Angel Rat

Band	Voivod
Type	Album (Studio full-length)
Released	November 12, 1991
Genres	Progressive Metal, Alternative Metal
Labels	Mechanic Records, MCA Records
Length	44:08
Ranked	#122 for 1991 , #7,021 all-time

Reviews : 1
Comments : 2

Total votes : 3
Rating : 80 / 100

Have : 2 Want : 0

Submitted by

Eagles

Last modified by

Eagles

Angel Rat Information

Track listing (Songs)

	title		rating	votes
1.	Shortwave Intro	0:26	72.5	2
2.	Panorama	3:14	87.5	2
3.	Clouds in my House	4:48	90	2
4.	The Prow	3:50	87.5	2
5.	Best Regards	3:51	87.5	2
6.	Twin Dummy	3:07	87.5	2
7.	Angel Rat	3:46	90	2
8.	Golem	4:47	87.5	2
9.	The Outcast	3:19	87.5	2
10.	Nuage Fractal	4:00	85	2
11.	Freedoom	4:42	85	2
12.	None of the Above	4:16	87.5	2

[ Rating detail ]

Line-up (members)

Denis Belanger : Vocals
Denis D'Amour : Guitars
Jean-Yves Theriault : Bass
Michel Langevin : Drums

Angel Rat Lists

(1)

My 20 Best Metal / Rock Albums of 1991

Megametal

Angel Rat Reviews

(1)

Reviewer :

SilentScream213 90/100

Date : Jun 15, 2021

One of those albums where everything just feels off… except after repeated listens, I have determined this to be quite intentional, and done in the best way.

You see, Voivod get bored easily, and they had already been down many musical avenues, and pushed the limits of music (and their own abilities) multiple times. On Killing Technology, they showcased the extent of how fast, aggressive, and technical they could play. On the following Dimension Hatross and Nothingface, they were at the forefront of slightly avant-garde Progressive Metal, making albums quite bizarre in musical structure, showcasing complex songwriting ability. And now we have Angel Rat, which at first listen just sounds like them giving up on trying to prove anything anymore. Only faint glimpses of their progressive technicality remain on what is almost a poppy, Post-Punk inspired Alternative Metal album.

I was disappointed at first, as I think anyone would be. But something about the album kept me coming back, and I realized something. Voivod have transcended using technical speed or complex songwriting. They are taking the term “progressive” to a new frontier here, and focusing on creating very complex, ever changing MOODS. If you can imagine a mood having an odd time signature, this is absolutely it. Every song here, despite having relatively simple instrumentation and structure, jumps between some of the most schizophrenic, bipolar moods I’ve ever heard, all without janky start-stop instrumental tricks. The songs flow as smoothly as pop songs, and although the instrumentation can actually be quite intense and complex at times, you wouldn’t really know it without focused listening.

They place the most normal tracks at the beginning. As long as you weren’t listening to the lyrics (which are beyond strange) you could convince yourself that the first 5 tracks were all normal, though they just don’t sound right for some reason… And were those double bass Thrash beats playing under the chorus at the end of Clouds in My House? That’s right, this IS a metal album after all, and don’t forget it!

Track 6, Twin Dummy, is where you could no longer convince yourself this album is normal. The way Snake anxiously yells “The circus left without me!” and then sinisterly muses “And I’m alone with you now…” is unnerving to say the least, especially surrounded with off-kilter lyricism about carousels, dummies, and whatnot. From here on out it becomes more obvious that there is something wrong with this album.

The title track, Angel Rat, capitalizes this best. The opening line “The idiot walks along the canvas…” as Snake then paints a dark and unnerving picture much like the album cover. Gloomy, ominous chords and soft spoken vocals shake through this hideous landscape of darkness and hopelessness… and then a sugary sweet, smooth chorus kicks in about how nice flying away would be. At first this chorus kind of ruined the song for me, but after sitting with it, I totally get it. The figure in the song is an idiot precisely because they still have this innocent, childlike hope of flying away from this horrid picture. Yet they are painted into the canvas just as everything else is. They are stuck there for eternity. The question “rat or angel, does one really know?” is such an interesting comparison. They aren’t comparing good or evil. They’re comparing something significant, powerful, and bright, with a wholly insignificant pest (that cannot fly, mind you). The song is a masterpiece in cryptic writing and mood distortion, and the rest of the album walks the same line.

There are a couple other factors that make this album work so well. For one, I’ve always maintained that Snake’s yells are much better than his singing, and that was a big reason why Voivod’s duo of Prog albums weren’t as great for me. But here, Snake’s vocals are perfect. Not that he’s improved much, no… rather, his shaky, strained voice works wonders for the kind of atmosphere they’re going for here. He’s got an anxious tone to his voice that shines through even during the poppy choruses, and this makes them catchy but never anthemic. Even when he sings smoothly, like in Clouds in My House or Angel Rat, it just doesn’t sound right, and that is precisely why this album succeeds in such simple verse chorus format. The drumming is another fantastic element here. Usually it’s pretty simple, but never boring, and best of all, more than occasionally it just breaks out into full on double bass metal beats. However, the drumming is pushed low in the mix so that it never overpowers the music, and it really serves as another backbone of hidden elements you wouldn’t appreciate unless you listened intently for it. Layered guitar melodies, vocal harmonies and atmospheric soundscape textures work the same, hidden at first listen but uncovered after due attention.

This album is a massive grower and has so much to offer to those willing to delve into the depths of its dark, demented canvas. Voivod have successfully taken progressive music to a new level! ... See More

Angel Rat Comments

(2)

petran 60/100

Jul 29, 2016

가 장 구린 앨범... 자켓만큼이나 뭘 말하려는지 잘 모르겠다.. 돈아깝다..

Megametal 90/100

Nov 23, 2015

album, ktoré niektorí fans uznávajú, iní hania. Ja sa radím do skupiny, ktorá dokáže oceniť kvalitu daného albumu, aj keď je štýlovo inde, než predošlé albumy. Je viac rockové než metalové, experimentálne, hravé, spev je lepší než na predošlých dvoch albumoch. Niekedy má hudba blízko k fínskym Waltari

Voivod Discography

Album	Type	Release date	Rating	Votes	Reviews
War and Pain	Album	Aug 1984	83.8	4	0
Thrashing Rage	EP	1986	-	0	0
Rrröööaaarrr	Album	Mar 14, 1986	86	5	0
Cockroaches	EP	1987	-	0	0
Killing Technology	Album	Apr 3, 1987	86.7	6	0
Dimension Hatröss	Album	Jun 29, 1988	90.3	14	0
Nothingface	Album	Oct 13, 1989	88.3	6	1
Angel Rat Sampler	EP	1991	-	0	0
▶ Angel Rat	Album	Nov 12, 1991	80	3	1
The Outer Limits	Album	Aug 3, 1993	85	2	0
Negatron	Album	Dec 5, 1995	85	1	0
Phobos	Album	Aug 12, 1997	90	1	0
Live @ Musiqueplus	EP	2000	-	0	0
Voivod Lives	Live	Aug 22, 2000	80	1	0
Voivod	Album	Mar 4, 2003	85	1	0
Katorz	Album	Jul 28, 2006	90	1	0
Infini	Album	Jun 12, 2009	90	1	0
Warriors of Ice	Live	May 4, 2011	80	1	0
Live at Roadburn 2011	Live	Apr 12, 2012	80	1	0
Target Earth	Album	Jan 18, 2013	87.9	7	0
Post Society	EP	Feb 26, 2016	85	1	0
The Wake	Album	Sep 21, 2018	85.8	6	0
The End of Dormancy	EP	Jul 10, 2020	-	0	0
Lost Machine - Live	Live	Nov 27, 2020	-	0	0
Synchro Anarchy	Album	Feb 11, 2022	85	4	0