Voivod

Quebec City newspaper Le Soleil is reporting that VOIVOD guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour is suffering from advanced colon cancer - so advanced that the disease has spread to his liver - and is currently resting in the palliative care ward at a Montreal hospital, surrounded by family and friends.

D'Amour, who was reportedly dignosed with colon cancer this past summer, first entered the hospital for a routine operation, but several complications led his doctors to suspect more problems. Then the grim verdict was revealed: the cancer, already too advanced, would be inoperable.

Only two months ago, D'Amour was in the studio working on two albums - the 14th album from the Canadian thrash-metal pioneers VOIVOD, plus a reunion CD from the legendary AUT'CHOSE, a '70s band from Montreal.

"Our good friend and guitar hero Denis D'Amour is very ill," his bandmates Denis "Snake" Bélanger, Michel "Away" Langevin, and Jason "Jasonic" Newsted write on their web site. "We are helping Denis in every way that we can to feel comfortable while he fights to get healthy."

D'Amour's current condition casts doubt on the status of the projects he was working on before his hospitalization. AUT'CHOSE are still scheduled to appear at L'Imperial in Quebec City this Saturday (August 27). Martin Dupuis will once again replace the man he considers an idol. The group's new album, for which D'Amour had already completed his tracks, is slated for a summer 2006 release.

For VOIVOD, however, things are less certain. Work on a new album had begun, but according to a Le Soleil source, the CD had not reached an advanced stage of completion. The band was forced to put studio work on hold while bassist Jason Newsted was treated for tendonitis.