Gojira The Way Of All Flesh

Following the immense praise of "From Mars To Sirius" and recurring trips across the Atlantic for North American touring alongside the likes of LAMB OF GOD, CHILDREN OF BODOM, and BEHEMOTH among others, Gojira established it's stranglehold on the extreme metal spectrum with a linguist's touch, a lyricist's finesse, and a crushingly heavy live show that left audiences astounded, establishing the band's live performance as a spot-on recreation of the band's increasingly adept and intelligent studio output. While 2007 wrapped with Gojira again touring North America on the Radio Rebellion Tour alongside BEHEMOTH to the best reaction yet, the dawn of 2008 saw a nearly 10 month wait for while the band assembled "The Way of All Flesh", one of the year's most anticipated records. This time revolving around the undeniable dilemma of a mortal demise, Gojira's soundtrack to the situation seems fitting. Shifting ever-so-slightly from the eco-friendly orchestra of impending doom on "From Mars To Sirius" to the band's new message of the equally uncontrollable inevitability of death, "The Way of All Flesh" melds the open and airy progressive passages Gojira has become famous for with the sonically dense sounds and bludgeoningly heavy rhythms that makes the band an equally intelligent force as it is unmatchably heavy. Featuring a guest vocal spot on "Adoration For None" from LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe - one of Gojira's most vocal supporters from their first moment making an impression in the Americas - and the now familiar MORBID ANGEL-isms of "The Way Of All Flesh"'s title track join the angular riffing more akin to MESHUGGAH on "Esoteric Surgery" and the epic, artful plodding of the nearly 10-minute "The Art of Dying," showing that Gojira have indeed opened a new bag of tricks for "The Way Of All Flesh", while not abandoning the sound that first showed a massive promise of potential on "Sirius". "It's more inventive than "From Mars To Sirius" and at the same time more straight to the point," Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier says of "The Way of All Flesh". "The whole album is about death, death is like a step on the path of the soul. The mystery surrounding this phenomenon is just so inspiring, and death is the most common thing on earth. "This album is also a "requiem" for our planet," Duplantier continues. "We don't want to be negative or cynical about the fate of humanity, but the situation on Earth is growing critical, and the way humans behave is so catastrophic that we really need to express our exasperation about it. It's not fear, but anger. But we still believe that consciousness can make a difference and that we can change things as human beings. "