GOJIRA — Magma

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GOJIRA - Magma cover
4.03 | 22 ratings | 2 reviews
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Album · 2016

Filed under Progressive Metal
By GOJIRA

Tracklist

1. 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 (3:35)

Total Time 43:56

Line-up/Musicians

- Joe Duplantier / vocals, guitars
- Christian Andreu / guitars
- Jean-Michel Labadie / bass
- Mario Duplantier / drums

About this release

June 17, 2016
Roadrunner Records
RR7479-2

Thanks to siLLy puPPy for the addition and Vim Fuego, adg211288 for the updates

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UMUR
"Magma" is the 6th full-length studio album by French progressive/groove metal act Gojira. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in June 2016. It´s been four years since the release of "L'Enfant Sauvage (2012)", but it´s not an unusual release cycle for Gojira as there were also four years between "The Way of All Flesh (2008)" and "L'Enfant Sauvage (2012)". They have always been a meticulous act, who would rather spend a few more years perfecting their material rather than release an album a year they aren´t completely satisfied with.

Stylistically there have been a few changes since "L'Enfant Sauvage (2012)", although Gojira´s trademark progressive/groove metal style is overall intact. This time around lead vocalist/guitarist Joe Duplantier experiments quite a bit with clean vocals in addition to his more regular raw vocals, and that is pretty new in Gojira´s musical universe, and it has a great impact on the band´s sound on "Magma". The tracks are also generally a bit more simple and atmospheric compared to the more riff heavy and often relatively complex structured material of the past.

The change is heard right from the opening track "The Shooting Star", which is quite an atmospheric slow building track featuring clean vocals. "Silvera" follows and is a much more riff heavy and aggressive track though (the main riff is absolutely killer), so it´s not all mellow and melancholic atmospheres. Even the more heavy tracks like "Silvera" and "Only Pain", feature a good portion of atmospheric parts though. Other noteworthy tracks include "Stranded", which features quite the distinct sounding pitchshifter riff ("Only Pain" actually features a very similar sounding riff), and the atmospheric title track, but "Magma" is generally a consistent high quality release.

"Magma" features a powerful and detailed sound production, which suits the material well, and upon conclusion, it´s another intriguing and adventurous release by Gojira. Compared to the preceding releases by the band, it´s a lot more accessible and instantly catchy, and I think that´ll win them a new audience, but don´t make the mistake of thinking this is mainstream hook laden material, because that´s after all not true. There´s still a good degree of complexity in the songwriting and execution of the music, which should ensure that older fans of the band, should be able to enjoy it too. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
Necrotica
If Gojira’s last effort L’Enfant Sauvage presented a more streamlined sound, Magma is the next step in stripping it down. Abandoning the technical death metal sound that got them popular in the metal world might seem like a betrayal to some, but I’ve always seen Gojira as more of a progressive metal band anyway. They’ve often eschewed the modern tech-death tag in favor of a sound that, while brutal, is heavily textured and dripping with atmosphere all the same. Gojira’s way of combining beautiful textures, chunky riffs, and impressive instrumental skills is simply infectious, especially in albums like The Way of All Flesh and The Link. But Magma is a bit of a different beast, as it opts for an alarmingly simple approach to their signature sound. The groove metal element is still retained, but there’s almost a post-metal quality about the way the album is presented. We now have much more buildup and subtle dynamic shifts in many of the tunes, and this is clear right from the slow-burning opener “Shooting Star,” a song which immediately brings a sense of minimalism to the forefront. During the verses, a single guitar/bass note is repeatedly being played at the bottom while Joe Duplantier’s clear vocals take charge above it. While “Silvera” picks up the pace substantially with Mario Duplantier’s technical drumming and swifter guitar chugs, “Shooting Star” is a clear foreshadowing of the album’s tone. Speaking of vocals, Joe’s clean vocals are much more prominent. Harsh singing is still present, but it’s more thrash-based in nature instead of being gravelly; basically Joe’s shouted vocals are especially frequent. In any case, it’s not like Gojira’s technical side has been entirely erased here, as moments like the punchy-yet-melodic “Silvera” or the amazingly intricate polyrhythmic intro of “The Cell” demonstrate.

But strange moments do pop up more than once as a result of the band’s stylistic shift. The somber instrumental piece “Yellow Stone” is certainly in character for the band, given how their melancholic guitar-driven interlude “The Silver Cord” from The Way of All Flesh sounded. But it still seems completely crazy that they would place an acoustic ambient/folk song at the very end of the album, especially one that lasts for as long as it does (almost 4 minutes, in this case). But “Liberation” does represent this album’s experimentation nicely, and the preceding track “Low Lands” is another odd song that emphasizes a doom-laden atmosphere and somber melodies over outright heaviness. If there are any songs here that represent Gojira’s more traditional sound from past albums, they would be “Silvera,” “Stranded,” and “Only Pain.” Here, you get to hear all the intense double-bass drumming, heavy guitar distortion from Duplantier and Christian Andreu, and bassist Jean-Michel Labadie’s monstrous grooves. This is most notably heard on the fantastic chorus of “Stranded” which subtly slides into a 6/4-time riff while Joe Duplantier belts out some of his most intense harsh vocals yet. But I feel as though the more adventurous songs are also the most exciting ones; they may seem simplistic at first, but despite (and partially because of) their minimalism, they command the listener’s full attention through their subtleties. It would also be sensible to mention the event that likely influenced much of this album’s tone and style: the tragic loss of Joe and Mario Duplantier’s mother, Patricia Rosa. So the somber and downbeat vibe of Magma would certainly make sense because of this as well. While I don’t think this is Gojira’s best record, and it definitely seems like a transitional one, it’s an incredibly exciting one at the same time. It can be tonally inconsistent once in a while, but the unusual experiments and minimalist songwriting choices definitely stick out in a genre filled with technical wizardry and complexity. Magma may be from a different Gojira than we’re used to, but it’s still an excellent piece of work.

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