THE WAY OF ALL FLESH

GOJIRA are a very talented Extreme Metal band from France. They really do put a lot of thought into the lyrics, but lets face it this is all about the heavy riffs and Death Metal vocals. A similar sound to their previous album but maybe not as heavy. Truth is you know who it is right away, they have their own sound. Again another very long album at well over 70 minutes. I do like this a little better than the last one. It's the same lyrical theme about how we're destroying the earth with pollution.

"Oroborus" is a song I liked right away. It just sounds really good with that heavy sound and catchy riffs. Very spacey to end it. "Toxic Garbage Island" opens aggressively.The vocals come growling in spitting out the lyrics. I like how it slows down some. The tempo continues to shift back and forth. A tirade at how were polluting out earth."It's a plastic bag in the sea !!!" "A Sight To Behold" is an interesting sounding song that's quite catchy. That changes before 3 minutes as it turns heavy and the vocals get more brutal. Changes back after 4 minutes to the original melody. Cool tune. "Yama's Messengers" is doom-like as it's fairly slow but heavy as vocals come in screaming. Check out the drumming ! The lyrics are so condemning. "The Silver Cord" is a 2 1/2 minute instrumental. It's fairly laid back. I like it. "All The Tears" opens heavily with guitars and drums. Vocals cry out. Riff-city right here. "Adoration For None" is the most extreme vocally. I'm reminded of ZERO HOUR with the lead guitar. A calm after 2 1/2 minutes then it kicks in more uptempo than ever.

"The Art Of Dying" opens with percussion and a humming sound. More percussion joins in. It kicks in heavily after a minute. Love the drumming. Amazing sound before the vocals come in before 2 1/2 minutes spilling his venom. It calms down late. Drums pound it out relentlessly to open "Esoteric Surgery". Vocals then a heavier sound. Catchy stuff. "Vacuity" has such a good beat to it as vocals join in. A great headbanger. One of my favs. "Wolf Down The Earth" opens with some killer guitar then the riffs flood the soundscape. The lyrics are brilliant. Kind of an eerie ending. "The Way Of All Flesh" is the 17 minute closer. It opens with drums and riffs galore. Silence before 7 minutes until 12 1/2 minutes. I hate when bands do this. Over 5 minutes of nothing. Anyway the rest is mostly guitar sounds.

I must admit those extreme vocals really keep me from enjoying it the way i'd like to. If your into those type of vocals you'll love this album. 3.5 stars.