From Mars To Sirius - Gojira

The third release by French modern extreme metal act Gojira, 'Mars To Sirius' mixes crushingly heavy chugging sections and periods of brutal and mechanical death metal set to booming growled vocals with wide-open and spaced out melodic sections complete with clean singing, this latter musical aspect bringing to mind the output of US cyber-metal band Fear Factory. The production is big and clean yet also very powerful with some great crunchy guitars, and genearlly speaking the album does a great job of merging immensely heavy and catchy riffs with some great melodic sing-along choruses, although it can sound a little bland and unengaging on occasion. ...  Read the complete review

In complete contradiction to the review below me, I believe this album to be an absolute masterpiece of Progressive Death Metal. Intense is an overused word for alot of bands but this word fits Gojira and this album with all the essence it can. Yet to name an album as intense implies a lack in attention to song construction, hooks, melodies etc but this album definately doesn't lack in any metal area at all. Gojira is a fine recipe of crushing riffs, originality, intensity, atmopheric textures, immense headbangability and awesome climaxes. To say this album has an "over reliance on gimmicks such as breakdowns" is a complete misinterpretation and ...  Read the complete review

Environmentally-friendly Canadian metal band Gojira sound much like a second-rate Devin Townsend Band, but that doesn't stop this album from being quite a corker. Following the same groove-laden style as Townsend's work, these songs tend to be overlong and lacking in ideas, saturated with a repetitive double bass pedal rhythm that becomes annoying and over-reliance on gimmicks such as breakdowns, but it still manages to hold together as a consistent album balancing melody and heaviness in a distinctive way. Few of the songs stand out from the general roaring tone, much as can be said for Townsend's albums such as 'Terria' and the excellent 'Synchestra,' but ...  Read the complete review