Rob’s Album Of The Week: Gojira’s Fortitude

You wouldn’t ever fathom that one of the best metal acts on the planet is from a French commune consisting of less than 6,000 people, but that’s part of Gojira’s story. Hailing from Ondres within the department of Landes located in Southwestern France, this band brings a distinct intensity that is matched by few. They don’t stick to one style with a range that goes from progressive death metal to groove metal with technical arrangements adorned in between. Also, like every metal band should, they exude pure emphasis and unbridled loudness. Their seventh album, Fortitude, that’s due out on April 30 via Roadrunner Records takes things to a new level.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Joe Duplantier produced and recorded the album at his Silver Cord Studio in Queens, New York. Metal records often fall victim to the “loudness war” that listeners and critics refer to but Fortitude’s sound quality is just right. What stuns me with this record is the instrumentation and structure. The riffs never let up, they sometimes weave in and out of a song but when they come back its at the perfect time. It’s consistently entertaining and there’s a special energy that it gives off. It’ll make you act like a maniac in your private listening abode in no time.

There are many sources for motivation in this world, but how about your own birthday? I turned 34 this past…