Voivod - The Best of Voivod (1992)

Not exactly a collection of outstanding material, The Best of Voivod does prove that the French-Canadian group's quick transformation from incredibly primitive thrashers into a convincing progressive metal outfit was nothing short of astounding. Early calamities like "Ripping Headaches" are guaranteed only to give you one, but by their fourth release, Dimension Hatröss, the band was garnering compliments as being the Pink Floyd of heavy metal. Coincidentally, their cover of the Floyd's "Astronomy Domine" from 1989's Nothingface solidified their standing, as well as achieving their commercial peak. Their next release, the groundbreaking and highly conceptual Angel Rat, proved to be too great a departure, and its two contributions to this set, "Panorama" and "The Prow," truly sound out of place.

Voivod were one of the first thrash bands from Canada to gain popularity outside of their home country. From their beginnings in the early '80s, their main goal was to be different from anyone else. They created an iconoclastic sound that ranged from screaming thrash to Rush-style prog to straightforward hard rock, but every album contains their sonic DNA, evidenced by dissonant chords, odd and quickly shifting time signatures, homemade sound effects, and manic, thundering drums. After a pair of raw but rewarding offerings, they came into their own by embracing prog elements on 1987's Killing Technology and 1988's Dimension Hatröss. Their personnel has shifted over time, but their relentless quest for musical invention remained (and eventually focused on post-psychedelic metal) on later recordings such as 2018's Wake.