I wish there was a superlative for the word 'awesome': awesomer, awesomest, most awesome, these words draw us into Bill and Ted territory, but they're necessary in summing up Gojira's latest album, The Way of All Flesh. While the world of metal keeps getting less and less interesting, it takes an album like this to make you keep your faith in the genre altogether. It's like a needle in a haystack, a flower growing out of a pot of mud, or whatever other clichι you'd like to pitch in.Speaking of clichιs, there are none here. There's no formula to these songs. There are no breakdowns, and none of these tracks are rehashes of old thrash stereotypes. Gojira's got their own style that's hard to pin down. It's heavy on guitar tapping, it's constantly groovy even at its most brutal, and it's a great listen from start to finish. No filler. No 2-minute instrumental acoustic piece in the middle of the disc that you've heard one million times.
One selling point is vocalist Joe Duplantier, whose solid yell has a melodic flourish, but not in the scream-sing way of many peers. Rather he keeps it rough the whole time, but exercises enough control over his voice that he can move it up and down with the music. It really adds a lot to these tunes to have such an engaged frontman. It's rare, at least, and it adds to Gojira's unique style.
But in hailing the vocalist, I don't mean to take away anything from these musicians, who are excellent. Songs like "Toxic Garbage Island" groove like Fear Factory with insane percussion and tremolo guitars, but there's a lot less of a mechanical feel to Gojira's style. "The Silver Cord" could be a track on Mastodon's Remission, and "The Art of Dying", though it may be the stupidest name for a metal track since the last "The Art of Something", has got some of the most fascinating drums I've heard in a long time.
Even the out there experimental-leaning "A Sight to Behold" holds tough, bringing to mind Japanese art-death rockers Sigh. The keyboards stick in your head all day, making this one of the best songs on the album although, pretty much any song on here could be argued to be the best.
There's little else I can say about this album to do it justice than just advising you to go buy it. Gojira might be the best thing the French have given us since... ever.
Don't Believe Me?
www.myspace.com/gojira
Recommended If You Like:
Fear Factory, Mastodon, Shadows Fall
