by Alissa Ordabai
– Senior Columnist —
Underneath the armor of crusty death metal clichés which have long lost their initial meaning and value, there is tearing emotion and true human sorrow seeping through conventions on Gojira’s new release.
After 4 albums under its belt, the band is tapping into something real and important – a bleak, but convincingly raw depiction of very private inner realities. Guitar leads – shrill, simple, but poignant – together with disquietingly ominous vocal melodies turn the new batch of songs into something very candid and personal.
Apart from the super-tight grooves, there is no technical flashery on this release, nor there is anything hugely imaginative in terms of songwriting. But the band’s trademark combination of death, progressive, and symphonic metal serves as a flexible platform from which superb melodies take flight. The first 4 songs showcase the band’s new approach with stark frankness, and it is somewhat disappointing that on the rest of the record they choose to repeat themselves and to retell the already familiar story.
Genre: Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal, Thrash Metal
Band:
Joe Duplantier − vocals, guitar
Mario Duplantier − drums
Christian Andreu − guitar
Jean-Michel Labadie – bass
Track Listing:
1. Explosion
2. L’enfant Sauvage
3. The Axe
4. Liquid Fire
5. The Wild Healer
6. Planned Obsolescence
7. Mouth of Kala
8. The Gift of Guilt
9. Pain is a Master
10. Born in Winter
11. The Fall
Label: Roadrunner Records
Web: http://www.gojira-music.com/
Hardrock Haven rating: 6.8/10
