THE LINK

"The Link" is the 2nd full-length studio album by French progressive/groove metal act Gojira. The album was released through Boycott/Next Music in April 2003. It´s the successor to "Terra Incognita" from 2001. The 2005 remastered Listenable Records re-release of the album is slightly different from the original version, as some intros/outros have been changed.

"Terra Incognita" was a rather typical debut release, as it featured material which were quite diverse and inconsistent in style and quality. It made for a raw and unpolished first impression of Gojira, and while "The Link" is not 100% consistent in style and quality either, it´s audible that Gojira have settled a bit more on a personal sound. The raw yet at times semi-melodic singing style is in place, the heavy angular riffs and rhythms in unconventional time signatures, the atmospheric sections, and the environmental/social issue lyrics are there too. Tracks like "The Link" and "Death of Me" could just as well have been featured on the next couple of albums, but as mentioned above the band hadn´t yet settled 100% into their own personal style, and tracks like "Over the Flows" and "Wisdom Comes" (which is the re-recorded title track from their 2000 demo) are relatively far removed from what Gojira would produce on their succeeding releases. That makes for a diverse but also a bit of an unfocused listen, and it´s probably an aquired taste if stylistic inconsistency is considered a strength or a flaw. In this case I tend to go with the latter opinion, because to my ears some of the tracks disrupt the overall flow of the album.

When that is said "The Link" is still a very impressive sophomore album by Gojira. The album features a professional, powerful, and well sounding production, the musicianship is on a high level on all posts, and the songwriting has improved greatly since the debut, so upon conclusion "The Link" is a high quality release although the adventurous ideas sometimes affect the flow of the album (which is especially the case with the last couple of tracks on the album). A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)