Rating: 7/10

Track Amount: 10

Running Time: 43 minutes and 57 seconds

Genre: Metal

Personnel: Joe Duplantier (vocals, guitars and flute), Christian Andreu (guitars), Jean-Michel Labadie (bass guitar), Mario Duplantier (drums)

Producer: Joe Duplantier

Recording Location: Silver Cord Studio, Queens, New York City, USA

Record Label: Roadrunner Records

Art Direction: Hibiki Miyazaki

Best Tracks: The Cell, Liberation

Quick Verdict: A fairly average listen to Metal in the 21st century

This is one of the most successful album releases by the French Metal group Gojira. Sadly for Gojira, the Duplantier brothers’ mother died during the making of this album, which hit them hard. The result? A more explorational, mature and darker release than previous releases by Gojira. The result was largely critically acclaimed music, praised by many music critics, including fellow Metalhead and Metallica member Kirk Hammett. This was a result of approach as well as a changed mindset, with the band aiming for a more critical music approach of dumping things that they knew did not work, rather than just churning out what they had in the studio. The album itself was also popular, being in many of the top 100 charts globally following its release. Let’s explore this album, and hopefully it will sound as good and as worthwhile as promised.

1. The Shooting Star begins the album with some fuzzy and distorted sounds, with some deep and dark electronics, followed by super heavy guitars at hand. This sounds gloomy, which is entirely the intention of the music on this tune. If you are not into Metal, this will be difficult for you to get into. Even so, this emerges into a clear and nicely sung set of English lyrics that sound really quite good. The band obviously weren’t ecstatic whilst recording this album, and for obvious reasons, you can hear why. Even so, this is a neat and well-constructed tune with much emphasis on the sonics at hand. It also has a rather murky and pseudo-Psychedelic feel to it all. A really lively and extraordinary song that has many layers of guitars and sound throughout. A really fine and well-delivered song with some great guitar work throughout the murkiness. This is music for those of you who value dark, heavy and intelligent music to listen to. This song is loud, aggressive and symphonic sounding as well. In the second half is a tremendously interesting section of guitar chugging and leads that sound great. The singing resumes at the end, and this sounds like a great music journey in itself. A good, but perhaps not great, start to the album. It ends with some neat and processed guitar leads that finish up this song nicely.

2. Silvera is much stronger a tune, with chugging guitars and pounding drums galore. It sounds really deep and emotional for Metal Music. The playing and sounds are extremely good to hear. Some screamed vocals are present by Joe Duplantier, and this is a blood-pumping and energetic song that sounds really loud, different and dynamic throughout. Nonetheless, this is definite proof that Gojira, despite going through a rough spot, could make some brilliant-sounding music. The second half has a multitude of different music sections, and sounds really awesome. This also has a really cool and uplifting guitar solo, which sounds quite neat. This is shredded very nicely, before returning back into the main section of music at hand. A really awesome listen from start to finish. Very, very good. A top tune at hand.

3. The Cell begins with some percussive and muted guitars and drums. It does sound very interesting indeed, and gradually progresses into a demonic and dark-sounding tune about being in the darkest of moods and despair. Nonetheless, for Metalheads, this works great wonders throughout. The music, performances and playing are very Thrashy and world-class as well. This music is of very good quality throughout and is inspired and inspirational throughout. The dark and full-on screaming is definitely intense to listen to. Gojira make for some interesting and brutal listening that anyone who rejects religion should explore. An absolutely awesome song nonetheless, the band plays with ferocity and furiousness that few could ever match. Brilliant.

4. Stranded begins with an interesting sonic rush and launches into a gloriously warped set of guitar playing. Pounding drums follow, and an absolutely awesome and powerful groove follows. A seriously cool tune, with some awesome screamed vocals follow. This is a seriously fun and punchy song which is strong, powerful and wonderful to listen to. This tune is gloriously good to listen to. The vocal performances and music are second to none on this particular tune. In the traditional Metal sense, this is a fantastic tune to listen to. The breakdown and guitar solo throughout are beyond phenomenally amazing. This is one of the better Metal albums in recent times, especially as much of the music world pays less attention to hard and heavy music at this point in time. Some soft, melodic singing is present towards the end, which is a very nice change throughout. A great song. It ends with the main groove and some excellent drumming to conclude.

5. Yellow Stone is a very short intermissionary sort of piece that goes for just over a minute. It has some deep and crunchy guitars and launches into a smooth and sweet listen without singing. This is very atmospheric, but sounds really cool to hear. Neat.

6. Magma is, of course, the title track. It is a nearly seven-minute-long piece with an atmospheric fade-in of a mass of sonic sound, launching into a fine yet moody tune at hand. This sounds heavy and dark indeed. Some awesome guitar work based on harmonics emerges, and this song has some rather robotic vocals that follow, although they are sung. This is very different, but it maintains a heavy and unique sound throughout it all. A great song that shows that Metal can be unique and articulate throughout, even at this stage in the 21st century. The sounds and performances are second to none with this music. The chanted vocals are very deep and spiritual-sounding indeed. This is an underrated and great song with some intricate drums, punchy distorted guitars and a sound that is different from most Metal. This leads into a powerful and punchy tune in the second half that has some fine and awesome screaming and fantastic musicianship. There is a brief break musically before Gojira launch into a seismic and powerful solo section. In the face of despair, Gojira made music that counted. This is original, authentic and unique Metal that is aggressive, interesting and moody. A great song, even though this isn’t the sort of music that most would listen to daily for many. Nicely melodic throughout. It ends with chugging riffs and tuneful singing, with a searing guitar seguing into the next track.

7. Pray sounds very dark indeed from the start. It begins with percussive sounds, guitars and sounds absolutely awesome and suspenseful throughout. A very good song to listen to, this continues into a powerfully charged tune that is best described as atmospheric Metal Music. This continues pounding away nicely. This sounds like a demonic and satanic piece of Metal Music that demands the listener to pray and do other similar strange deeds. A sweet and symphonic listen, even if you are not a fan of Metal. The midsection has some screamed vocals with punchy and percussive band sounds to match it. This is a different tune that does sound really cool, although there is an off vibe about it all. Nonetheless, this is a very powerful and different tune that has its promise all about it. In the second half is an awesome riff-driven section that sounds devilish and glorious to hear. An absolutely awesome and amazing tune. It halts and plays a softer section of background music, before this section fades in and sounds powerfully wonderful. Good tune.

8. Only Pain begins with some absolutely awesome drumming, followed by a cool and interesting tune with some interesting guitar work at hand. The heavy riffing is absolutely fantastic to hear. This is a shorter and more concise tune with screamed vocals, interesting guitar work and intense music backing to match it all. This sounds atmospheric, progressive and multi-layered with screamed lyrics about desiring to be God himself. A seriously great and monumental tune at hand, which sounds really killer and sweet simultaneously. This music sounds quite different from anything else in Metal as well, for better or worse. There are some neat atmospheric and electronically processed sounds in the second half, followed by a punchy and fantastic sounding section of screamed, deep and throaty vocals and some mindblowing Metal Music to match it all. An awesome song to listen to throughout, which sounds cool. Neat tune.

9. Low Lands is a six-minute-long piece beginning with some neat drumming that sounds double-tracked, alongside some electronic washes of guitars. This quickly moves into a piece of music that sounds really cool and awesome at hand. Some softer singing than usual emerges, and this has lyricism about wondering what exists in the afterlife, alongside some sung French as well. This continues into a really awesome and mad-sounding tune at hand, which sounds supremely good. Gojira could cut it melodically as well as doing heavy and hard, and this particular piece is proof of that. The music is seemingly an ode to the Duplantiers’ mother, and it sounds very much gorgeously dramatic. The music continues to progress and change into a gloomy song that has a mixture of more melodic and Metal sounds into one. This isn’t a million miles away from the likes of Nine Inch Nails The Fragile (1999) album, but done in its own way. Drum fills lead into the second half, which is louder and more dramatic as such. This music and performance is fantastic here, alternating between melodic singing and full-on Metal screaming at hand. There is a false ending, followed by some sweetly melodic acoustic guitar at hand. A neat and sweet conclusion to a moody and dark tune. This fades out nicely.

10. Liberation is the final song on this album. It begins with a recording of studio chatter and some more acoustic guitar work. This is a neat instrumental piece to conclude the album with, and it sounds really very different to anything else out there now. Some percussion enters, and this tune gets moving along well. A good listen that concludes a relatively good album, with a difference. This is a decent stripped-back and traditional music tune that sounds great. The artistry of Gojira cannot be denied here, and the music and performances are interesting and varied on this track. A sweet and different tune to conclude this album with. Gojira had plenty of inspiration on this track, and it all sounds really cool and great here. A nice addition to the end of the album, even though this sounds like a random jam.

This album is fairly average for a Metal band. While yes, there are many moments of music glory, it just does not seem to be consistent enough to be really enjoyable overall. Gojira have much potential, but having said that, the music seems unfocused, which is a bit of a letdown. All the same, this is something that Metalheads will enjoy, even if the vibe and consistency aren’t always there. Should you listen to this album? Go for it if you love Metal, but if you don’t, leave this release aside, at least for now.

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