Gojira
The Way Of All Flesh

THE REVIEW

Personality, technique, courage and artistic acumen, songwriting skills and taste in the final realization: these are the peculiar elements with which the French Gojira shape their music, thus releasing what, in my humble opinion, is their best work, in which their true artistic maturity is reached.

Released in 2008 by Listenable Rec., "The Way of All Flesh" is the fourth album of the transalpine combo: from the raw beginnings, they have slowly but inexorably evolved from the initial very technical death metal, but quite lacking in ideas and groove, to the current personal vision, difficult to classify. We can find elements related to modern thrash metal ("Toxic Garbage Island"), as well as to a certain metalcore (the single "Vacuity"), in some cases (quite limited to be honest) the most ferocious death (the vocals in all the songs primarily and then "All in Tears" and especially "Esoteric Surgery"), without forgetting a certain inclination towards progressive, certainly due to the exquisite technique of the musicians, but also due to the taste for experimentation not for its own sake (see the opener "Oroborus," "A Sight to Behold" and especially the first part of the powerful "The Art of Dying").

"The Way of All Flesh" is a complex work, not easy to assimilate, with an impact that is anything but friendly: if at first listen the monolithic nature of the proposal is the biggest hurdle to overcome (the overall duration of the album doesn't help in this), one is nevertheless fascinated by its tortuosity, changeability and by the remarkable and massive use of dissonances and unusual melodies, by the dedication of its creators in crafting layered songs that with each subsequent listen reveal themselves to be increasingly engaging, thanks to the countless sound elements filling the musical substrate.

The guitar sound is rocky and sharp, feral and crystalline, and quite rare for the nature of the proposal, the bass (obviously distorted) is always well audible and indeed often takes center stage, not so much in improbable solos, but in sustaining and fortifying the very tight rhythm. Last but not least, the percussion timbres are extremely realistic, clear in the cymbals and free from bombastic manipulations in the toms/bass drum, all to further highlight the excellent and personal work performed by Mario Duplantier (his brother Joe gives life to the vocals and guitar, while on bass we find Jean Michele Labadie and on the other guitar Christian Andreu).

Ultimately, a truly intelligent proposition and certainly recommended to those who can no longer bear the current metal routine and want to find a parallel evolutionary theory to the musical extremism in vogue today.

Enjoy your listening.