Voivod: Back From the Dead

In August of 2005, guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour of the French-Canadian heavy metal band Voivoid died of colon cancer in a Montreal hospital. However, before he died, Piggy spent his final months recording guitar tracks into his laptop, tracks intended to be used as the basis for a final Voivod album, and wanted his bandmates to complete the record.

That record, Infini, is now finished and is scheduled for release on June 23 in Canada. This is the first album in 18 years to feature bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault on bass. Metallica veteran Jason Newsted is producing the record. A former member of Voivod himself, "Jasonic" has long cited the Quebec quartet as one of his favorite bands. Newsted also played on 2003's Voivod and the 2005 release, Katorze.

The first two tracks released from Infini, "Earthache" and "Global Warning" are available at Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles. According to the site, the band will remain together for some summer shows, with Dan Mongrain (from the band Martyr) filling in on guitar.

Korgüll the Exterminator lives!!!