Cancer has struck the Voivod family once again. Carol Langevin, brother of the band’s longtime drummer Michel “Away” Langevin, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 60, the latest in a string of health battles that have made this a painful and exhausting year for the Canadian metal institution and the people closest to it.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to ease the financial burden the illness has placed on Carol and his loved ones, helping to offset the strain of his time away from work, travel, treatments, and the unexpected costs that come with a serious diagnosis.
The fundraiser’s organizer, Gilles Bezeau, laid out the goal in simple, heartfelt terms:
“We want to give [Carol] the peace of mind he needs to focus on what truly matters: his health, his family, and his fight.”
“Every donation, large or small, will make a real difference. If you cannot contribute financially, simply sharing this campaign is already a valuable gesture.”
“Together, let’s show Carol that he is not alone. Let’s offer him our support, our generosity, and our hope.”
Sharing the news themselves, Voivod used their platform to lay bare just how much hardship the band’s extended family has weathered in recent months — and to call on the loyal following they’ve built over four decades. In a statement posted to social media, the group wrote:
“This year has been a hard one for the Voivod family. At the start of the year, we learned that E-Force [vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest], who fronted the band in the 90s, has been fighting prostate cancer, and he is still out there on the road with us, filling in for Snake [Denis Bélanger, Voivod singer] with everything he has. Snake is home at the side of his partner Christine, who is bravely facing colorectal cancer. They are in our hearts every single day. And now cancer has struck our family once more. Carol Langevin, brother of our drummer Michel ‘Away’ Langevin, is fighting pancreatic cancer at 60. A GoFundMe has been set up to support Carol and his loved ones through treatment and the hard road ahead.”
“If you can donate, every contribution counts, no matter the size. If you cannot, please share this post. It truly makes a difference.”
“For more than 40 years, this community has shown us what solidarity means. Let’s show Carol, and the whole family, what the Iron Gang can do.”
“Thank you for your love and support.”
The reference to Eric Forrest points to another difficult chapter that unfolded earlier this year. The former Voivod frontman, who now leads his own band E-Force, went public in the spring with his own stage-three prostate cancer diagnosis, and has continued to tour in Denis “Snake” Bélanger‘s place even while undergoing his own fight.
For Voivod, cancer is a foe they know all too painfully. Founding guitarist Denis “Piggy” D’Amour died in a Montreal hospital in August 2005 from complications of advanced colon cancer, a loss that at the time seemed to spell the end of the band entirely. Yet Voivod pressed on: in 2008, they emerged from what many assumed was permanent retirement to play the first Heavy MTL festival, with original member Jean-Yves “Blacky” Thériault back on bass and Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain stepping into the near-impossible role of replacing D’Amour on guitar. What began as a presumed one-off grew into a full-fledged return, and Mongrain proved night after night that he was equal to the task. The lineup shifted again in July 2014, when Blacky departed and Dominic “Rocky” Laroche took over on bass.
Formed in Jonquière, Québec in the early 1980s, Voivod have spent their career restlessly reshaping their sound, evolving from raw speed metal into a singular blend of progressive and thrash metal that made them one of the genre’s most influential and forward-thinking acts. Widely counted among the “big four” of Canadian thrash alongside Sacrifice, Razor and Annihilator, the band reached its commercial high point with 1989’s Nothingface, their only album to crack the Billboard 200, where it peaked at No. 114.
Metal Stop sends its strength and support to Carol Langevin, the Langevin family, and everyone in the Voivod family facing these battles.
