Climbing the Forever Mountain with Voivod’s Dan Chewy Mongrain

SLUG: How did the band recover from Piggy’s passing? I imagine it took time to heal, but Target Earth was a strong output from the band—I actually have a poster for it hanging on my wall. What did the band need to do to get in that similar musical mindset to fill the void of the loss of Voivod’s founding member?

Chewy: I can’t imagine how hard it was for Snake and Away. As a fan, I was very saddened. I met Piggy a couple times. He was my mentor, my hero and he was very nice to me. I can’t speak on their behalf, but here we are, still celebrating Piggy every time we play together. As for composition: at the beginning, I was pretty nervous to write songs. I wanted it to be what I would like to hear from a fan perspective … then I just let it go … I know that the Voivod’s influence is in my veins. I’ve listened to them from age 11 … I grew up and learned to play guitar with their music. So I just stopped being  stressed and write the most naturally and spontaneously I could, and that is the way I still do it. When we played the riffs in the jam space, it was not long until we felt the songs were really Voivod songs. Piggy is probably looking at us from somewhere in space.

SLUG: I’ve listened to your live records, but never watched any video or seen you live. The sound on your live records actually feels a bit heavier and more aggressive. Is that just natural for the band, or is it something you try to do?

Chewy: Well, it depends on a variety of factors. What was the lineup of the live album? What songs from what era were played? What was the actual year, stage, venue, mixer, etc..?

We are not the kind of band to play with tons of samples and a click track with overdubbed guitars and back vocals from the album recording. We play naturally—what you see is what you get. If some people are going to see a show with the mindset of hearing exactly the same things than what was on the record, maybe they should stay home [laughs]! What I mean is, music is alive: it is in constant transformation—it’s organic. That’s part of the magic of music.  

SLUG: Lyrically Voivod has always had a bit of duality. The songs are both Sci-Fi/tech and also personal with societal reflections, where as a lot of other thrash bands are either violent or partying. Why did the band want to tackle these themes?

Chewy: It’s just natural. Snake writes the lyrics: He gets inspired, he lets us know about the subjects, and we talk about it a bit. Then he writes the whole thing. The idea of the lyrics often comes out of the melody over a riff, improvised during jam sessions.The melody gives a natural rhythm to words, which gives phrasing, a sentence and then … it can be transform into a theme. 

SLUG: What do you feel is your proudest moment as a part of Voivod? What legacy do you want Voivod to have when the band decides to stop making music and playing shows?

Chewy: For me, being in Voivod makes me proud every day. The legacy is already there, and it is the people who decide what it is. As for stopping playing … I don’t want to know when it is going to happen. We tend to live in the present!

The chance to see a legendary and highly influential band is always a rare opportunity. If my memory serves me correctly—though I could be wrong—I don’t recall Voivod coming to Salt Lake City in the last two decades, let alone the last 10 years. Check out e legend and some massively cool tunes on May 27 when Voivod comes to Liquid Joe‘s.