War & Pain

Voivod | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metal Blade
• ASIN: B000001C7A
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,497 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 12-APR-1994

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a bargain!, July 2, 2004

By 

Edward J. Holmes (Hobart, indiana united states) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War and Pain (3CD Set) (Audio CD)

I must assume that if your interested in Voivod's, "War And Pain", then you must know something about real heavy metal.
Their debut album way back from 1984 is an undeniable classic. Early Voivod was something completely different, but if you were into bands like Slayer, Venom and Kill 'em All era Metallica, You most likely would like Voivod.
"War And Pain" is a brutal record. All the crazy riffs, the thundering bass, nuclear drumblasts and bloodcurdling vo-kills carry you into the land of the Voivod. A warrior vampire-lord with a lust for death. This album is all killer and no filler.
But, don't forget, there are 3 cd's. The "War And Pain" album, a live demo recording from 1984, which, if you appreciate real history, you will not mind the sound of the live disc. In my opinion, it's one of the heaviest things I've heard. And, a bonus disc for your computer which has a video, pics, art, lyrics and more.
You cannot go wrong by buying the first album. Hardcore all the way! This 3 cd set is a good buy and I bet will be hard to find one day so get it while you can!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Voivooooood!!!!, July 16, 2004

By 

Patrick Stott (Rolleston, Canterbury, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War & Pain (Audio CD)

Canada has a fine Rock and Metal tradition, but there seems to be something about the frozen North which seems to warp the minds of musicians a little. Canada's greatest export, Rush, forged a reputation for producing highly imaginative Progressive Rock with a hint of the unusual, even for the experimental world of Prog Rock.

Voivod did the same with Thrash Metal. These four twisted musicians produced one of the oddest albums of Thrash's early days. While Metallica and Slayer were content to play it straight and fast, Voivod seemed to make things deliberately difficult for themselves on `War And Pain', opting for a complex and choppy songwriting style. Playing at a speed where it would be easy to trip and stumble, the band doesn't miss a note. Think it sounds easy? Check Possessed or early Celtic Frost for examples of bands playing too fast for their own good then.

Title track "War And Pain" for example mixes up several riffs, which seem to tumble past like a rockslide, and are bridged together by guitar solos or rumbling drum fills, all the while Snake shouts blank verse lyrics of the horrors of war over it all. Sounds complex? It's the most straightforward song on the album.

Piggy was an incredibly underrated guitarist. Most bands of the time went for a twin guitar line, either to cover for lack of ability or to fill in holes when playing fast. Piggy carried all the guitar duties on his own. He possessed a killer chainsaw tone which cut red raw to the bone, and was able to slip effortlessly from rhythms to solos and back again. This album avoids double tracking the guitars, so during solos the rhythm drops out and is picked up by Blacky on bass. The galloping rhythmic pattern of the final track "Nuclear War" features countless guitar/bass interchanges, and it is difficult to keep up with who is playing what.

It's not just the music which is unusual. Vocalist Snake invented the Voivod, a creature that lives in a violent, dark cyber world, and is fond of torture and killing. The Voivod continued to pop up on subsequent albums. Snake's lyrics use simplistic words to express complex themes, probably because of the band's French Canadian heritage, where English is only a secondary language.

At a time when Speed Metal bands were stealing Iron Maiden and Judas Priest riffs to impress their fans, Voivod blew them all away with a raw and truly original Thrash creation. Unfortunately, most Metal fans in 1984 weren't prepared for such experimentation, and `War And Pain' remains a forgotten pearl cast before undeserving swine.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Got this at the right time, What a bargin for this prime album., October 21, 2006

By 

Concerned One "Thrashfan" (IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War and Pain (3CD Set) (Audio CD)

I managed to pick this up when it was brand new, first released for the rediculously low price of $11.99 factory sealed from a large chain store. I have owned this album on cassette for years, and boy did I snag this at the right time. This box set is awesome, and one heck of a value. The difinitive War and Pain set.

Disc one contains the 9 tracks of war and pain-remasted and sound just as crisp and raw/fresh as the day they were layed down.
Then-Voivod added live songs from their first show ANACHRONISM-tracks 10,11,12.
Next, they added the Metal Massacre 5 sessions for track 13, 14, and 15.

Disc two: This is the prized Morgoth Invasion: Live Demo Sessions december 1984. 16 tracks of prime Voivod as they lauch into the premier canadian thrash metal band role.

Disc three-CD ROM enhanced CD: This was the disc I nearly wet myself over. I have always loved Enhanced CD's. This has so much data on it, it's tought to fit here, and I'm still discovering stuff on it. Here's a brief rundown. It has the biography 1985, coments from 2003, lyrics, sound, Many many video clips (20 minutes or more at least, pics, art, wallpapers, and screensavers.

If you are a voivod fan, you must, and I repeat, you must get this album, It is silly if you didn't. I would have easilly paid 20-25 dollars for this, but you don't have to, so buy it ASAP!!!!!