Originally named after the Big G from Japan, this potent band from France changed their name due to legal concerns (I'm sure Toho would have certainly gone after them if they had stuck with the name Godzilla) to the true Japanese pronunciation, Gojira. Now with a few albums under their belt, these headbangers return with From Mars to Sirius, a crushing first release for their new US label Prosthetic Records. While not metalcore like many of the acts on the label, yet not quite death metal either, this is certainly heavy and huge metal music, kind of like a less technical, more bottom heavy Mastodon, with certain nods to the rhythmic intensity of Meshuggah, as well as the manic power of Strapping Young Lad and Fear Factory. While some of the arrangements border on progressive metal at times, there's no solos here, just plenty of jaw dropping drum work, loads of massive and boiling guitar riffs (and I mean massive) and a mix of growling and melodic vocals.
There's too much quality stuff here to go into each track, but some of the highlights are the brusing opener "Ocean Planet", complete with some vicious power chords and pinch harmonics, the nasty 1-2 punch of "Backbone" and "From the Sky", the slow and plodding grind of "Where Dragons Dwell", the mix of thrash and doom on "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe", the atmospheric & progressive metal of "Flying Whales", the rhythmic bombast of the brutal "In the Wilderness", and the intricate "Global Warming", with no shortage of dizzying guitar patterns and haunting clean & extreme vocals.
Most of the tracks here are fairly lengthy, so there's a lot of music to take in. Some of the shorter pieces are more on the atmospheric and progressive side, and make for brief respites from the crushing nature of the more epic tracks. From Mars to Sirius is a total triumph for Gojira, and sure to be one of the most talked about metal albums of the latter half of 2006.
Track Listing
1. Ocean Planet
2. Backbone
3. From The Sky
4. Unicorn
5. Where Dragons Dwell
6. The Heaviest Matter of the Universe
7. Flying Whales
8. In The Wilderness
9. World To Come
10. From Mars
11. To Sirius
12. Global Warming
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
