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1988 Kerrang #186 Interview with Away

Submitted by on May 7, 1988 – 10:13 pm

1988 Kerrang #186
Interview with Away

VOIVOD have always been a bit of an ‘odd bunch’ -well, they do come from Montreal, Canada goddammit!
Even so, I’ve been a fan of their ‘Techno-Thrash’ since their second outing, ‘RRROOOAAARRR’, having dismissed their first, ‘War And Pain’, as nothing more than a Thrash workout. But with each release following their signing to Noise, I’ve become more and more sucked into the VoiVod way of things!

On ‘RRROOOAAARRR’ I got to meet Korgull, a sort of Rawhead Rex type of character who kept humans in a gigantic pit and didn’t let them escape, but yours truly slipped him a bottle of Jack Daniel’s one night and got him legless.

Drinking all that JD obviously had a strange effect on ol’ Korgull coz he escaped from earth and moved to space (far out man) looking for new worlds to conquer, but given all this new ‘Killing Technology’, Korgull had become bored with his laser gun and supersonik bombs. He decided to move on yet again, and this time found himself being hurled into another ‘Dimension’ (warp factor one, Mr Sulu!), that of ‘Hatross’, but now the tables have turned on Korgull. Will he escape? Will he live?

These are questions I put to VoiVod’s drummer Away (the lads), real name Michel Langevm, over a cracking phone line to the Rotten Apple (New York) where the great man had been holed up for a few days to do interviews. . .

AWAY: “How could Korgull die?! Come on, of course he lives, and he will surface again on our next album. The adventure will continue, but I’m not quite sure how yet!”

I see you used Harris Johns again as the driver?
Away (laughing): “I like the way you put that! Yes we did, we liked the way he drove our last album, ‘Killing Technology’, and this time ’round he got even more involved, he put a lot of ideas forward and we used them. He’s great!”

How do you see your music developing from here?
Away: “We try to play music for the future, and by that I suppose I mean trying to be original.
We are all well aware that it might take a long time for the public at large to appreciate us, but one day we will break big, I can just feel it in my heart!”

Are there any new bands jumping on the VoiVod bandwagon?
Away: “Well some people say that this band called Die Kreuzen from the US sound a lot like us. It’s hard for me to say though, because I like ’em!”

So why did you miss that Megadeth Christmas bash in Leeds?
Away: “Well it wasn’t lots of drugs, I’ve heard a lot of bullshit stories saying that we were busted for drugs on the ferry coming over to England and that’s simply not true. What really happened was this, we were still recording our album in Berlin, and it was all a mad rush to get our work permits sorted out, and we ended up being given the wrong permits, something to do with the fact that we’re Canadians or something like that. Anyway, it was a dumb situation and I really regret not playing in England because I really enjoyed that show we did at the Electric Ballroom in Kamden with Possessed (RIP) and English Dogs.”

“We have our new tour starting in June and we’re going out with Megadeth for a week, then who knows? We hope to be in Europe again by the Fall, so maybe we’ll play England then!”

SEE you’ve started doodling logos for record companies. Have you been doodling for anyone else?
Away: “Yes, I’m currently doing a drawing for Broken Bones. I keep in touch with their bass player and I think they liked the basic design, so maybe they’ll use it. I really enjoy drawing, and it relieves the boredom that I sometimes go through. I quite often think ideas out through my drawings, and I’m always up for offers!”

So, Frashers, just take a butchers at any VoiVod cover and get in touch with the great man!
Any plans for a live album, Away?

“We’ve always wanted to put out a live EP, kos after all we are very much a live band, but if you’re really interested in getting live material by VoiVod you can get it through our fan club. The first show we ever did we put out through our fan club. I believe it costs about $8.00.” (Available in cassette form only.)

And finally, Away, what have you been doing in the Rotten Apple?
“Mainly interviews and just generally hanging out. Last night I went to see the Gun Club and they were great!”

And on that note the phone went click – just as well really, kos talking about the Gun Club isn’t my idea of fun. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a European tour in the Autumn, and ’til then check out their new album ‘Dimension ‘Hatross’. You won’t be disappointed.

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