HEAR: GOIJIRA - L’Enfant Sauvage

Gojira - L’Enfant Sauvage

Despite my jaded view of the musicindustry current, I was excited to get this record. The French metal outfit, Gojira,recently won a “Revolver Magazine” award, so I figured I’d hate it forsure. But in efforts to seek out great music, you gotta give stuff a listen despite what horrible rumors you've heard.

L’Enfant Sauvage explodes with unique thrashing riffsthat grab your attention and then moves into large soundscapes. Seeping withplenty melody and metal riffs to keep it interesting, Gojira corners the marketwith juxtapositions, turning unique riffs to solid straight-up chuggers,placing bazaar next to familiar and balancing beautiful parts to jagged.

 

Gojira’s forte is their craftsmanship of arrangement.It’s actually quite masterful and clearly the point of their passion. The songsare rollercoasters that bring you along for the highs, drops and centrifugalturn outs. The riffery is pretty excellent as well, some that rip like a semiautomatic while others are a nice fat sawed-off shotgun taking out agathering of zombies.

The skeptic in me did find parts annoying. While some vocals are pretty awesome, others are emotionless bits of robotic soundbites. At times the record becomes, what I call, ‘dance-metal’,influenced by on industrial  masters like Ministryand NIN, though here they are more deriviative than exceptional. Luckily it’s not verylong until another good bit of rock comes along.

The major upside to this LP is that everytrack a goodone, unique, and offers something out of the ordinary. Born in Winter startswith, dare I say, a Leonard Cohen-esque vocal that bends into a large metalanthem. The Fall has a vocal reminiscent of Alice in Chains Layne Staley. Giftof guilt, Pain is a Master and This Emptiness (a bonus Track) are inspiring enoughthat all otherwise awkward parts are quickly forgiven and replaced by catchylingering riffs and large melodies.

Gojira is not your typical metal for that and love it. Ilike that there are parts of this record that not everybody's going to like equally.It's not cookie-cutter. It's weird yet familiar. I like that it’s not amonotonous record with 12 of the same songs, only than A&R chumps dig that. WhileI don’t always love every morsel, these French guys are taking risks and that Idig!

The biggest dissappointment is that I don't like the way it ends.After a pretty grand album, it just stops. But maybe that’s what I don’t like.

Don’t stop Gojira! Don’t stop. \m/-s