Victim

As many fans in the metal community are aware of, especially the younger or modern fans, Gojira are one of the most popular metal bands existing. To my surprise, which I’m sure others not realizing this as well, Gojira didn’t kick off with a colossal bang with their debut record Terra Incognita. In about a span of four years, they’ve released four demos; two of which contain demos for their said debut record. What now appears as a modernized metal band compared to their extreme beginning, we’ll take a look just how extreme the band was as Godzilla.

The music here is straightforward as it sounds in death metal, though different. The riff progression is in a groovier fashion than the traditional ones in the genre, alongside heavy bass lines which sound a little jazzier. Unlike most drumming in the genre, blast beats are absent, but the overall performance is still on the angrier side; aggressive-sounding. Same applies for the vocals, with a touch of nasty and sinister. The first and last songs unveil this unexpected atmosphere, coming from the chorus pedal turned on during the bridges of the songs. The other two songs are rather standard and offer nothing you haven’t heard before already.

As expected, this isn’t groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination. The band would work on developing their sound and origination, including maturing it. Even the title of the songs seek redefinition, as they sound very basic despite what the music presents. They will also need to improve on the basic production qualities, since the best songs are sometimes unbearable to listen. The best songs are the title track and Sentenced to Life.