Terra Incognita

Untamed, unrefined, heavy as hell. Easily Gojira's angriest work, and definitely one of my favorites. Of course, I do enjoy some of their later, "proggier" releases, this record may still be my favorite pick out of their entire discography, especially since they seemed to fizzle out a bit after L'enfant Sauvage, although I think that Fortitude was killer without shame. The later albums get softer and more accessible as the releases get newer, but this is where it all started, and thus deserves recognition and respect from all fans of this band. Melodies are few and far between, and pinch harmonics are in near-excess supply. They definitely weren't trying to be elegant, and they didn't need to be for this to be an enjoyable record. They accomplished what I believe to be their goal: A simple record chock full of killer lyrics and brutal headbanging anthems! This was without a doubt a successful, window-shattering, testicle-liquefying battle cry for some of their future records to come.

The record begins with the track clone, which is just total unstoppable death metal annihilation from start to finish. There is a brief calm part in the middle of the song, which, unsuspected by the first-time listener, is just buildup for one of the most legendary breakdowns I have ever heard. A solid start to the album, and lets you know what's going on music-wise on this record right away. The track that follows, Lizard Skin, is equally brutal. Not very musically complex throughout most of the song, a lot of 000 triplet riffs, but occasionally gets switched up with with this slide/hammer on 16th note riff to create a pretty cool effect. Next is Satan Is a Lawyer, which is another one of my favorites from this record. Frequent switches from calmer parts with clean vocals to sudden crushing riffs and growls. The instrumental track 04 is also inexplicably calming and satisfying, definitely a break from the slam.

The second quarter keeps the fight strong, with the highlight tracks for me being Blow Me Away You(niverse) and Space Time. The transition from 04 to Blow Me Away You(niverse) is just exquisite, and the heaviness and the deep vocals of the latter track stand in sharp contrast against the calming beauty of 04. Space Time is probably my favorite song on this album, full of tremolo picking and pinch harmonics. It pretty much sums up the album in one song, so no wonder it's so fucking brutal. Just a 10/10 track.

The highlight of the third quarter is certainly In the Forest. While Love is an excellent example of the content on this album, In the Forest just has it all to my ears. Intense and anxious buildups with clean vocals, unbelievably heavy sequences, and those signature nature-centered lyrics that give Gojira that ecological feel.

On the version of this album that I own, the fourth quarter is just live performances of three of some of the best songs on this album: Clone, Love, and Space Time, so they make for a great and memorable finisher to a great album.

Standout tracks: Clone, Blow Me Away You(niverse), Space Time, In the Forest

I’m aware that nowadays, given the current state of this band, as well as their enormous popularity in the metal community worldwide, it might be redundant to review their discography, considering that much has been said already, especially concerning their influences, their ideology and its recent style shift. Nonetheless, if there are works by them that could or should receive more attention, they’d certainly be their demos and first two albums. More often than not, due to the praise that endeavors as "From Mars to Sirius" or "The Way of All Flesh" receive (and rightfully so, don’t misunderstand me here), their early recordings can be easily overlooked by the audience, particularly newcomers. Which is a pity, since they’re a bit of a surprise.

Despite the fact that this is confessedly my favorite Gojira record due to personal preferences, I also believe it’s objectively one of their best efforts. Just as in the majority of debuts, we can appreciate the version of the band that stood the closest to their roots. This is exactly what they wanted to be, it’s their purest form. No pressure, no conditioning, just a bunch of young musicians and their convictions. They never managed to put out something by the likes of "Terra Incognita" again. Most of the releases that followed were in effect great, but still a far cry from this raw, visceral and energetic opus.

It can be somewhat difficult to place them entirely in one specific sub-genre. I'd say they started out as pure death metal (yet with certain peculiarities, as you’ll see), to later become half-death/half-progressive, to finally transition into a full progressive outfit, which in all honesty, sometimes barely qualifies as metal. Yes, they definitely exhibit groove elements, but not to the point they can be labeled entirely as groove metal.

Strong influences from acts such as Morbid Angel (particularly "Domination" and "Formulas Fatal to the Flesh") or Death (in the vein of "Human" and "Symbolic") are evident. There’s also a great deal of mid-paced, groovy sections that remind of Sepultura’s "Arise" era. Albeit many comparisons with other groups can be drawn, there’s indeed originality and diversity - this isn’t just predictable and bastardized death metal.

One of the most notable aspects is the production, which settles a sterile and eerie ambience the band never replicated, featuring a very thick guitar tone besides a dry drum sound. The guitar work is simple but effective, ranging from fast tremolo riffs with a fair amount of tempo changes, to others that are mid-paced and played in odd time signatures (slightly reminiscent of "Obscura" by Gorguts), to slow, atmospheric rhythms that include calm and relatively melodic parts. The bass, despite being a little buried in the mix, has a few standout moments, for example, in "Blow Me Away You(niverse)", "Space Time" or "Love". On the other hand, the drumming is superb - it blends in perfectly with the riffs and the atmosphere. It’s highly technical and precise, every single beat is on place. There are tracks with nearly constant double-bass (for example, "Clone", "Deliverance" and "Love"), ferocious blast beats (in songs such as "Lizard Skin" or "Fire is Everything") as well as many interesting fills, flowing perfectly all the way through, at all pace, whether it’s fast, moderate or slow.

The vocal performance also drags the listener’s attention. First and foremost, the words are clearly perceptible. Secondly, it’s noticeably eclectic - not only you’ll find the standard death metal deep growls (to give you an idea, fairly similar to Steve Tucker’s), but also a rather unique technique that many have described as "melodic yelling", which would eventually become Joe Duplantier’s trademark style, and even clean vocals. In contraposition with other releases, the lyrics are considerably more straight-forward and blunt. They don’t focus exclusively in ecology and spirituality, as they also address introspective and social issues.

So far, so good... do I have any complaints? Yes, five to be exact! Namely: "04", "5988 trillions de tonnes", "On the B. O. T. A.", "1990 quatrillions de tonnes" and "In the Forest". The first four are the typical passages (mostly instrumental) that are supposed to work as transitions between songs, but add zero musicality. "04" does nothing for 45 seconds and then blasts into an admittedly quite good tapping bass solo. In fact, without those pointless 45 seconds, it would have functioned better as an intro of "Blow Me Away You(niverse)" instead of a standalone song. "On the B. O. T. A." shows a similar style, for it also contains tapping, except it's guitar in lieu of bass and incorporates lyrics and drumming - but it's just as futile. "5988 trillions de tonnes" and "1990 quatrillions de tonnes" are an utter waste of time. The former is simply a display of tribal drumming (akin to what they did on subsequent recordings, like "The Link" or "The Art of Dying"), while the latter contains nonsensical screaming/screeching over a quiet guitar section - the first time I heard it reminded me of the infamous Silencer and their (thankfully) only full-length release. "In the Forest" is a really solid song, but it presents almost 7 minutes of silence and aleatory noisiness towards the end. The album would’ve been far better structured if these clumsy moments had been taken out.

But even so, regardless of the imperfections, I can affirm with certainty that the positive aspects outweigh the negatives by a long shot. You’re in for an interesting, intriguing and unorthodox approach to death metal, most entertaining to experience.

Favorite tracks: "Clone", "Lizard Skin", "Satan is a Lawyer", "Blow Me Away You(niverse)", "Deliverance", "Space Time".

I've heard of Gojira on multiple occasions, but curiously our paths have never crossed, so, I decided to stop waiting for coincidences and embark on my own towards the discography of one of the best known bands of modern European metal.

And our first meeting was... Disappointing.

Normally when I decide to do a review I usually listen to the album a good number of times, that helps me to familiarize myself with the songs, it allows me to hear details that may go unnoticed in the first listens and reflect more deeply on them, Gojira's "Terra Incognita" has caused me not to want to listen to it again, this for myself has already been a proof that a second listen will only worsen my perception of it, since, I will do it in a bad mood. Still, I made the effort to give it at least two listens and once I think I have the album well assimilated I went inside to tear it apart.

First, I think this album easily contains almost all the elements I hate from the metal world, at times Gojira try to be as "groove" as possible, as if it was pure Pantera worship, what it seems is that they didn't understand the work of Pantera, a riff no matter how heavy it sounds if it's not a good riff is worthless and on Terra Incognita you'll get tired of listening to weak riffs that have nothing memorable about them. Besides the poverty in the riffs and the crude attempt to sound heavy, I also consider it is an insult how they try to make believe they are playing complex compositions, we get it, you like "Obscura", but your songs are boring and a false perception of the complexity based on playing interlocking rhythms doesn`t make your songs better, if anything, it makes them more pretentious when they don't have the level to be.

And yes, that's the last element I hate about this album, that despite being a minor work that doesn't achieve more than being a tribute to bands that did well what these French try to imitate, is that it's pretentious, with those instrumentals that go nowhere and that superficial and long ending, the album could have ended on track 12 "Love" but of course they needed to end with a very long song that has nothing special or memorable, and that even more is preceded by equally boring previous instrumental that fails miserably to be atmospheric because by the time this comes I have my brain fried from so many failed attempts of previous "groove". The album doesn´t need those last segments, but of course they are acting like "Hey we are Gojira and besides being heavy and technical we are also progressive and atmospheric. We have it all, how cool are we"? No, you are boring, pretentious and untalented. It's been such a long time since an album made me so angry, it's my fault for forcing myself to look for something positive and listen to the album on numerous occasions when I should have written these very words once i finished it for first time.

My journey through Gojira's discography will continue soon, surely the next of them will please me more since the expectations are low, besides my next stop will not be "The Link" but "Maciste all Inferno" which called my attention.

I give it 7/100 because among all the garbage on the album I consider the song "Blow Me Away You(niverse)" to be decent, but I don't even see it as a song through which I can create a path that leads to a better musical outcome, it's like a song that could be played on the local hard rock station and I'd find it passable.

I hope I don't regret starting this journey because a part of me is already doing it.

This is the first tentative step on an incrementally improving spiral staircase of a career that has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years into one of the most important in the metal realm. Indeed, most of the defining elements of future groundbreaking Gojira releases like From Mars to Sirius and The Way of All Flesh are here in embryonic form, and though Terra Incognita is far from perfect, or even overly compelling or memorable, it contains enough inherent value to be worth a look from both fans of these innovative Frenchmen, and those who by nature enjoy crawling through the darker, heavier depths of groove-laden death metal.

There is a resounding mechanical darkness here, expressed through the pounding, cyclical slabs of notation, that even back in 2000 proved a strong counterpoint to the natural, philosophical slant of Gojira’s blazing spirit. Some moments, like the oceanic tapping in 04, the plunking, bouncy, almost Primus-like funk of Satan Is a Lawyer, and the earthy, lumbering midsection of Deliverance are clear roots from which the distinguished, more avant-garde elements of their present releases have grown. Much of the record, however, is content to chug along in a variety of rhythmic patterning, some sections stronger than others, but with pretty consistent quality overall. I especially enjoy the dark, luminous riffing in Space Time, a nice contrast to the carving, pinch-harmonic sprinkled grooves, a dichotomy they would eventually perfect. A number of songs also provide clean, distinct, simmering choruses that are unmistakably evident as Gojira, even as we know them now, a true compliment.

Truly, there are a number of good ideas and techniques that pepper this release, but they are not to a level of fruition that makes Terra Incognita a great record. Beyond a pretty fair handful of sections, it is not incredibly memorable, though to be fair, neither is it ever in any way bad, or even really average, as it certainly bears its own unique stamp. Certainly, if you desire this kind of plodding, mechanistic darkness in your metal, there is not a lot of quality material to choose from, and this is definitely far more interesting and talented than anything you’ll find from a Fear Factory release around this period. Its mathematical, muscular pounding has more in common than Meshuggah than anyone else, another potential indicator of your enjoyment.

In the end, I don’t think I will listen to Terra Incognita very often, as it’s just so completely eclipsed and out-paced by its successors, but for a debut album of groove-laced death, it is both interesting and long on potential, the grooving tendrils that have encased my life of late already budding, if not lengthy enough to grab a firm hold. This will be of special worth and curiosity for huge Gojira fanatics though, like me, as it’s an interesting history lesson in the evolution and basic biology of a band that’s become so dynamic and important. If you fit into either one of these aforementioned categories, you should certainly hunt this down, though I’d warn you not to be overly expectant, but if you’ve already heard the bands newer, more popular releases, and count yourself unimpressed, there is no reason for you to visit this. For anyone new to this project, though, I’d point you to the stunning The Way of All Flesh first and foremost, followed by From Mars to Sirius and L’enfant Sauvage, all of them artful expressions of pure passion. Terra Incognita is a good effort, but it’s so completely blown away by its siblings that at this point it’s more interesting as a historical footnote than an endlessly listenable album.

-Left Hand of Dog
http://reaperdivision.blogspot.com/

With its rather unassuming cover art (I like to refer to it as 'The Nose'...look closely), the debut of French Gojira might give the impression that it was any of a million typical alt rock or alt metal albums released by countless forgettable bands in the 90s. But the music contained within Terra Incognita, 14 tracks, half of which are culled from the band's Saturate and Wisdom Comes demos (1999-2000), is often not a great distance from their more recent material ala The Way of All Flesh. Combining accessible, mechanical grooves into the field of more intense death metal is not a trait often welcomed within the genre, and to be sure, Gojira have their lovers and haters like any other band that sticks their neck out and begs to be just a little different.

Terra Incognita might be the band's first and worst effort, but that's saying a lot for the French band. Even on this formative release, which occasionally lacks the distinctness of its younger siblings, there are still a few good songs and ideas. With a sound culled from influences like Meshuggah, Sepultura, Carcass, Kong, Machine Head, and perhaps a little Prong, the band has a lot of modern, arguably nu-metal mosh to them that can often distract from their heightened sense of riffing, but occasionally even these LCD grooves can stun the listener straight into submission with their effortless precision. Although the band's musical skills were already well honed by this point, I am not a major fan of Joe Duplantier's vocals on many of the tracks, which feel like a rather ho-hum mesh of grunts and snarling, like a modern Carcass with little visceral splash.

"Clone" showcases the band's love for tapping rhythms, something they continue to this day (on a number of Way of All Flesh tracks), and this is sadly the most interesting riff of the song. The rest of the track consists of big, mid-period Sepultura-like mosh/thrash, rolling double bass and not much in the way of a hook, not even the Prong-like riff at 2:00 with the squeal is enticing. They lead off "Lizard Skin" with a decent droning guitar rhythm, then break for a more mathematical chug-off akin to Meshuggah. "Satan is a Lawyer" introduces goofy, clean vocals over lightly distorted, almost funk-rock guitar rhythms, all of which are rather garbage until the band busts out the speed-picked neo-thrash rhythm at around 2:40. "04" is an interlude piece with more tapping mayhem, while "Blow Me Away You (niverse)" lurches with some sagging groove rhythms but finally picks up a little near the end.

I'm not a huge fan of that entire chunk of album, but after comes fascinating second interlude, " 5988 Trillions De Tonnes" formed of ambient swells and raggedy tribal percussion, which precedes "Deliverance", which opens with some thrash-u-puncture and grating and groove-laden death. "Space Time" is one of the strongest tracks on the album, with strong and curious drumming courtesy of Mario Duplantier, and Joe using his more identifiable, hoarse, angsty vocals. "On the B.O.T.A." emits some nutty tapping and a fusion-funk atmosphere, while "Rise" has an incredibly dense and sick verse rhythm, among some less interesting, chug chunks and then transforms back into the natural 'rain forest' percussive interlude of "5988 Trillions...".

The final stretch of Terra Incognito begins with the thunderous, low-end churn of "Fire is Everything", which devolves into a dull, minimal chug-a-long before taking the high road with a nice vocal/groove segment, only then to fall once more into another, sluggish, not very interesting riff that crashes into the closing patter of electronic rain. "Love" builds a rolling artillery in the verse, then crashing around your mind with some atmosphere before it erupts into a very Meshuggah breakdown interspersed with great percussive strikes. "1990 Quatrillions de Tonnes" uses somber, cleaner guitars and samples of vocal torment along a steady rock beat, like a river winding into Pandemonium and picking up echoes of the insanity beyond. The 'closer' to the album, "In the Forest" is another of its best tracks, building a feel reminiscent of the Dutch band Kong before the vocals, and then some very forceful palm muted rhythms that chug into the silence beyond...until a hidden instrumental track pops up for a brief spell.

I was not a huge fan of this album at the time, and even listening back to it today, it feels dated and more than a little sterile. They were merely a curiosity in 2000, another band that dared walk the ground of a Prong or Meshuggah but with less interesting songs than the former and little of the machine-like hostility of the latter (i.e. an album like Chaosphere). Since the band have taken off, being booked on huge tours and profiting from a large degree of buzz, they've matured considerably. For that reason, I'd suggest any of their later full-length offerings above this, and delegate Terra Incognita to those fans who want to listen to the band's 'demo' phase, where the soil was fertile with a crop of dynamic intentions, but the early harvest was simply not the best of eats.

Highlights: Space Time, In the Forest

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

I've always sort of been a fan of groove metal, not necessarily the genre, but merely a few bands within it. Pantera, Lamb of God, Mastodon, etc. You know, those really popular dudes with all of their MTV fandom and such. It wasn't until I listened to Gojira and this album specifically that I actually began to make an effort towards collecting groove metal albums. I've since gotten all of Gojira's albums, but this is by far my favorite.

It starts off with Clone which has some sort of ambient intro (how the fuck else do you describe that?) before just ripping your face off in something that couldn't be called anything but death metal. The song continues on with some groovy guitar noodling before continuing forward in extreme brutality. And get this, about half way through, there's a breakdown! "Oh, how have you forsaken metal, Gojira, you've added a breakdown! ...wait a second, this breakdown kicks ass!" Seriously, I can't even continue reviewing this song because it changes so much, but the whole time, it retains it's amazingly tight, groovy, death metal nature. This is music you fuck to. No, actually, don't. You'd probably hurt someone.

Lizard Skin is very similar to the first song in nature, but otherwise entirely discernable and decently memorable. Then comes Satan is a Lawyer. Don't let the silly name fool you; this song will kick your ass. It starts off with a clean guitar interlude with some spoken lyrics before crushing you with another groovy, breakdown-esque riff, and then back to the clean. The song picks up pace about 2:30-3:00 minutes in.

I think I'm just going to quit while I'm behind. The songs are so amazingly diverse and so intricate, it's impossible to really review them all. Or any, for that matter. Words cannot do them justice. That's not to say that Gojira is made up of some sort of musical geniuses or anything whose work can only be ascribed to divine intervention. It's nothing of the sort. It's just tons of different shit slapped together in such a way that it works. Most of the songs have a general feeling to them: slow and crushing or fast and furious, always groovy. Many, however, have both. It's just the brilliance that is this album, I guess.

There's enough breakdowns and slow, "br00tal" riffing here to appease even the most casual of Hot Topic, deathcore kiddies and enough straight up metal and coherent songwriting to appeal to the strictest and purist of death metal fans. If you don't believe me, then get this and prove yourself wrong. This album has become one of my all-time favorites. Seriously, this is the best thing to come out of France since French Fries, and those came from Belgium.

For the many metal fans like myself that are fed up with the same old cliches that find themselves being copied over and over agian in the world of death metal, 'Terra Incognita' is a reassuring breath of fresh air.

When you first experience Gojira, it is very hard to analyze what you are hearing. The brutal style of death metal that they play, mixed with the atmospheric instrumentals and eco-conscious lyrics make for a very new sound. That is not to say that their music is completely new. Many of their riffs resemble that of bands like Sepultura and Entombed, and Joe Duplantier's vocal style is similar to Max Cavelera's, but the way that they play the music is very different. Their is a very enlightening aura that haunts the whole recording, and ties it together very well. This is very impressive, because the songs themselves are very unique to each other- that is, they don't all sound the same. 'Satan is a Lawyer' is by far the most different, but, when listened in context to the rest of the album, it works.

Individualy, the band is brilliant. Mario Duplantier is one of the best drummers I have listened to in a while, bringing a unique, almost funky, style to the genre. Christian Andreu and Joe Duplantier are both great guitarist, who instead of using overdone harmonies or flamboyant solos, mesh together with insane riffs and blasting grooves. Also, the evident connection between bass player Jean-Michel Labadie and Mario makes for a great, aggressive rythm section.

To try to analyze the CD would be very hard, though. It is the type of thing that you must liisten to and experience to understand. To try and and critique it is very hard, because it is so flawless. One thing that could have changed is the sound clip at the beginning of 'Blow Me Away You (niverse)'. It takes away from the abstract and original feel of the song. Also, some of the breakdowns are similar. However, they do a great job of making their break-downs sound good, unlike many of the grindcore bands that completley overuse and ruin them.

The only thing I can say is that you should definitely give Gojira a chance. If you are into the standard stock bands of today, you won't like them. However, if you really want to open your mind and experience something fresh, buy 'Terra'.

Best Songs: Love, Satan is a Lawyer, Clone, Fire is Everything
Worst Songs: If I had to pick one, it would be Blow me Away You (niverse)

Heavy yet crystal clear production creating “experimental” catchy death metal. Now I use the word “experimental” lightly because they aren’t overtly experimenting around, but to just simply classify them as death metal would be wrong too. But lets just say this is some unique death metal that doesn’t suck.

This is the kind of metal that you just want to be high when you listen to. The riffs are constantly changing, not in a jazz-metal like manner where it just happens suddenly, but they just fuse it together so two completely different riffs flow smoothly. That style in itself is unique since one moment you’re listening to some heavy chugging then all the sudden it goes into some atmospheric acoustic melody then suddenly changes into this fast thrashing riffage. No its nothing like that fagass band Opeth, this is different. Its much simpler but the structure is solid making them kickass.

The musicianship is tight, although they have almost no solos. The guitarist rely mostly on chugging and powerchord melody, which isn’t bad at all. When he starts chugging, I mean he fucking start chugging. He fucking tears his guitar apart, using weird rhythms and creative noises from his guitar that are uncommon in metal. The bassist’s style is also different since he follows mostly the drums but does it in a way where it almost resembles funk. The drummer also is unique. Its been a while since I’ve been impressed by a metal drummer but he managed to do just that. Its not overtly fast or anything like that, its just that he uses a style mostly found in trip hop or even rap. Shit, did I just say rap? I hope I didn’t scare any hardcore death metal kids away, but don’t worry this isn’t some shitty rapcore. It is death metal, with a weird bass structure and different drumming style.

Another highlight of the album is the weird and atmospheric instrumentals. Its so atmospheric to the point its almost haunting. The album as a whole conveys a very haunting mood but the instrumentals really ice that up. The vocals too are impressive, its nothing special but there’s just something about his vocals that’s captivating.

The album as a whole is mid-paced but there are some fast songs. But even me, being an avid speed metal freak, liked some of the slower songs in this album. The unique chugging from the guitarist really makes up for all the lack of speed (but still the slower songs gets boring though). Like I said before, this is an album you would want to listen to when you’re high. Just a very unique and haunting death metal album overall. Its not for everyone, listen with an open-mind, you may like what you hear.

RECOMMENDED SONG: Clone, Fire is everything, Love
LYRICS: I don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about: ie. “Satan is a Lawyer”
PRODUCTION: Heavy, yet really clear
PACKAGING: A guy giving himself a blowjob is on the cover
OVERALL: Not a bad album at all, very unique and different