In lieu of simply releasing a greatest hits collection to celebrate its fortieth anniversary in style, French-Canadian progressive thrash metal legends Voivod have once more decided to walk off the beaten path. The band has decided to record nine songs of past glory anew. Instead of targeting the band's most known tracks however, the group has aimed for some deep cuts and hidden gems, including even a rare track from the early years that was only included on a compilation back in the days. Since the band's line-up has gone through important changes, Voivod has even invited former members to perform on this record such as former bassist and singer E-Force who delivers the goods on "Rise" and former bassist Jasonic who participates on "Rebel Robot". The ties with former founding member and bassist Blacky seem however to be permanently tied at this point.

To be completely honest, faithful fans will obviously always prefer the original renditions over the new interpretations. However, the band has managed to recapture the magic of yore with their new versions and hasn't lost its unique identity that has always distinguished these overlooked and underrated veterans. The drum play is still fast, rhythmic and tight. The bass guitar sounds dynamic and vibrant at all time. The guitar play simply sounds out of this world with complex yet heavy riffs and progressive yet melodic solos inviting to dream yourself far away into a mysterious dystopian world domineered by post-nuclear landscapes, ambitious futuristic machines and menacing artificial intelligence. Voivod's visions of yore seem to be more realistic than ever before in this day and age and the lyrics presented here have become an imaginative blend of fantasy and reality. The vocals also deserve much praise because they are somewhat underrated in a band with such experimental musicianship. Some songs sound raw, menacing and aggressive with an obvious faible for relentless hardcore punk. Other tunes are however much airier as the vocals sound dreamy and melodious, aiming for floating progressive rock. This broad register manages to entertain splendidly from start to finish if you are open to appreciate such contrasting genres as hardcore punk, thrash metal, progressive rock, industrial metal and alternative rock in chronological order. The organic and vibrant production manages to keep this diversity together and deserves much praise as well.

This release also offers a brand-new track with title song "Morgöth Tales" that tells the intriguing story of this band. This song fits with the ambitious progressive thrash metal soundscapes of more recent outputs such as Synchro Anarchy, The Wake and Post Society. A great music video created with artificial intelligence is also mandatory to be checked out by fans of the band. The track itself however needs a few spins to grow and is among the weaker cuts on an overall strong album.

Voivod wouldn't be Voivod if they didn't have another surprise in store. This one comes in form of "Home", a cover of a song by Public Image Limited. I had never previously heard of said song and wasn't much impressed by the original version to be honest. Voivod's cover is however truly beautiful. The drum patterns manage to find the perfect balance between smooth passages and energetic touches. The bass guitar provides further strength to the rhythmic backbone of this tune. The playful, melodic and imaginative guitar play is an amazing highlight. The chilling and smooth vocals sound ageless and timeless. A song such as this one would certainly deserve much radio play and presents Voivod in a fresh and exciting way without denying its philosophy and roots. This song is a true hidden gem and certainly rates this release up by a notch.

Voivod has recently been releasing an extended play entitled Ultraman, honouring the Japanese television series and movies of the same title. The record was however only released digitally and on vinyl last year. Said extended play essentially consisted of three short songs performed in different versions and in different languages. One version of each song has found its way onto the Japanese version of Morgöth Tales. If you like atmospheric progressive rock from the sixties and desire to hear guitarist Chewy perform Japanese vocals, then you should pay a few bucks more to grab this wonderful Japanese version of Morgöth Tales.

At the end of the day, Voivod's Morgöth Tales shouldn't be considered a regular studio album of the French-Canadian progressive metal masters. It's rather an inspired retrospective with one average brand-new tune and an excellent new cover song. The Japanese version includes three rare short bonus tracks. Faithful fans should certainly get their hands on the Japanese version of this release. Morgöth Tales might also be an excellent introduction to the band to younger audiences. Occasional listeners can however skip this release without any regrets and should rather purchase the band's excellent most recent studio albums Synchro Anarchy and The Wake.

Final Rating: 75%