation between the band’s various points in history in relation to Langevin creative output at the time does show the parallel progression of both Voivod themselves and Langevin’s art as time passed.
Langevin’s artistic influences (Which are evident with the inclusion of some of his earlier work from the late ‘70’s) are touched upon within the first part of the book. What follows is a series of individual chapters solely dedicated to each of the band’s studio releases, starting with 1984’s "War And Pain", including 1998’s compilation effort "Kronik" and 2000’s live effort "Voivod Lives", through to 2006’s "Katorz", where Langevin sheds light on the album’s various concepts and themes explored both in the artistic and musical sense.
Filled with full colour pieces of art, a wealth of previously unpublished smaller pieces (Both colour and black and white productions), with contributions from all members of Voivod (Both past and present), Human Furnace (Ringworm), Danko Jones, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters/Probot) and Brian Slagel (Metal Blade Records) helping broaden Popoff’s take on Voivod’s long history within the music scene.
Langevin has long been regarded as a legend within the music scene for his drumming behind Voivod, with his artistic talents taking a backseat in terms of true recognition. "Worlds Away: Voivod And The Art Of Michel Langevin" rights that wrong, and finally allows Langevin’s art to speak for itself.
Regardless of whether you’ve admired Langevin’s work in the past or are a hardcore Viovodian, this book is an absolute must have for fans.
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