Phonebook Eater 7/10

"The Way Of All Flesh" is a ferocious grip, fast-paced like no other album by the band.

Gojira's fourth album is the first one after the seminal “From Mars To Sirius”, and shows that they still are a strong band that can release solid efforts. While not as well developed and written as the previous album, “The Way Of All Flesh” is nevertheless an album enjoyable from beginning to end, with only very few, slight bumps during the ride.

This last effort is a somewhat return to the band’s older days: a more thrashy, groove metal influenced take on Death Metal, with extremely tight compositions and a high level of technicality. Joe Duplianter’s vocals are, as usual, perfect growls, strong, powerful, and mighty, and give yet another touch of violence to the sounds. The production is top notch, better than ever before, with almost flawless mixing (some moments I wish the vocals were louder).

With more than an hour of music and with twelve, average-length pieces, “The Way Of All Flesh” keeps the entertainment rate high, starting with the first two tracks, “Ouroboros” and “Toxic Garbage Island”, this last one definitely the best, most brutally technical song of the record. Then, we have songs like the energetic, quasi-metalcore feeling of “All The Tears”, “Vacuity”, the tribal “The Art of Dying”, or the mighty title track that boasts amazing performances by all the musicians. Some songs like “Wolf Down to Earth” or “ A Sight To Behold” are little too plain and don’t add much to the album, same for “Yama’s Messenger”, a plain, destructive episode that simply doesn’t add anything at all.

Despite the few flaws “The Way of all Flesh” is another extremely impressive piece of work from Gojira, a band that so far has shown immense talent and absolutely worthy of their reputation.

Phonebook Eater 8/10

"From Mars To Sirius" is Gojira's best release so far: a modern Death Metal classic.

Gojira are one of the main Progressive Death Metal acts of the new millennium also because of “From Mars To Sirius”, the extraordinary third album. This French band had been active for nine years before this release, but it is known that great albums take time and a certain level of maturity.

Compared to earlier albums, “From Mars To Sirius” has a much rougher production: everything sounds incredibly large, wide, and spacey in this album, contrasting the tight compositions of the early days. Even the technical point of view has toned down quite a bit, in favor of a more sludgy take on Death Metal: the guitars are strongly reminiscent of bands like Mastodon, Neurosis, or Isis. But the typical Gojira vocals, by Joe Duplianter, never leave the stage, and still give that touch that brings together all releases from the band.

The album presents a bunch of solid, well-written and executed songs that, put together, maintain a strongly consistent level throughout the entire hour this albums lasts: the more famous, classic Gojira songs like the Post-Metal vibes of “Flying Whales”, the fiercely dramatic guitar tapping of “Global Warming”, or the energetic “From The Sky” are stuck into the imaginary collective of modern Death Metal. But the other songs present here are not less powerful: “Ocean Planet”, the album’s opener, is an almost devastatingly executed song with one of the sludgiest riffs of the entire LP, “World To Come” and “Oceanbone” simple songs with excellent riffs and songwriting. The more technical, thrashy moments are still present here and there, like in “The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe”, one of the most intense songs Gojira has ever created.

An album with little imperfections, with a tremendously engaging flow, and with a consistent high level of execution, “From Mars to Sirius” shows all of Gojra’s talent, and remains a key album for Progressive Death Metal.

Phonebook Eater 6/10

"Terra Incognita" is an overall successful mix of technicality, heaviness, and aggression.

Gojira are a French Progressive Death Metal band that have a loving fan base, thanks to albums like “From Mars To Sirius” and “The Way Of All Flesh”, both of them regarded as modern Death Metal/ Progressive Metal classics. Before their rise to recognition, “Terra Incognita” was released, back in the year 2000, overshadowed by so much more brilliant music despite being an overall decent listen.

The level of maturity in this debut album is already quite impressive: the production is top notch, the riffs are nice and heavy, some even worth of an album like “The Way Of All Flesh”. There is a flavor of Nu Metal/Alternative Metal in the concept and image of this album: it almost feels like a much heavier, technical, and fierce version of a Sepultura album, also because of it’s Latin American mysticism-inspired lyrics. The heaviness of the album is what would turn on metalheads: the vocals are also extremely brute, and they truly feel shouted from the inner guts of singer Joe Duplianter. This in-your-face take is accentuated with a strong, technical feeling: the riffs can be extremely fast, or heavily syncopated to the point where calling it Progressive Metal is more than a safe thing to do.

The flaws this album has, however, are a few, the first one is the one that mainly kills some more potential entertainment this album could have had: it doesn’t feature as much variety as the following albums by the band. You might enjoy quite a bit the first half hour or so, but then, it’s not hard to notice, eventually, how the musical diversities from song to song aren’t very many, making the listen a rather monotonous ride. By the end of the album, the listener can easily feel sick of that kind of music, and would wish to lay off it a bit.

Some of the songs here though are extremely enjoyable for one who enjoys this kind of music, starting from the straight-to-the-point opener, “Clone”. “Lizard Skin” and “Blow Me Away You(niverse)” are great concerts pieces that give further blood rushing in the listener’s veins. But the best song is easily the closer, “In The Forest”, the most fiercely technical piece here, added with a potent dose of heaviness.

“Terra Incognita” has some standout moments and tracks that could have become Gojira classics, but as a whole, it stretches out a little too much and doesn’t offer much more than aggression. Still something worth while listening to, especially if you’re a fan of the band, and want to hear their earlier days.

Xaxaar Since this album has a score of 2.71, I feel almost like it's an obligation that I write a review to bump it up a few points. I feel like this is Gojira's best album and to see it being the worst is, well, wrong...to me. Well, let's see if this review actually matters, shall we? This review is going to be one of those annoying "song by song" ones, 'cause that's what I do best.

Ocean Planet - Not exactly a roaring start for the album, but it is still not a bad song. It still definitely has its moments, but it does take a while for the song to get good. This song is definitely outmatched by most of the other songs on the album, though.

Backbon - Now this is what the whole album's about. This is truly a great song. It opens up with a very heavy riff and then later transverses into blast beats and THEN goes into the fast riff with double bass underneath. I think all these riffs sound excellent together, transitioning beautifully.

From the Sky - I know you're looking at the rating I gave the album and then at the individual songs and wondering "how?," but I promise it gets better from here. This is just the worst song off the album, the filler of the album if you will. Not a terrible song, just not really providing anything new to the album.

Unicorn - This was a hard song to give a rating to, but I gave it a four just because it's, well...nice. After the intense, heavy riffs of the first three songs, it's just nice to take a breather for a while to prepare you for the rest of the album ahead.

Where Dragons Dwell - A nice transition from the oh so peaceful song into another double bass fest. It actually has quite a pleasant riff to go along with its more heavier moments of the song. Just a very good over all song. The fade out at the end of the song is also very musical and a very welcome addition to this otherwise short song.

The Heaviest Matter in the Universe - This song, for lack of a better term, is just all over the place, but in a very good way. One of the more, if not the most, interesting songs on the album. The clean vocal section is also something to be appreciative of.

Flying Whales - The staple song off the album. Starts off with a mellow intro, but then just hits ya with that riff and then the song just starts to take off. This song has a very nice portion of heaviness to it and if you going to decide if you should hear this album or not, this song should be the one that persuades you.

In the Wilderness - This song is one of the better songs on the side of drumming and vocals. The format is very similar to Where Dragons Dwell as they both have the long outro that fades out, but I enjoy both very much so this isn't an issue for me. The reason why it's not 5 stars is because I'm not in love with the most played riff and the middle of the song is rather bland 'cause of this, but still by no means bad; in fact, very good!

World to Com - This definitely an interesting one; almost two separate songs in one. The reason why I like this song so much is just how unique it is. How odd it is in the rest of the context album and the song structure of it all. It's just an interesting song, holding your attention on to the album s'more.

From Mars (and) To Sirius - "From Mars" is the intro song to "To Sirius," kinda like how "Parabol" is the intro song to "Parabola" on Lateralus. The two songs compliment each other very well and I think "From Mars" is an excellent appetizer for the main course. Now focusing on "To Sirius" it opens up with a odd time signature riff, but by no means too odd. It's just a nice mix that keeps it even more interesting. Then the song eventually climaxes into a blast beat segment and, as you can imagine, ends with a fade out. A very excellent song.

Global Warming - A surprisingly great song. The whole song is practically made up of tapping riffs, but it also has a heavy segment as well. I also really enjoy the lyrics to this song as you should probably hear it with a page open to read along. It's probably the most emotional song off the album and I think they pull it off magnificently. An excellent closer to an excellent album.

Here's hoping that the review bumps up the album!

Conor Fynes 'The Way Of All Flesh' - Gojira (9/10)

As with many others who have since become fans of Gojira, I was first introduced to this French extreme metal band through their third album 'From Mars To Sirius', which sounded very fresh at a time when metal was feeling all but a little too generic and tired. Instead of continue down the path they had developed with the third album however, Gojira decided to do what any truly great band; to reinvent themselves once again, while retaining their core elements. The final result is 'The Way Of All Flesh', a more challenging listen than its predecessor, more technical, and more dissonant. While it's clear from the beginning that the album demands a greater attention than 'From Mars To Sirius', it is also clear that this is the most profound musical achievement the band has created to date.

Lacking any atmospheric or mellow introduction to ease the listener into the album, 'Ouroboros' starts with a memorable and technical riff over the meticulous and complex drumming of percussionist extraordinaire Mario Duplantier. From this first song onwards, there are still familiar sounds for Gojira; the crushingly heavy guitars, distinctive growls, and a lyrical gravitation towards environmental plights. 'The Way Of All Flesh' takes a greater sense of distinction with the next two tracks however, bringing the music to the brink of technical dissonance, and odd electronic melodies, respectively.

Towards the middle of the album are quite a few tracks that would have easily fit in 'From Mars To Sirius', and are quite a bit less memorable than the songs that really show the band experimenting with their sound. However, although leaving quite a bit less of an impression, these are far from filler pieces. 'The Silver Cord' is a relatively sludgy, but mellow interlude piece, leading into two tracks of technicality and heaviness. The album's highlight then takes the form of the ten minute piece 'The Art Of Dying', which begins with a highly distinctive, meditative drum introduction that slowly builds with each repetition, bringing the listener to a feeling of great tension, regardless of how many times it's already been listened to. Then, just as a listener begins to be lulled into a sense of security, the guitars kick in, destroying the sense of tribal serenity with rhythmic experimentation and heaviness typically associated with Meshuggah.

Something besides the added heavy aspects of 'The Way Of All Flesh' that makes it a unique piece of work is the addition of atmospheric leitmotifs that appear throughout the album, towards the end of a few songs. These can either take the form of space electronic vibrations, or a sombre guitar picking played in reverse. In any case, while the couple of small mellow sections are used quite a few times, they only get more beautiful and introspective with time.

Although with a topic and subject matter slightly less gripping than the fantasy-leanings of 'The Way Of All Flesh', this album's darker and more experimental feel all contribute to give Gojira's first legitimate masterpiece in their careers.