Angel Rat
Angel Rat is the sixth studio album released by Canadian heavy metal band Voivod. Produced by Terry Brown of Rush fame, it was released in 1991 by Mechanic/MCA Records and is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed release, 1989's Nothingface. On this album, Voivod adopted a more alternative/progressive/psychedelic rock sound, as opposed to the progressive metal of Nothingface and the thrash metal of previous releases. A music video was made for the song "Clouds in My House".
| Angel Rat | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 12, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Studio | Metalworks Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:00 | |||
| Label | Mechanic/MCA | |||
| Producer | Terry Brown, Steve Sinclair | |||
| Voivod chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [2] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[3] |
| Rock Hard | 9.0/10[4] |
| Select | 3/5[5] |
| Sputnikmusic | 3.5/5[6] |
While Angel Rat was released on a major record label, the album initially received mixed reviews and was not as successful as Nothingface, though it has since gained a strong cult following.[citation needed] Before the release of the album, bassist Jean-Yves Thériault (Blacky) departed from the group, but rejoined in 2008 (he would later leave again in 2014).
Men Without Hats bandleader Ivan Doroschuk performs keyboards on "The Outcast". This was done in return for drummer Michel Langevin recording the drums for Men Without Hats' album Sideways, recorded around the same time, and participating in the tour to promote that album.
The master tapes for the album, as well as Nothingface and The Outer Limits, were long thought destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire, however Thériault discovered in late 2019 that the tapes were located in a facility in Pennsylvania, after persistently questioning Universal staff. The tapes are now in his possession.[7]
Track listing
All songs written by Voivod
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shortwave Intro" | 0:25 |
| 2. | "Panorama" | 3:13 |
| 3. | "Clouds in My House" | 4:48 |
| 4. | "The Prow" | 3:50 |
| 5. | "Best Regards" | 3:51 |
| 6. | "Twin Dummy" | 3:05 |
| 7. | "Angel Rat" | 3:47 |
| 8. | "Golem" | 4:46 |
| 9. | "The Outcast" | 3:18 |
| 10. | "Nuage Fractal" | 4:00 |
| 11. | "Freedoom" | 4:42 |
| 12. | "None of the Above" | 4:15 |
| Total length: | 44:00 | |
Personnel
- Voivod
- Denis Bélanger – vocals
- Denis D'Amour – guitar, keyboards
- Michel Langevin – drums, cover concept
- Jean-Yves Thériault – bass guitar, keyboards
- Additional musicians
- Ray Coburn – keyboards
- Ivan Doroschuk – additional keyboards on track 9
- Production
- Terry Brown – producer, engineer, mixing
- John Bailey, L. Stu Young – assistant engineers
- Pierre Jasmin – computer programming
- Kiisti Matsuo – lyrical consultant
- Steve Sinclair – executive producer
References
- ^ Christe, Ian (2004). "Transforming the 1990s: The Black Album & Beyond". Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. !t Books. New York City: HarperCollins. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-380-81127-4.
- ^ Prato, Greg. "Voivod – Angel Rat review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 490. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Stratmann, Holger (1991). "Review Dynamit: Voivod - Angelrat". Rock Hard (in German). No. 55. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ Morrison, Dave (December 1991). "Voivod – Angel Rat". Select.
- ^ "Voivod – Angel Rat". Sputnikmusic. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
- ^ "VoivodFan : Universal Studios fire".