Review by Chris Pratl on October 18, 2017.

The latest Voivod CD, Target Earth, has to be one of the most anticipated releases in recent years. Sure, Infini was released only back in 2009, but for whatever reason Voivod is one of those bands that just solicits fanaticism with each release. A lot of people might have thought that with Piggy's passing the band would and should just call it a day, but such is not the case, and happily so. 

Anyone familiar with the later years of Voivod's career knows full well that the all-in thrash assault of the early years is left to antiquity and nostalgia nowadays, but that matters very little when hearing an album of such fine quality like Target Earth. The album opens with “Target Earth”, a groovy metal romp through the fray of the accepted lines of progressive-singed metal. I really liked it, especially the chorus which is sort of ethereal and quite memorable. When “Kluskap O'Kom” emerges it's really apparent that Voivod is pulling out all the expected stops and is bent on creating a sort of proggy/metal hybrid that switches gears and tempos in the blink of a bleeding eye and tramples the anticipatory reservations of the fan base. The thickness of that ugly bass sound adds such a perfect element to the album's sound, and the jazzy feel to some of the lines makes the underlying base all the more enjoyable. 

The initial single “Mechanical Mind” left me quite excited for the entire record to hit, especially after hearing how the band seems to, yet again, mix and match sounds and tones to an almost nonsensical brilliance. I actually had one friend comment that the sound is about as close as alternative can come to metal without actually going completely over to the 'dark side'. While I've long considered metal music to be the true alternative music if for nothing else the definition of the word alone, I can see the point and comparison. By no means is this 'alternative' in the media sense of the term, but I can see a broader audience enjoying some of the tracks on Target Earth; now, whether that's good or bad is entirely up to the listener and fan to process, but Voivod is still Voivod and reaching a less-informed audience can't always be a bad thing. This isn't your father's Metallica, after all. 

“Resistance” is one of my favorite tracks from the album, followed closely by “Artefact”, which is unforgivably heavy and possesses that thick bass line I mentioned before that rumbles underneath like a belching fault line. I'm not entirely sure how any fan of Voivod can be disappointed in Target Earth; this is the total package in terms of what you should come to expect from the band. The luminous aspect of this album is what makes it so widely enjoyable; the stripped down approach to the music, all the while making it interesting and fresh, is the truly 'artsy' sum of all parts. 

I still remember hearing War & Pain way back when and wondering why the band refused to learn to play its instruments correctly, but you know...out of the mouth of babes and all? As that album grew on me over the years for all of its primitive charms, the subsequent output from Voivod seemed to get stronger and better, and this latest record is just another flag for the band's poop deck. For the fan that needs familiarity wrapped inside a fuzzy new fiber, Target Earth provides a fascinating jaunt through the progressive-metal landscape that challenges you to dismiss it as something less than excellence.

Rating: 9 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)

Review by Alex on September 17, 2019.

Out of recommendation I found Jade, a band sharing members across Germany and Spain playing atmospheric death metal. Originally released as an independent effort in 2018, Smoking Mirror went undiscovered like a gem tucked away beneath the earth; now with the aid of Pulverised Records, a cd reissue is set to give Jade’s debut recording the recognition it deserves. From what I was able to gather through the promotional text and my own research, ‘Jade’, was a mineral of great value and rarity existing at the time of and throughout the ancient world, more specifically, among other purposes, it was used to craft weapons due to the toughness of its physical properties. This information came after I had already listened to Smoking Mirror, thus I was all the more intrigued, hence, my initial impression of the record signaled an abstruse relationship between music and significance. Playing to the tune of mystery is the enigma surrounding the identities of the band members involved, making Smoking Mirror an ever more precious record.  

Atmospheric death/doom metal holds the potential to go utterly wrong and by ‘wrong’, I mean land on the not so desirable side of death metal if not handled meticulously. Too much or not enough of this or that could see the music sliding down a trap-hole leading towards a record lacking the essence of what encompasses a sincere death metal album. Jade plays their hand well in this tedious task, balancing the weights of atmosphere against that of the genre. Smoking Mirror opens with ‘Jade Emperor’ which I think is a reference to Chinese culture, that placed the gem in the tombs of Shang Kings, given ‘Jade’ was thought of as being an “Imperial” gemstone. The lyrics to ‘Jade Emperor’ even appear to reference the gem's use as an anti-aging agent/element; a belief that has survived many centuries and exists till now. This song applies the fundamentals of death metal first before the atmospheric covering truly begins to take effect; thus, said the ambiance grows in potency, slowly creeping towards it’s engulfing climax.  

The music on Smoking Mirror is genuinely death metal, the soaring growls, riffs and drumming align gracefully making under the tense, shadowy tenor. Each new song seems to up the atmospheric extremity, ‘Jade Emperor’s', builds from the somewhat calm yet ominous feeling, to a state of abject hatred and fury heading into ‘Dead Stone Mask’ and my favorite track off Smoking Mirror, ‘Blossom’. The final track being the self-titled, plays with an array of illusions as though seeing reflections alien to that of your physical self, rather, representations of the evil hiding behind your lying makeup. Though through the lyrics of the song we see its more rooted in ancient culture, I think it also speaks to the conflicting personalities of mankind’s nature. Smoking Mirror is an excellent record that offers only a morsel of what Jade may bring as time progresses, musically on 22 minutes, but message-wise, a lifetime of wisdom and more than what meets common perceptions.

Rating: 8 out of 10