A pesar de no ser un gran fan del material de Voivod [wiki], me entristeció enterarme de la muerte de Denis D’Amour (Piggy), a causa de un cáncer de colon, a los 45 años, tal como se recogía en su página web:

08.27.05
Our Hero Denis «Piggy» D’Amour
Piggy passed away last night Friday August 26, 2005 from advanced colon cancer. As we all mourn his passing, we also celebrate his life. Thank you so much to everyone who sent Piggy get well wishes in his last few days with us.

Este hecho no impedirá que el nuevo material en el que estaban trabajando salga a la luz, a modo de tributo póstumo al guitarrista, tal y como se señala en Blabbermouth:

VOIVOD singer Denis «Snake» Belanger has told the Quebec newspaper Le Soleil that the band will return to the recording studio in late September to resume work on their 14th album, tentatively due in early 2006 via The End Records.

Only hours before he slipped into a coma last week due to complications from colon cancer, VOIVOD guitarist Denis «Piggy» D’Amour gave the group’s drummer, Michel «Away» Langevin, instructions to go to the guitarist’s personal computer and lift the final guitar tracks Piggy had been working on for the upcoming CD. «He had to know that his days were numbered. And he wanted to make sure that the album would get done even after he was gone,» stated Piggy‘s friend Lucien Franc?ur.

According to Snake, the upcoming album will be «the definitive VOIVOD» effort. «I am sure that Piggy would trust us to complete the project as a tribute to him,» he said.

In a recent interview with Billboard.com, VOIVOD bassist Jason Newsted (ex-METALLICA) spoke about the material slated to appear on the group’s next CD. «It’s the most complete demos I’ve ever been involved in,» he said. «[VOIVOD singer] Snake has already chosen his effects ¿ exact timing of milliseconds for delay. We’ve had a long time to develop the demos, so there’s about 23 or 25 songs that are absolutely listenable right now.»

VOIVOD will be issuing their first DVD in October covering the band’s original lineup period (1983-1991). Scheduled for release on October 25 via Music Video Distributors, «DVOD-1» features all the ’80s videos, plus rare live and studio performances of classic VOIVOD songs. The band are also tentatively planning on releasing two more DVDs during the coming months. «DVOD-2» will contain footage shot during the Eric Forrest era of the band, while «DVOD-3» will cover the band’s most recent lineup, including Newsted (a.k.a. Jasonic).

This past spring, D’Amour laid down guitar tracks for a reunion CD from the legendary AUT’CHOSE, a ’70s band from Montreal. That album, «Chansons D’épouvante», was released in May via Disques Artic.

As previously reported, D’Amour died late Friday (Aug. 26) in a Montreal hospital from complications of advanced colon cancer. The 45-year-old guitarist had been diagnosed this summer and that the disease had spread to his liver, rendering the condition inoperable. Last Thursday, D’Amour slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness. He was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death.

Piggy‘s funeral will be held today (Sept. 1) in Jonquière, Quebec.

Por otro lado Annihilator, el grupo comandado por Jeff Waters, sacará nuevo disco en el tercer trimestre del año, según se puede leer en los foros de la página web del grupo :

Turn It Up – Maximum Satan!

Canada’s «Annihilator» have set the following 2005 worldwide release dates for it’s 11th studio alBUM «Schizo Deluxe»: Japan (Marquee Inc.) on October 21, November 8 in North America (Locomotive/Warner) and in Europe (AFM Records) on November 14.

Says guitar-legend Jeff Waters: «This cd is dedicated to our fans and all metal fans. This time around, I went right for the throat: 100% thrash metal with an attitude. No ballads. No breaks in the insanity. «Schizo Deluxe» is what alot of metal fans have been screaming at me to give them this time: brutal guitar riffs and solos, second-to-none musicianship and back-to-the-roots thrash/heavy metal metal song-writing.»