As curator for the 17th edition of the Roadburn Festival, VOIVOD will transport you into Dimension Hatröss as part of their special headline show during the Au-delà du Réel event on Friday, April 13, 2012 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland. As if the promise of the band’s classic fourth album in its entirety performed live for the first time ever wasn’t enough, the set will conclude with a not-to-be-missed surprise.

Progressive thrash? Thrashing prog? Call it what you like, Dimension Hatröss is a rarity: a concept album that stands the test of time. In fact, the original storyline has been eclipsed by reality, rendering it not so much a fantastic sci-fi trip as an uncomfortably prescient account of the world today. Divided into eight chapters, the album covers everything from the quest to create a utopian society in the face of technocratic and theocratic governments to terrorism and mind control. Plus, it rocks! It rocks in that uniquely hypnotic flight of the space bumblebee way that hums Voivod! at every dissonant turn.

In the book Worlds Away, drummer and artist Michel “Away” Langevin fondly recalls: “…around the era of Dimension Hatross, the music was so complicated we almost didn’t have any interaction with the crowd anymore because we were concentrating so hard on our instruments.”

Today, blower bass maestro Jean-Yves “Blacky” Theriault interacts with the crowd to the point of jumping into the fray mid-song without missing a beat, while consummate frontman Denis “Snake” Belanger adds theatrics. And anyone who witnessed one or more of their blistering shows during the 2011 European tour can testify that guitarist Dan “Chewy” Mongrain positively thrives on the complexity originally crafted by the late great Denis “Piggy” D’Amour.

But what exactly is a Hatröss? In a 1988 interview with Sounds, Away explained: “‘Hatross’ is a word I created from the English word ‘hate’ and the French word ‘atroce,’ from which ‘atrocity’ is derived.” He added, “The music had to be a bit weird for this album, although we kept the heaviness of it.”

Experience Voivod’s Dimension Hatröss in all of its weird and heavy glory for yourself on Friday, April 13, 2012.

For further Roadburn Festival information and complete lineup details visit Roadburn.com.