Canadian progressive metal innovators VOIVOD have released Symphonique, a remarkable live collaboration with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, now available worldwide via Century Media Records. The album was recorded live on June 4, 2025, at the Grand Théâtre in Québec City, and spans 12 tracks across 73 minutes — a document of one of the most unlikely and rewarding pairings in recent heavy metal history.
The record opens with "Experiment (Symphonique)" and closes with an orchestral rendering of Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine," with the ten tracks between covering the full arc of VOIVOD's extraordinary career — from the sci-fi thrash of their early records to the complex, dissonant progressive metal of their later work.
Drummer Michel "Away" Langevin described the project candidly: "This live album with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra is a longtime dream turned reality... It's the closest we've ever come to sounding like a dystopian sci-fi movie soundtrack." For a band that has spent four decades mining the intersection of metal, punk, and science fiction for its musical raw material, that is saying something.
The lead single "Forgotten In Space (Symphonique)" was the first glimpse of the project, and it captured precisely why this collaboration works: VOIVOD's labyrinthine song structures and unconventional harmonic language translate naturally to orchestral arrangement, and the Quebec Symphony Orchestra — conducted by Nicolas Ellis — met the challenge with apparent enthusiasm. Bassist Dominic "Rocky" Laroche described the track as "a powerful orchestral introduction that takes us on a musical journey," and the full album maintains that sense of discovery throughout.
Guitarist Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain put the experience in broader perspective: "I never tried to write for a whole orchestra... It's a dream come true... a life-changing experience, a bonus in a career." Given that VOIVOD's career has already spanned four decades, multiple lineup changes, and some of the most uncompromising music ever recorded by a heavy band, that is a significant statement.
The full tracklist: "Experiment," "Holographic Thinking," "The Unknown Knows," "The End Of Dormancy," "Into My Hypercube," "Forgotten In Space," "Cosmic Drama," "Pre-Ignition," "Nuclear War," "Fall," "Tribal Convictions," and "Astronomy Domine." The selection spans every era of the band's history and, in orchestral form, takes on new dimensions of weight and texture.
VOIVOD — founded in Jonquière, Quebec in 1982 — have long occupied a unique position in metal history: never fitting neatly into any subgenre, always pushing further outward. Symphonique stands as one of their most accessible records while remaining unmistakably, gloriously them. Essential listening.