Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 12:49 AM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Progressive/Groove/Death Metal
Country: France
Label: Roadrunner Records
Year: 2016
First of all, before I start with the review, I have to admit that I’m extremely happy for being given the opportunity to express my opinion with words about a band that is constantly climbing the high way from my point of view and I think that that’s a view many fans of metal actually share. After the release of two amazing records (The Way Of All Flesh, 2007 and L’Enfant Sauvage, 2012), Gojira strike back with “Magma” (it’s their 6th release). “Magma” might be the band’s most controversial release along their 15-year old career in the music industry. The truth is that a long time spent and many hearings are mandatory in order for you to get in the mood, as we no longer have to deal with another “typical” Gojira record; more like a renewed creation with ideas that give another view about the artistic concerns of the quartet.
“Shooting Star” which is the album’s first track, proves exactly that (mid tempo pace, clean vocals, solid structure, free from death metal forms, different). Later on, this killing machine throws to our faces three straight to the head hits (“Silvera”, “The Cell and Stranded”) which hold simple structures, short durations and catchy refrains (for example “Stranded” will ring in your head while you sleep) and somewhere there, heads begin to roll (yes, the headbanging is intense). After a short break of half a minute (“Yellow Stone”) the band continues on different paths, with the title track based on the ”robotic” vocals of Joe that with the assistance of the born in a technological laboratory lead melody results into a perverse and ”sick” picture in mind.
Subsequent hits come from two tracks (“Pray” and “Only Pain”) that are too loud with swings and outbursts, which show us that the French may be looking for something new in the music, but at the same time they’re not forgetting their background. Towards the end of this interesting wandering encounter, we come across ”Low Lands” which “scars” this release with its minimal – almost post rock – sounds and abstract mood. In the second of half of the track, the speed rises slightly but significantly and guitars break the monotony. The album closes with a strange, even for such experimenting band like Gojira, track; slow tempo, acoustic guitar and percussion in a relaxed composition that serves as a means for discharging the demanding hearing of “Magma ”. Invest time and emotions on this release, you will be rewarded.
5/6
