Keeping with the themes of taking action, the song is an uplifting statement to hold on to and to fight for all who are struggling with stress, depression, addiction, and feeling like you’re drowning in darkness. The fourth track “Hold On” begins with acapella vocalizations for the first two verses, before the jagged polyrhythmic riffs and drums begin. But there are of course those that deserve to be mentioned. It would be too easy to go song by song through this album, as there really isn’t a weak track, but that is tedious. I can’t think of another song in their catalog quite like it, which I take as a good sign for a band on its seventh album release never stop exploring, experimenting, and trying new things. Being about the destruction of the Amazon, it is unsurprisingly an angrier song, but one strong in South American rhythms, and indigenous instruments. It is immediately followed by the environmentally charged “Amazonia.” The band is of course known for their environmental consciousness, and it is the frequent subject of their songs. It is also admittedly pretty darn catchy with a chorus of ‘We were born for one thing/ Tame the greatest fear of all/ We were born for one thing/īorn to face the greatest fear of all.’ It is a cry of defiance to the fear of modern times, and to think about what we consume ourselves with, and is certain to be a crowd-pleaser once shows are back. Anchored by the powerful and technical drumming of Mario and the bass of Jean-Michel Labadie, the song weighs as much as their famous flying whales, while Joe and Christian Andreu riff over the top of it. The album roars into life with “Born For One Thing,” headbanging, and likely fist-pumping, an introduction if ever there was one.
It is a rousing call to arms in the face of worldwide pandemic and chaos, and it takes no prisoners.
‘Fortitude’ is by comparison a more cheerful album, and far more in the listener’s face, and considerably heavier than the last. It was much influenced by the death of Joe and Mario Duplantier’s mother, and the emotional toll it took to tour and talk about that album was exhausting. And like most other albums, has been subtlety influenced by the isolation and reflective time that was given.Īs a follow-up to the much-lauded ‘Magma,’ the band is personally in a better place than when they recorded that album. Like so many releases it was delayed for months by lockdowns. They remain one of France’s best non-culinary exports, so like many fans, I was excited to learn that their new album ‘Fortitude’ will be released at the end of April. Gojira have for a while now been at the forefront of the more extreme end of technical and progressive metal.
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