KILLING TECHNOLOGY

Voivod: Blacky (bass); Snake, Away, Piggy. Recorded At Musiclab, West Berlin, Germany from November 27 to December 14, 1986. Voivod's third release, Killing Technology, still has elements of the band's early extreme metal sound, but they show hints of things to come -- namely, more mature and interesting songwriting. All you have to do is listen to the beginning of the appropriately titled "Tornado" to hear the young metal band grind and thrash with the best the '80s had to offer. There are several tracks that stretch past the six-minute mark (the opening title track, "Forgotten in Space," and "This Is Not an Exercise"), but Voivod knows how to hold interest during these extended pieces. The group is comprised of excellent musicians who have no problem whatsoever with the challenging song structures and odd time signatures that arise on Killing Technology. One of the band's all-time classics, "Ravenous Medicine," resides on this album, which makes it an essential purchase for Voivod fans. The group was still developing on Killing Technology, though -- vocalist Denis Belanger relies a bit too often on screaming rather than singing, something that he would work out on future releases. An interesting metal album nonetheless, one that doesn't sound too shabby years after its original release, something that's all too uncommon for the majority of metal acts from the '80s. ~ Greg Prato