Congratulations are due to Canadian progressive sci-fi metal innovators Voivod, for winning a JUNO Award (Canadian equivalent to the Grammy Awards) for “Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year” for their current studio effort, The Wake, released via Century Media Records worldwide last September.

Founding drummer Michel “Away“ Langevin recently spoke with The Toronto Star about winning the award:

“I truly thought about Piggy a lot while receiving the award and the week following. I think he’d be proud of us,” says Langevin, who concedes that he and Bélanger were uncertain Voivod would continue to exist after bringing D’Amour’s final works to life.

“Snake and I mourned for three years. We didn’t do anything related to Voivod except that we finished the two albums we had started with (former Metallica bassist) Jason Newsted in 2004. So after Piggy passed we concentrated on finishing the studio work and we were able to finish the album Katorz and then Infini, but it really took the festival Heavy MTL in 2008 to get us to reform and perform. It was meant to be one show but the word spread and, soon enough, we were asked to open for Testament in Japan and then open for Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest at Monsters of Rock in Calgary and it just kept going. And now here we are, playing more than ever.”

Read the complete story here.

After previous nominations for Nothingface in 1991 and Angel Rat in 1993, the 2019 award is a first in the 36 years of Voivod history. See footage from the Juno Gala Dinner & Awards below.

Langevin checked in with the following comment: “We are still floating from winning our very first Juno, for our new album The Wake. It is the best source of energy to get ready for the upcoming North American tour with YOB and Amenra. We are also thrilled to go back to Europe this summer! Another highlight for us this year should be our show at the Montreal Jazz Festival in June. See you soon!“

Below is a list of all upcoming Voivod shows announced so far, including a newly added run of summer dates for Europe:

March (with YOB, Amenra)
29 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
30 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Theater
31 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom

April (with YOB, Amenra)
2 - Portland, ME - Geno’s Rock Club
3 - Boston, MA - Royale Nightclub
4 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
5 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
6 - Richmond, VA - The Broadberry
7 - Raleigh, NC - Kings
9 - Knoxville, TN - The Concourse
10 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade (Hell)
11 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jack’s
12 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
13 - Austin, TX - Barracuda
14 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey

May
23 - Baltimore, OR - Ram’s Head Live / Maryland Deathfest
26 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre / Modified Ghost Festival

June
30 - Montreal, QC - Club Soda / Montreal Jazz Festival

August
6 - Frankfurt, Germany - Zoom
7 - Josefov, Czech Republic - Brutal Assault Festival
9 - Berlin, Germany - BiNuu
10 - Hamburg, Germany - Bahnhof Pauli
11 - Kortrijk, Belgium - Alcatraz Hard Rock & Metal Festival
13 - Saarbrucken, Germany - Garage
14 - Stuttgart, Germany - Universum
16 - Pescara, Italy - Frantic Fest
17 - Aaarburg, Switzerland - Musigburg
18 - Saint-Nolff, France - Motocultor Open Air
20 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Eightball Club
21 - Athens, Greece - Temple

(Photo - Julia Pittman / Sony Music Canada)