Denis "Piggy" D'Amour (September 24, 1959 – August 26, 2005) was a Canadian guitarist. He was a member of the heavy metal band Voivod from its inception in 1982 until his death in 2005. D'Amour's approach to music was anarchic and experimental rather than strict and theoretical. He was trained in classical violin as a child. He was influenced by progressive rock artists such as

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

and Rush.

Death

In the summer of 2005, D'Amour was diagnosed with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

. Subsequently, a routine operation was scheduled though several complications led doctors to suspect further problems. The cancer had extensively progressed, rendering any operation non-viable. D'Amour slipped into a coma in the palliative care unit of a Montreal hospital on August 25, 2005, surrounded in his final hours by family and friends. The guitarist died the next day at approximately 11:45pm. The documentary '' Metal: A Headbanger's Journey'', featuring an interview with D'Amour, was released on September 7, 2005. Piggy's final recordings appear on two of Voivod's albums '' Katorz'' and '' Infini'', released in 2006 and 2009 respectively.

Equipment

Guitars

* Ibanez Universe *

Gibson SG The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961, following on from the 1952 Gibson Les Paul. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. SG stands for "solid guitar". Origins The S ...

Gibson Les Paul Custom The Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher-end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1953 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952. History The 1952 Gibson Les Paul was originally made with a mahogany body, a ma ...

*Liberatore custom made guitar *F4c guitar

Amps

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

JCM 800 Head 2203 *

JCM 800 Head 2210 *

Series 9000 Preamp *

Series 9100 Dual MonoBlock

Effects/pedals

Digitech DOD Electronics, or simply DOD, also known as their brand name DigiTech, is an American manufacturing company that makes guitar effects pedals, as well as active crossover gear. DOD is owned by Cortek, the parent company of Cort Guitars. Thei ...

IPS 33 *

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

SPX-90 II *

BOSS Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

SD-1 Super Overdrive *

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...

DM-1100 Digital Delay

Discography

Voivod albums: *'' War & Pain'' 1984 (

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...

) *''

Rrröööaaarrr ''Rrröööaaarrr'' is the second studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Voivod. It was released in 1986 on Noise Records. Estimated sales are more than 40,000 copies, worldwide. In a 2012 interview with Michael Dodd of Get Your Rock Out, vo ...

'' 1986 (

Noise Records Noise Records is a German heavy metal record label founded in 1983 by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased an ...

) *''

Killing Technology ''Killing Technology'' is the third studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Voivod. It was released in 1987 on Noise Records and was the first to combine elements of progressive rock in the band's thrash metal sound. According to interviews c ...

'' 1987 (Noise Records) *''

Dimension Hatröss ''Dimension Hatröss'' ( ) is the fourth studio album by the Canadian heavy metal band Voivod. It was released in 1988 on Noise Records and is a concept album which narrates the exploits of Voivod’s mascot cyborg Korgull. The cover concept an ...

'' 1988 (Noise Records) *'' Nothingface'' 1989 (Mechanic /

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

) *''

Angel Rat ''Angel Rat'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Voivod. Produced by Terry Brown of Rush fame, it was released in 1991 by Mechanic/MCA Records and is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 1989 release '' Nothingfac ...

'' 1991 (Mechanic Records) / MCA Records) *''

The Outer Limits ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' 1993 (Mechanic / MCA Records) *'' Negatron'' 1995 (Hypnotic Records) *'' Phobos'' 1998 ( Slipdisc Hypnotic Records) *''

Kronik KroniK (also stylized as Kroniꓘ) was an American professional wrestling tag team in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), composed of Brian Adams and Bryan Clark in the ...

'' 1998 (Slipdisc Hypnotic Records) *'' Voivod Lives'' 2000 (Metal Blade Records) *'' Voivod'' 2003 ( Chophouse Records /

Surfdog Records Surfdog Records is a record label, music publishing company, merchandising company, and marketing company based in Encinitas, California. Its roster includes artists of the rock, punk, swing, rockabilly, reggae, lounge, and alternative gen ...

) *'' Katorz'' 2006 (

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specialized in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. History Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of ...

) *'' Infini'' 2009 (Relapse Records) **Note: According to interviews with the surviving members of Voivod, D'Amour's recordings from 2004 appear on both '' Katorz'' and '' Infini''.

References

Denis D'Amour
By Discogs 1959 births 2005 deaths Progressive metal guitarists Canadian lead guitarists Deaths from colorectal cancer in Canada Canadian heavy metal guitarists Musicians from Quebec Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Deaths from cancer in Quebec 20th-century Canadian guitarists Voivod (band) members 20th-century Canadian male musicians {{Canada-guitarist-stub