Bassist Blacky Re-Quits Voivod

That whimpering you hear is MetalSucks senior editor Anso DF weeping… because founding bassist Jean-Yves Thériault, a.k.a. “Blacky,” has quit Voivod for the second time. He left the band for the first time in 1991, then re-joined in 2008, and eventually appeared on last year’s Target Earth.

The band made the announcement via Facebook earlier today:

“It saddens us to announce that Voivod will no longer be performing live with Blacky.

“Jean-Yves has decided to leave the band for his own personal reasons.

“We wish him all the best.

“Voivod will carry on.”

The band hasn’t cancelled their appearance at tomorrow’s Festival Jonquiere En Musique in Quebec, though, so they must have a (at least temporary) replacement already lined up… or they’re going all Pig Destroyer on us. But that seems unlikely.

So who is the mystery bassist? The band has had FIVE bassists besides Blacky, including Eric Forrest (a.k.a. “E-Force”) from 1994 through 2001, and Jason Newsted (suddenly dubbed “Jasonic”), who recorded three albums with the band between E-Force and Blacky’s tenures. Have they persuaded one of their former members to return to the fold, or have they hired bassist number six? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow…