Voivod guitarist...

[Rick and Roll]

died today. Here's the release,

"Voivod guitarist Denis D'Amour, better known to fans as Piggy, died Friday at a Montreal hospital after a battle with colon cancer. He was 45.

Although it was the group's futuristic lyrics on which fans most focused, D'Amour's complex, jazz-based guitar work fueled the band musically.

One of the first Canadian thrash metal bands, the Quebec-based Voivod (which also originally included singer Denis "Snake" Belanger, bassist Jean-Yves Theriault and drummer Michel Langevin) has released a string of genre classics such as 1984's "War and Pain" and 1987's "Killing Technology." But the band truly hit its stride on 1989's prog-metal effort "Nothingface," even headlining a U.S. tour over Faith No More and Soundgarden.

Just as it appeared the mainstream metal world might be catching up with Voivod in the '90s, Theriault and Belanger exited the band. Voivod continued recording throughout the decade and was in recent years rejuvenated by the addition of former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, as well as the return of Belanger.

The new lineup toured as part of Ozzfest in 2003, and issued a new, self-titled studio album the same year on Newsted's Chophouse label. In 2004, Belanger appeared on Dave Grohl's star-studded metal detour, "Probot."

Voivod recently signed a new contract with the End Records, and was gearing up to enter the studio early next year. Newsted recently told Billboard.com that more than an album's worth of songs had already been demoed.

While it is unknown what will happen to the new material, D'Amour recently completed guitar tracks for a reunion by the obscure '70s Montreal band, Aut'Chose. First up will be Voivod's first DVD, "D-V-O-D-1," due October 25 via Music Video Distributors. The project compiles all the group's videos from 1983-1991, as well as live performances from this period."

I know Voivod isn't on everyone's A list, but they were one of the most progressive acts I've heard. They are truly progressice metal.