Magma, Gojira’s sixth full-length offering, was (and remains) an unalloyed masterpiece that cemented the band’s reputation as one of the most forward-thinking and technically brilliant metal bands currently treading the boards. With the album supported by a tour that was sonically and visually stunning, the stage was set for Gojira to continue their ascent to the very pinnacle of metal’s firmament, only to find themselves (like so many others) derailed by a pandemic that cut a swathe through the industry. Thus, it has been five long years since the band graced us with Magma and, for fans of the band, it has been a lengthy damn wait. Produced once again by Joe Duplantier and mixed by Andy Wallace, Fortitude sees the band continue to push the boundaries in search of the heaviest matter in the universe and the results, as we have come to expect from this most enigmatic of bands, are as compelling as ever.
The album opens with the dizzying Born For One Thing, a crushing mix of classic Gojira groove, combined with elements of Sepultura’s indigenous experimentation on Roots. Adopting a very different approach to Magma’s slow-burning The Shooting Star, riffs writhe and swirl amidst Mario Duplantier’s explosive explorations around the kit, further cementing the feeling that Gojira pack more ideas into one song than most bands manage over the course of a whole album. The South American influences remain on the recently released Amazonia, (put out in support of Brazilian indigenous rights), and it proves to be a hypnotic piece that grooves rather than rages, the band crafting a dense tropical atmosphere that envelops the listener. For those wanting a rather more immediate assault, the stair-stepping riff of Another World (released way back in the August of last year) is waiting in the wings, drawing the album to an altogether heavier place, although its conclusion drifts into outer space via a series of echoing guitar lines. Gojira then blindside the listener with the acapella opening to Hold On, a melodic piece that pairs layered vocals and hazy guitars to mesmerising effect. In contrast, New Found combines the heavier approach for which Gojira are famed with the ethnic digressions of Born For One Thing, with neck-threatening results, although it does drag its coda somewhat.
The second half opens with the bizarre sonic digression of Fortitude, which ends up sounding like the band absorbed the avant-indie of Deus during their downtime. It segues directly into mid-tempo rocker The Chant, which draws on the rhythm of the chain gang for inspiration. It’s quite unlike anything else out there right now, and it’s amazing how quickly the wordless melody finds its way into your subconscious, although the band overplay their hand, and it feels as if it required a touch of restraint in the studio. Nevertheless, having successfully given the listener a contact high, Gojira set about dispersing the trippy atmosphere with the brutal Sphinx. One of the heaviest tracks of the album, Sphinx could easily have appeared on Magma, and is arguably the closest the album comes to a ‘typical’ Gojira sound. A brief ambient interlude aside, the band head bravely Into The Storm, all hyper-speed guitars and crushing percussion albeit with a Devin-esque sense of melody and space. The pace slows for the The Trails, an airy, gothic track that recalls The Cure with its whispered vocals and taut percussion. It leaves the flash-bomb brutality of Grind to see the album out, the band once again weaving off-kilter fury and otherworldly beauty together in equal measure.
Fortitude is pretty much everything for which we could have hoped in a new Gojira album. Melodic yet muscular, it sees the band continue to evolve their sound with considerable success. Although a couple of songs arguably drag their run time a tad (New Found and The Chant in particular), the album sees the band exploring a wide variety of sounds with aplomb, harnessing the kinetic energy of their earlier work, and providing it with a greater degree of space in which to breathe. A beautifully produced, often stunning trip into a wider, weirder world, Fortitude sees Gojira continue their evolution into one of the most important bands working in heavy music today and, if it doesn’t quite reach the stratospheric heights of Magma, it comes damn close. 8.5
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