French band GOJIRA: Your opinion?

On some french webzines, everyone seems to say this band is soooo good, that I thought it might be a good idea to listen again...

Went to their myspace again... Listened 3-4 songs, and then... I don't like it very much...

Some french webzines seem to say there's a little GOJIRA phenomenon in foreign countries, claiming the band is growing "bi"g and peoples like americans can't get enough of it (Or something like that)...

Did you hear about this band? Did you listen?
What's your opinion about it?

I wonder if these french webzines and readers claim to like this band thaaaat much because they're french... On a strictly musical (Compositions, deep feeling etc) point of view, I don't find them much better than many many bands... Ok, it might be more professional than many french bands, but then? I listen to music...

I've never heard of them before....
Are they a 'mainstream' band? I've not paid too much attention to what's going on outside of my cave.

The French media is probably no different to the media anywhere else, fairly insecure, needing to promote the locals (probably because their friends are members). I got fed up of Terrorizer trying to promote shit like Madder Mortem, Akercocke and Anaal Nathrack so stopped buying it.

christkum wrote:

I've never heard of them before....
Are they a 'mainstream' band? I've not paid too much attention to what's going on outside of my cave.

In terms of popularity I don't consider them as really mainstream,
but the medias they/ their label targets are...

Well, they appeared on the covers of some french rock metal magazines, so maybe they're mainstream, I don't follow their career...

I have their first album which was ok to me when it was out. I saw them a bunch of times and they definitively know how to handle their instruments and deliver a powerful show. I even saw them when their called themselves GODZILLA, they were touring some dates with CANNIBAL CORPSE, AETERNUS & DEFLESHED. At that time they were playing some very heavy death metal, they weren't into that "atmospheric" or "spiritual" songs they can play today.
I don't think they are purely death metal, but they have some elements from MORBID ANGEL for sure. Not a bad band, they work hard to reach that level, so even If I'm not a fan I respect their "success".
I am quite amused by some comments on the webzines you mentionned Gab, because a lot of wankers spit on them whereas they certainly listen to GOJIRA some years ago and that was probably their first steps in metal....but they probably won't admit it!!! héhé!
It is becoming a trend to piss on them. GOJIRA is certainly more interesting to me than faggotic shit like LYZANXIA, GTI, DAGOBA, ONE GAY MIRROR, KLONE, ULTRA VOMIT, all those craps than french people are so proud of....and they called that metal, what the fuck?????

I got their first demo when they were called GODZILLA, I kinda liked it... It sounded like some old MALEVOLENT CREATION with some DEATH...
Then I saw them live with IMMORTAL I think, and wasn't too blown away, it sounded better on the demo... But it's old stuffs, 98-99...

I'm not sure if it has became a trend to spit on them... Maybe some peoples feel bored because their music has became too 'light' to be associated with death metal or coz there are sites praising the godness of GOJIRA, while it's not the revelation of the new century...

There's some kind of old school revival, and I would easily see the peoples into this movement spit on them because their music follows the opposite path: Plastic modern death metal with a light sound and tiny influences...

Now some peoples on these webzines are sooo boring: You can't say you don't like Gorija unless they threat you of closeminded, arrogant whatever... As if you SHOULD like it, at all costs

Personally, they almost are in the "I don't care"/ "to avoid" folder,
as well as most LISTENABLE records' bands...
It's the same problem than for our 'French death metal elite": KRONOS, BENIGHTED and the likes... I don't care, it doesn't emotionally affect, in two CDs their riffs will be forgotten... If it was demo bands it would have been quite cool, but we're talking about bands with more than 2 albums and labels behind them... Definitely lacks of 'genius' for my tastes... Ok it's pro and pro and pro, but I don't really care about this matter...
Death metal needs a new Bill Steer, Chuck Shuldiner, Trey Azagtoth, even half one or a quarter...

I don't clearly remember GTI's music, maybe I should listen again one day... Wasn't it full of samples and crazy arrangements?

Yeah kinda shit like that, some modern metal stuff with techno or bossa nova samples if I recall them well. I saw them in Poitiers and I leave the place soon after one or two tracks, not my cup of pus. :erk:

Jim wrote:

Yeah kinda shit like that, some modern metal stuff with techno or bossa nova samples if I recall them well. I saw them in Poitiers and I leave the place soon after one or two tracks, not my cup of pus. :erk:

Well, I think GLAUKOM SYNOD isn't so far... I'm not sure coz I heard only the first GTI demo, but I use quite a lot of fucked samples from disco and shits like that :woo

You know GENGIS THRON Jim?

To be honest I prefer listening to the whole GS stuff than a single track of GTI because at least in GS I can enjoy some parts (especially in "ogre").

I don't know GENGIS THRON, what is it??

Jim wrote:

To be honest I prefer listening to the whole GS stuff than a single track of GTI because at least in GS I can enjoy some parts (especially in "ogre").

:hailz:

Jim wrote:

I don't know GENGIS THRON, what is it??

Weird new band... Some mix of grind and other kinds of music... I only have the first MCD... Need to listen more, it's ok for now...

gabalgabow wrote:

It's the same problem than for our 'French death metal elite": KRONOS, BENIGHTED and the likes... I don't care, it doesn't emotionally affect, in two CDs their riffs will be forgotten... If it was demo bands it would have been quite cool, but we're talking about bands with more than 2 albums and labels behind them... Definitely lacks of 'genius' for my tastes... Ok it's pro and pro and pro, but I don't really care about this matter...
Death metal needs a new Bill Steer, Chuck Shuldiner, Trey Azagtoth, even half one or a quarter...

Don't you really find french acts that are worth to be listened to?
I listen some extracts of the last KRONOS and that seemed more achieved than their previous works.
2nd GOROD album is pretty brilliant with a high level of musicianship but also good songwriting.
The 2nd BLOODY SIGN is also very good, what do you think of that release?
Some more confidential bands like ETERNAL or HATE SUPREMACY should have released new stuff but it was months ago and there are no news since.

Jim wrote:

Don't you really find french acts that are worth to be listened to?

I didn't say so,
I meant the "French death metal elite", understand the 4-5 biggest french 'death' bands according to sales and our local "specialist" medias aren't interesing as far as I'm concerned... They're pro, they have some song-writing knowledge, but I don't feel a lot... etc etc...

KRONOS might have better-done songs, they gain more experience and it might show, it lacks the 'genius' I expect from a band with 3 albums and more than 10 years of existence... It's nothing personal, it's just that I don't personally care or really feel the need to hear their music...
If I had the technical skills and more time I could play this kind of songs... Many many bands are "as worthy" in my opinion... What Death metal needs are 'genius' guitarists to be more than fans devoted to their bands... Right now in 2008 I don't see many... It's often 'cool', 'kicking', 'brutal', sometimes 'deeply expressive', but that's all...

Think seriously: Bill Steer, Trey Azagtoth, Chuck Shuldiner... Do you see some current guitarist doing at least a quarter as good as what they did individually? Listening to their music right now it could sound a bit everheard, but in the context of the epoch, how great was it? They touched the absolute...

gabalgabow wrote:

Jim wrote:

Don't you really find french acts that are worth to be listened to?

I didn't say so,
I meant the "French death metal elite", understand the 4-5 biggest french 'death' bands according to sales and our local "specialist" medias aren't interesing as far as I'm concerned... They're pro, they have some song-writing knowledge, but I don't feel a lot... etc etc...

KRONOS might have better-done songs, they gain more experience and it might show, it lacks the 'genius' I expect from a band with 3 albums and more than 10 years of existence... It's nothing personal, it's just that I don't personally care or really feel the need to hear their music...
If I had the technical skills and more time I could play this kind of songs... Many many bands are "as worthy" in my opinion... What Death metal needs are 'genius' guitarists to be more than fans devoted to their bands... Right now in 2008 I don't see many... It's often 'cool', 'kicking', 'brutal', sometimes 'deeply expressive', but that's all...

Think seriously: Bill Steer, Trey Azagtoth, Chuck Shuldiner... Do you see some current guitarist doing at least a quarter as good as what they did individually? Listening to their music right now it could sound a bit everheard, but in the context of the epoch, how great was it? They touched the absolute...

those guys just aren't playing the same league Gab...they are the genre leaders, KRONOS and their innumerable likes are just followers. Honest, skilled, experienced, but still followers.
Trey already said in 91 that there was no room for new death bands anymore, that newcomers should invent something else...haha