Gojira/Magma(2016)

New Release….

You want Metal kicked up a notch! Time for some new Gojira Kids!

Special Thanks to my Good Pal Metal Todd who got me a copy of this album and come to think of it he’s going to see Gojira in Vancouver this upcoming October! Take cover Metal Todd….

Here’s the Gojira Boy’s that created this piece of Metal…

Joe Duplantier − lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Mario Duplantier − drums, percussion
Christian Andreu − lead guitar
Jean-Michel Labadie − bass

“The Shooting Star” 5:42
2. “Silvera” 3:33
3. “The Cell” 3:18
4. “Stranded” 4:29
5. “Yellow Stone” 1:19
6. “Magma” 6:42
7. “Pray” 5:14
8. “Only Pain” 4:00
9. “Low Lands” 6:04
10. “Liberation”

Upon first listen I noticed right away that the singing is clean in some spots in other words this old noggin of mine can understand what Joe’s going on about vocally. The Shooting Star is a great opener almost a sweeping Pink Floyd like vocal track that doesn’t pound your senses into the asphalt(don’t worry that comes later) Music is heavy in a slow meandering kind of way and  at the start you notice the production is going to be rock solid!

The thing is with these guys is their Musical Muscle is strong the dudes can play and like I wrote when I reviewed L’ Enfant Sauvage Mario absolutely destroys his drums and it boggles that’s what  left of my mind that Mario can play this quick!

The vocals on Magma are like I said a little more “singing like” and when Joe puts his throat to it he has a whole different vibe to what’s out there with other act’s that’s for sure…

Silvera  and The  Cell  are the tunes that I would expect from these guy’s! Heavy playing and just check out the drumming at the beginning of The Cell! The drums played by Mario are absolutely nuts and such speed and precision but give the other dudes credit as they don’t let Mario get too crazy. The Cell is a great track.

Thats the thing with Gojira! I don’t want to Pigeon Hole them as a Metallica soundalike (musically) that is but it just gives you the reader an idea of what I’m trying to get across. Gojira though shift gears a bunch of times with different musical tempo’s,musical landscapes that sweep across at a speed that stays intact and is dare I say Catchy? Don’t beat my Ass with that last comment! Only Pain proves this point as the drums propel the track while the guitars do some quick pick action and Joe is Raging just like the good old daze but it’s a controlled Rage!

It’s just not all Bone Crushing Skull Metal though…Lowlands has a different kind of crushing one that is almost like Alice In Chains jacked up on Speed especially the vocals maybe overall the sound of the singing is more Alice In Chains than Pink Floyd when it comes to the vocal delivery.

Album closer Liberation is a whole different  ball of wax in the Gojira arsenal as it just features classical guitar and a bit of percussion a vocal less track kind of sombre moment that ends the album.