Great line up this and a very versatile one. It caught a few out though as they had to decide between this and Overkill who were also playing down the road but to be honest I did not even think twice about it. Having caught Voivod at this very venue in fantastic form with the mighty Neurosis in the past I was well up for a return bout and others were fondly reminiscing about seeing them here more recently with Nashville Pussy too.

Not sure what happened with the originally billed End Of Level Boss but we suddenly discovered that another local stoner crew, fuzzy bastards Serpent Venom were playing instead. Rather annoyingly they were well into the swing of it when I arrived having come on earlier than expected. The venue may have yet needed to fill up with bodies but the sound from the stage boomed forth filling every nook and cranny with cavernous effect. Wailing vocals from ex Sloth singer Gaz were full bodied and reverberating fuzz laden guitar and bass filled in the spaces left in the wake of the hefty drumming pound. The lighting turned out to be a cause of contention all night, it was great to look at all back lit with deep blues and reds and looked really impressive from the back of the venue, for photos without flash it was a nightmare though. The players were in shadow a lot of the time and it was left for the music to loom out the ether. Just as I was getting into the swing of things the band announced it was time for last song ‘Devilshire’ luckily they do not play short numbers so we still had a bit of time to get shaken around. Imagine a Sabbathy vibe with a touch of down tempo sludge and a heavy depressive stomp about it. This was a weighty assault and had a few hardy souls bowing down at the front with others clutching to the safety of the bar for support. It was hypnotic, psychedelic and kaleidoscopic, a wooly mammoth of a track, which certainly left its mark and my head spinning, job done.

The song was about to change, there was going to be nothing slow about crust punk stalwarts Doom and to be honest I think both I and many others were here for them as much as the headliners, there was certainly a contingent of dreadlocked Hackney punks in the audience shellshocked about the cider prices. The set list went down and I attempted to count the tracks and gave up. The familiar sounds of Crass’ Reality Asylum filled the air causing great atmosphere before the band strode on and launched into ‘Fear Of The Future’ and for the next 40 minutes or so chaos ruled supreme. Having been around since 1987 this lot are the real deal and we were instantly flung into a place that many of us knew well, those that didn’t probably pretended they did. The sound was nice and savage and singer Denis vocals were gnarly and rough. After a few songs he paused for breath telling the crowd that if anyone else shouted out for Police Bastard he was gonna have em. Bad move! We were going to have to wait for that one and the classic songs bore down on us Life Lock, Claustrophobia and Antisocial amongst them. The guitar assault from Bri Doom was unrelenting and scummy as fuck and on the other side of the stage Scoots bass trembled. This was a good as the last couple of times I have seen them at Damnation and Hellfest. ‘Pro Life Control went out to women’s right to choose and then we got probably their most well known song ‘Exploitation’ which got much action from the now much busier crowd. Finally even if the South Yorkshire Police didn’t get their favourite song the audience got the one they wanted with Police Bastard speaking for itself. Called back for an encore and a few more numbers such as ‘Means To An End’ Doom came off to triumphant applause and Voivod deserve some too for bringing them out on tour. It makes a change that a band apart from Napalm Death embrace the importance of proper punk although apparently rumours that Broken Bones are touring with Lacuna Coil are unfounded.

Of course and although it was fantastic to see Voivod there was a big gap to be filled since last time I had seen them here. Piggy is no longer with us and no matter how good guitarist Chewy is he will always be missed. Then again it seemed like a time for celebration, Snake was all smiles and the rest of the band looked incredibly happy too,London was mentioned a few times and it was obvious the Canadians were chuffed to be back. So were the audience giving the band a hero’s welcome and getting well into it as they burst into self titled anthem Voivod. We were whipped off for the next hour and a quarter or so through the outer limits and beyond with tracks both new and old. I made the mistake of standing right next to Blacky for a little while and you could really hear the jangling bass sounds firing out the speakers. It probably explains why I can hear very little today. We were flung right back in time to ‘Rrröööaaarrr’ and given ‘Ripping Headaches’ which was great musically and drove through us like a sledgehammer. Spiralling guitar solos were flung out with wild abandon and Chewy and Away duelled away on stage striking up poses for the delight of the audience.

I did not catch all the new titles but a few were peppered in the set as were a fair few songs that I would not have guessed at being aired. People in the audience kept shouting for Batman but were thankfully ignored instead we got ‘The Prow’ from the somewhat misunderstood Angel Rat, an album I really need to revisit myself. Futuristic sci-fi enthused riffs took us into Killing Technology and it really was a case of all systems go for ‘Forgotten In Space’ There was brisk trade on the merch stall with new one sided collectable single Mechanical Mind flying off the shelf and damn good it sounded live too, classic and classy, the main ‘get inside’ vocal line yelled out and a heavy thrashing groove about it. They continued to bring the house literally down with the likes of Nothingface full of shivering guitar lines and tribal beats but what really stood out was a new song that apparently we were told is about the Micmacs! We bounced up and down instantly getting grabbed by it and it had hints of Sepultura and The Young Gods to me in the first listen as well as that unmistakable Voivodian thrust. On the strength of this the new album will slay. Psychic Vacuums and Tribal Convictions had me stabbing my notepad in frustration at Bloodstock Open Air putting entirely the wrong Canadians on the bill last year (drop an Anvil on the Cobras). This is what we want and damn you I hope someone makes it happen. Finally it was time to float out on the last song, a poignant one to Piggy and Astronomy Domine needed no introduction. Excellent, I certainly picked the right show tonight!

Review and Photos Pete Woods