Music

MICHEL “AWAY” LANGEVIN, drummer of Quebec metal band Voivod, has a quiet, captivating presence even through a webcam. We meet on Zoom, each in a British rock band T-shirt (him in Bauhaus, me in Genesis), and I’m quickly blown away by Langevin’s work ethic and infinite creativity.

Voivod are nearing their fifth decade as a band but show no signs of slowing down. Their newest album, Synchro Anarchy, is their 15th full-length release and combines both classic Voivod punk rock with a new, experimental progressive direction. There’s a heightened, fervent energy that many listeners can relate to after being cooped up for the better part of two years.

Langevin shares tales from his youth in northern Quebec, career highlights, like working with Dave Grohl, and his successful side project as an illustrator (he drew the maze in our October 2021 issue!).

An intense recording process

We came back from touring with GWAR in Europe at the end of 2019 and took a break for the holidays. In early 2020, we got together in the studio and started to record some improvisations. They were snippets of ideas really. When the lockdown happened, we tried to build an album while socially distancing. I was programming drums on the computer, and we were all sharing files, trying to make something out of it. Very early in the process, I asked Snake (vocalist Denis Bélanger) what he wanted to talk about, and he said, “I won’t talk about COVID.” But part of his work was done in isolation, and I can feel that in his lyrics.

It wasn’t until June of last year that we all finally got together in a studio. It was super intense because we hadn’t rehearsed much. We had to write while recording, which was pretty insane. It was also when festivals started to run again in Quebec, so we were playing during the weekends and recording during the week. It was an intense experience, and I can personally feel the urgency on the album.

Life as a visual artist

I’ve been doing visual art for as long as I can remember. When I was really young, I drew cartoons and loved the weekend comics in the newspaper. In the mid ’70s, when I was a teenager, I saw the first issue of the magazine Heavy Metal and it had sci-fi comics. It really struck a chord, and I started to think about doing science-fiction art. At first it was a bit Dungeons and Dragons-inspired, but slowly it became more apocalyptic.

I’m a lucky artist because when I’m in confinement, I can rely on my visual art. During the pandemic, we were often told to reinvent ourselves, so I created an online store to make my art more available. I’ve been really busy shipping art all over the planet, so I’m a very happy artist! In the ’90s I thought I was going to be forgotten, but it’s been quite the opposite.

Album artwork inspiration

I’ve done all the artwork for Voivod. Our first album cover was sort of my homage to the first Iron Maiden album. When it came out in 1980, I saw the vinyl in a store and it really stood out to me. I decided they were my favourite band without even knowing what their music was! I bought it, brought it home and when I put the needle on the record, it was exactly what I was hoping it would be. So, I understood the importance of having artwork that would attract the eye in a store.

For Synchro Anarchy, I was doing black and white drawings and I wanted them to look like old engravings. I ended up with a lot of art pieces, one for every song. I was trying to capture the atmosphere of the album, which was heavily influenced by the pandemic without talking about it directly. The lyrics were a bit cryptic, but I could tell Snake was referring to what’s going on in the world. So, I tried to keep my art poetic and surrealistic to match.

Working with Dave Grohl

We met in the ’80s when he was in the band Scream. Scream played in downtown Montreal and Dave was probably 18 and was already the best drummer I had ever seen. I went backstage after to shake his hand because I was so impressed. We kept in touch and, in the early 2000s, he asked me to do the cover art for his side project Probot and he asked Snake to sing on the album. Dave really put the spotlight on me as an artist, and I’m really proud of that piece.

Hitchhiking to the hardcore movement

In high school there was a magazine that my library carried called Rock and Folk. A lot of my interest in punk rock and heavy metal came from that magazine. But at that time, I didn’t know many people looking for newer bands. It took me a while to get a hold of albums by The Damned or The Sex Pistols because they didn’t make it up to northern Quebec. My friends and I would hitchhike to Montreal just to go to a record store. Someone would buy the new Venom vinyl, someone else would buy the new Tank. We all got something different so we could at least trade and listen to a bunch of them!

By 1980, it seemed like every 16-year-old discovered Motorhead and Iron Maiden and that’s when a movement was formed. When we moved the band to Montreal in 1985, we discovered a huge hardcore scene. Everyone was rehearsing in the same building — there was genre crossover because we would listen to each other through the walls! The scene grew very rapidly.

The first couple of shows were eventful — not everyone got along! Snake and I would go to a reggae bar in the city to see bands like Discharge and GBH, and it was fairly dangerous for us to be there.

Playing with his heroes

To me, the most amazing moments are when Voivod gets to share a stage with my heroes. I remember, in the early ’80s, I would travel to Quebec City or Montreal to see the next wave of British heavy metal bands, and I remember seeing Anvil open for Iron Maiden. Being French-Canadian from small-town Quebec, I never thought I could be in a band that could open for Iron Maiden — it seemed impossible. But over the years, we’ve toured with them and Rush, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Ozzy — and every time I’m blown away.

Then, about four years ago, I travelled to London, U.K., to accept the Visionary Award from Prog Magazine, and I met Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator. He is my ultimate inspiration. These are all highlights of my career.

Forty years of archiving

Next year is our 40th anniversary as a band. It’s really cool because we’re still gaining momentum and we’re seeing new generations of fans. Our last tour was packed with people of all ages and different music scenes.

The limited-edition version of Synchro Anarchy includes a special live recording from our 35th anniversary in 2018. We played in Jonquière, QC, in the same spot we played our very first show in 1983!

In addition to the new album, there will also be vinyl reissues of Nothingface, Angel Rat and the Noise Records catalogue. We’re finishing a band documentary called We Are Connected with director Felipe Belalcazar, who did the Death by Metal documentary. And we’re planning a book and would like to do a “Best Of” album.

There’s always stuff to work on and I have all the band archives — I’m the Voivod headquarters!