Jason Newsted has joined the band since leaving Metallica; apparently he was always a big Voivod fan. I hope his appearance is not what dragged this band down. I fear that the band thought if they had a more commercially known bassist, they had to have a more commercial sound, to sell more records. With luck, this is not the case. I'll go over the better parts of this first; it'll be shorter. The best songs here are the first and last. I know what you're thinking, the last song is good because it's the last song, and the CD is over. Not the case. It just so happens that this sub-par effort is bookended well. 

The first song, "Gasmask Revival," has a good drive to it. It won't blow anybody away, but it moves well, keep your head bobbing, and sounds very refined. The last song, "We Carry On," is somewhat more melodic, but has the same basic attributes. It's a good ride, and with "Gasmask Revival" it makes for a good pairing. But this is a far cry from what this album should have been. Now for the downside. This should take a little longer. I'll start the same here. The good songs on this album are the first and the last. Between them I don't know what happened. It seems like Voivod lost their way. After the first track ends, the second is immediately generic and forgettable. This can happen on any CD, though. The problem is, track 3 is the same and before you know it, you've reached track 8, and you don't really know where the time has gone.

The songs are simple and debased, and are difficult to tell apart. I listened to this album several times, and I still couldn't tell you which track is which. All the flair that made Voivod the quirky, unique rock act that they were is diluted here. This is sterile and vanilla, especially when I know what this band is capable of. I sincerely hope that this is just an experiment by the band to see if they would like to have a slightly new sound. And if so, I hope they decide that this is a sound they should invest in. That is assuming, of course, that there's a sound to be distinguished here. Like I said, it's generic.

The album could be any one of a thousand rock/metal albums that all are unrecognizable when compared to each other. In short, this album smacks of mediocrity, and I must say that I get no pleasure from saying that. I hope this doesn't mean the end of Voivod's creative life. Their early albums are fresh and innovative, and I strongly recommend that any listener let those efforts be their first exposure to the band, if you're not acquainted. However, as for this, I cannot endorse this new album in any fashion. I can't even say that fans would enjoy it. For shame, Voivod. Put out another one soon, and erase this effort from my memory. I was going to give this a 3, but because they're Voivod and I still respect them, I'll throw out a 4, in the hopes that this is the bland prelude to something bigger and better.