METAL LEGACIES: DENIS “PIGGY” D’AMOUR OF VOIVOD – DIED AUGUST 26, 2005
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 10:00am by Corey Mitchell
Metal Legacies is an ongoing memorial to extreme music pioneers who kicked the proverbial bucket way too soon.
This is only my third Metal Legacies entry, yet it is by far the hardest to write. As a college radio metal/hardcore DJ at The University of Texas from 1988-1990 I was a huge Voivod fanatic.
It was War and Pain that did me in first.
Then Rrröööaaarrr.
Then Killing Technology blew my mind.
By the time I started playing cassettes and LPs (remember those?) late Friday nights for the imaginatively titled The Metal Show, Voivod released what I believe was their greatest album, Dimension Hatröss. And while I admired every aspect of the Quebec, Canada-based futuristic space thrashers — from Snake’s wailing vocals to Blacky’s angular bass playing to Away’s soulfully robotic drumming and one-of-a-kind artwork — the key selling point was always Piggy’s guitar playing.
Innovative, melodic, atonal, heavy, skronky, annoying, and so far ahead of its time, Piggy’s guitar style was practically indefinable. He combined the proggy sensibilities of Robert Fripp, the Godzilla stomp of Tony Iommi, the slit throat punk aggression of Black Flag’s Greg Ginn, and fused it with his own twisted William Gibson/Bruce Sterling cyberpunk sensibility to create a wholly original, instantly recognizable sound that had never been unleashed in metal.
Completely sated by Dimension Hatross, I would have been happy had the band never recorded another note. Thankfully, they bested themselves just one year later with the continually mind-expanding masterpiece Nothingface. From album opener “The Unknown Knows” to “Into My Hypercube” to the greatest cover song ever recorded; a trippier-than-trippy version of the Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine.” I’m sure I spun at least one Voivod song every weekend during my entire three-year tenure as the UT metal DJ.
I was also lucky enough to catch Voivod in their prime on tour with Celtic Frost back in 1986 at a small club in Austin, Texas, and then four years later, headlining the same club with a couple of up-and-coming bands named Soundgarden and Faith No More. Not surprisingly, Voivod blew them both away (no pun intended).
One of the highlights of my radio career was interviewing Piggy, Snake, and Away as Voivod passed through Austin in support of Nothingface. All three men were incredibly polite, generous to a fault, and went against the grain of every metalhead stereotype in the book. Each man was thoughtful, pensive, and a pleasure to speak with. Piggy, especially, seemed genuinely interested in my radio program and was full of praise and compliments. He just seemed like a sweet, gentle man. A decent human being. A nice change of pace in a world oftentimes filled with mooks, meatheads, and sycophantic egomaniacal control freaks.
Unfortunately, as with many metalheads during the early ‘90s, I began to lose interest in most things metal and, instead, turned to industrial, noise, ambient, and electronic music for my vicarious thrills. As a result, I lost track of Voivod, especially after being disappointed with 1991’s Angel Rat. (It would be much later before I learned the error of my ways in regard to that album, which is actually quite brilliant.)
Sadly, I did not revisit one of my favorite bands until Metallica’s Jason Newsted joined a decade later. Seemingly rejuvenated by the presence of Flotzilla, Voivod cranked out the impressive self-titled album, Voivod, in 2003, toured the second stage at Ozzfest, and were seemingly prepared to make an even more lasting impact on the suddenly resurgent extreme metal scene.
The amount of bands directly influenced by Voivod and the guitar tones created by Piggy are massive. Bands as diverse as Between the Buried and Me, Into the Moat, Opeth, Hypocrisy, Satyricon, Atheist, Death, Cynic, Isis, Neurosis, Crisis, Kataklysm, and Brutal Truth are but a few that cite Voivod as a massive influence on their own styles of playing.
Sadly, Voivod’s imminent return would forever be halted by the ultimate equalizer – cancer.
Just one year after the release of Voivod in the summer of 2005, Piggy was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer that had spread to his liver. Doctors informed the guitarist that his condition was inoperable. On Thursday, August 25, Piggy slipped into a coma from which he never returned. He passed away the following evening, August 26, at 11:45 p.m., in a Montreal hospital surrounded by his friends, family, and bandmates. He was only 45 years old.
Piggy’s musical legacy, however, did not cease that day.
Shortly before his death, he sensed his time was short, so he summoned Away to his bedside. He informed his drummer and good friend that he had dozens of guitar tracks recorded on his laptop and he wanted them to be used in some fashion. Away downloaded the material and promised Piggy that the music would be put to good use. The following year, Voivod recorded the album Katorz using Piggy’s guitar tracks. The album was considered a major success and a testament to the brilliant guitar player. Voivod’s final album featuring the final work from Piggy, Infini, was released earlier this summer and has also received much praise from all corners of the music world.
Snake made sure to honor Piggy with a symbolic Viking funeral for his friend’s guitar.
Photo by Lon Levin.
-CM
[Corey Mitchell writes books about serial killers, mass murderers, and the evil that men do. He is also the founder of the #1 true crime blog, In Cold Blog, and was just interviewed by 48 HOURS about his book, MURDERED INNOCENTS.]
I’m a huge Voivod fan and one of the highlights of my life was being able to spend 15 minutes chatting with Piggy, Snake and Away backstage at Bogarts during that Nothingface tour. Piggy was very nice and seemed to be as enthusiastic to meet me as i was him. very cool guy, extremely talented and will always be missed.
I know we living tend to angelicize the dead (see Ted Kennedy coverage later today for examples), but for all intents and purposes, Piggy seemed like a genuinely nice fellow. Easy going, funny, and quick with a smile. You’re right — he will always be missed.
The word “role model” is thrown around quite a lot these days. And, the sad thing is that the people the term is applied to usually don’t deserve it. Piggy on the other hand was (and still is) a genuine role model. He was quite a nice man and an absolute genius when it came to his instrument.
Truer words were never spoken.
I wish that Voivod would have ended with Piggy. Newstead came in and infused some cash but took some of the credit away that should have been awarded to Piggy. RIP
Not really sure what you mean about Newsted. He played with Piggy in VoiVod for 4 years. Not sure how that is taking credit away from Piggy.
Only ever heard a few songs of VoiVod (literally like 2) but I’ve been seeing ads for their CD’s (and I think some guy named ZimZum endorsing Fender, and/or Fernandez guitars – I might have to ‘fact-check’ that, tried Googling it, but nothing – help me if you know) in the back of various Metal-Mags for like 10 years.
That being said, while I was never really a VoiVod fan, the name sounded cool (as did ZimZum) and it stuck in my mind for a while (plus I remembered seeing their CD’s being sold/produced by MetalBlade and CenturyMedia from time to time – I buy stuff from them – a lot!)
As a side note, as bad as this is, it kind of goes to show that artists often times are more famous dead than they are alive. Not saying this’ll reach Michael Jackson level, but a few hundred to a thousand new fans for Voivod, maybe? At least their older material with D’amour?
Also, anyone know if this guy is related to Paul D’amour formerly of tool? Not exactly the most common last name, and David Botrill who produced two of Tools biggest records (Aenima and LaTeRaLus) was also from Canada, so maybe they know each other or are related?
Pure speculation on my part, correct me if you know please.
-I believe ZimZum played with Marilyn Manson, but definitely never with VoiVod.
-Piggy was very well known in underground metal circles and greatly respected by fans and fellow musicians alike.
-Paul D’Amour was born in Spokane, WA and lived in LA, CA. Piggy was full-blown French Canadian. I do not believe they were related.
-Do yourself a favor and buy Dimension Hatross and Nothingface. If you dig ‘em (which I’m sure you will) go back for their earlier material. Voivod was one of a kind and bad ass to boot.
@ Corey Mitchell:
(1) Thanks for clearing up the nonsense speculation on my part. Google was not a very good friend yesterday (for some reason various ‘online wish-lists’ kept popping up for ‘Denis D’Amour’). I know about Manson’s ZimZum, but I thought there was another…Plus there’s a fountain in Saudi Arabia called ZumZum – so I presumed there’d be more than one Z_MZ_Z (fill in vowel of choice).
(2) “Dimension Hatross” and “Nothingface” you say? Thanks for the suggestion, will do!
By the way isn’t James LaBrie (lead singer of ‘Dream Theater’) French Canadian? Or of similar descent? (Last name’s tend to make me think in that direction).
Beautifully put, Corey.
I was so shocked to learn of Piggy’s death. He was a visionary.
Your tribute was mentioned on voivodfan.com, which I recently discovered. Like you, I was a total Voivod fanatic from day one and dropped off around Angel Rat–momentarily distracted by death metal. More spikes, fewer puffy shirts.
You’ll appreciate this: in 1986 I failed to construct the perfect teen alibi in order to sneak off to cross several state borders to catch their NY show, and I missed the Complex (DC) show in ‘88 because I was *grounded*! Bitter. But–the 1990 show at the Bayou (DC) was brilliant insofar as I can remember.
If I could build a time machine I would go back for those 86 and 88 shows, and also do the 90 one over (minus the chemicals –you don’t need them when your brain is on ‘vod).
Despite the tragedy of losing Piggy way too soon, there is a happy ending of sorts: in a way I made up for lost shows this summer, catching them at Waldrock (NL) and Trix (BE); very different shows, one a medium-sized festival, the other a small club. Dan did a fine job, and it didn’t feel like a forced ‘let’s milk this for what it’s worth’ charade.
Yesterday I paid tribute to Piggy by hauling out all my old Die Kreuzen cassettes (yes, I not only remember tapes & LPs, but I also refuse to throw them out no matter how deteriorated the quality might be); a metal buddy gave me October File after one listen, sneering at its overly arty qualities. I liked it instantly, and could see why Voivod were big fans, too. Innovative, risk taking, spacy and rocky.
Voivod is one of the few bands from ‘the old days’ that I still play a lot–it’s timeless.
I am now hoping that we get Voivod over here next year for Roadburn 2010.
Either way, Piggy’s legacy lives on.
To the death…and beyond!
@ Korgrrrl:
“I was so shocked to learn of Piggy’s death. He was a visionary.”
Actually, for me personally, I didn’t really know who Denis D’Amour was, but I did know of VoiVod (never being a real big fan of the band, but always keeping the name in mind) – the fact that he died – WAY BACK IN 2005 (not 2009) scares me a bit because you’ve probably heard the saying “False news travels fast”. Well, the sub-textual implication being “True news travels at a much slower – almost snails pace”.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure VoiVod fans were aware of his death (I feel awful, since I wasn’t even aware of his ‘life’ until now anyway) but in the general metal (or even the fragmented sub-general metal) community I don’t recall there being a ‘Dimebag’ caliber commemoration. Well, that’s not a fair comparison, Dimebag was murdered – and I even think there was video of the shooting – but I never actually saw it myself so I can’t say for sure.
But yeah, I’m finding out about this individual now – in 2009 so maybe the saying I mentioned applies.
Still, a tragedy (I mean Metal’s all about ‘living fast and dying young’ but Metal isn’t always serious either, or at least probably shouldn’t be).
@AWB:
I can assure you that when Piggy passed away the Voivod fans I know around the world were calling/emailing one another, it was definitely ‘front page news’!
As for the metal community (not) picking up the story, perhaps it’s not a matter of news travelling fast or slow, but a matter of tons of news travelling at all speeds; that is, a respected guitarist succumbing to cancer is but one of a million relevant and less relevant items being reported over the place.
For those interested in learning more about Voivod beyond listening to their incredible discography, I encourage you to order the new book ‘Worlds Away” by drummer Michel Langevin.
A friend kindly corrected me; it wasn’t the Complex where they played in ‘86.
It was DC’s equally charming East Side.
I managed to find the flyer:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=26375475&albumID=2881580&imageID=50234921
Nice one!
I’ve never been hugely into Voivod – I’ve heard a few older songs by them, and I have the ‘Katorz’ album, but in the UK I’ve found their records hard to find, and I don’t have the cash to splurge over the Internet – if I even had the means to do so it’d be irresponsible of me to splash my earnings all over the place. But that’s besides the point.
I was lucky enough to see Voivod at Download earlier this year, and Dan Mongrain did a hell of a job on guitar. But it wasn’t Piggy, who was without question the true creative, driving force behind Voivod. And as a result, I kind of pine to have been another 10-15 years older, so I could’ve experienced the original wave of thrash metal and experienced Voivod around the days of Dimension Hatross, Nothingface, etc.
You can hear Piggy’s influence in their music. There’s nothing else that sounds like Voivod, and its hard to compare Voivod to any other band. There’s an undeniably unique quality about their music. And while its pleasing to know that bands count Voivod as an influence, there will never be another band like them. However, its a tribute to Piggy’s legacy that Voivod are still going today, and their show at Download was excellent, showcasing the older material that put Voivod on the map. Truly an experience I will never forget.
R.I.P. Piggy – a true legend
I’ve never been able to get into Voivod, personally… the music doesn’t really do anything for me. But the fact that guys like Piggy and Chuck Schuldiner die and yet Brokencyde and Fallout Boy are still making “music” is proof to me that if there is a god, he’s a dick.
“[...] and yet Brokencyde and Fallout Boy are still making “music” is proof to me that if there is a god [...]”
No! No!! No!!! You’ve got it all wrong!
God is merely LETTING them make awful music. That’s because he has a very special – a very warm place reserved for people who make bad music, and the temperature is always like 666 Billion Degrees.
Just let their sins tally up, I’m sure we’ll all be pleased with the result…In the end.
Question is: Do you like Fall-Out-Brats roasted, sauteed in Brokencyde, or charred to perfection in nu-metal hell along with KoRnyLinkinBizkits and all the other easy targets?
***
By the way that was just a joke…Even the very thought of hell (now that I’m older) scares the fuck outta me! I’d much rather wish it just not exist (maybe we’ll find out it was all a big joke, but I’ve had some dreams…damn!) but to be on the safe-side I’d rather NOBODY ends up in barbecue city (Even FOB and BC whoever the hell they are).
yes he will be missed..
I was evacuated for Hurricane Katrina at the time of Piggy’s death. Even with my own world being washed away, Piggy was still front page news.
What you hear coming from those guitar lines is hard to believe it was created by a human. Dan has proven that humans can replicate it, but how in any world do you create it? People often say that their music stays listenable and relevant through time. Snce nothing else really sounds like Voivod, there’s really no music era to tie it to.
Voivod’s motto has always been, “To The Death…”. Now we know that it stretches well beyond even that boundary.
BTW, today is Piggy’s birthday…