Forty years deep, Canada’s prog/punk sci-fi metal innovators VOÏVOD are here with ‘Symphonique‘, a special live release together with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, none of us saw this one coming.

‘Symphonique‘, which functions like an epic widescreen piece of cinema, these pioneering futuristic metalheads always throw a curveball, so why stop now? With the strains of a symphony orchestra, behind the Voivod wall of sound, this carefully curated VOÏVOD best-of setlist, composed of twelve songs across 73 minutes, was recorded live on 4th June 2025 at the Grand Théâtre in Québec City, Canada. (of course it was).

A longtime dream of the band to push the boundaries further than normal (normal, hell, you know Voivod normal)

It’s truly Mad Max meets metal punk with a twist of classical thrown in for further head fuckery, and to be fair, it works. From the ‘Killing Technology’ cuts, the only disappointment for me is that the band’s title track isn’t closing this set. Imagine the track Voivod with horns, strings and bassoons. insane or what.

Opening with wind and brass, rounded off with apocalyptic bells being struck, it’s a hefty listen, one you have to give oneself up to, the investment will pay off like a headfucked War of the Worlds. Of course, the opening ‘Experiments’ is truly epic and sets the tone for the next hour and a half.

‘The Unknown Knows’ is epic, and ‘The End OF Democracy’ begins with a fanfare of end-of-days proportions. When Metallica and the Scorpions did orchestral records, they never sounded like this.

If there ever is a ‘Nuclear War’, I hope someone has the wherewithal to play that song over loudspeakers globally so we can truly appreciate its epicness. A batshit bonkers concept from the kings of batshit bonkers concepts, but once again it’s a winner and if they were to bring this around the globe, I’d be right in the front row headbanging to the wind section, never mind the brass or guitars, it’s all about the wind section. Buy this record.

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Author: Dom Daley