Gojira: Ranking All 6 Studio Albums

By stepping away from their death metal roots on Magma, Gojira made their latest record an eclectic and emotive work of art.

The album bleeds with heartache and sorrow more than any of the group’s prior releases. While From Mars to Sirius, The Way of All Flesh and even L’Enfant sauvage possessed the ability to imbue extreme anthems with bitter lament, that all pales in comparison to the melancholy of their newest output. Greatly influenced by the tragic death of the Duplantiers’ mother, Patricia Rosa, in 2015, Magma continues the intelligent simplicity first hinted at on its predecessor – making entire songs out of one or two riffs – but constantly feels fresh thanks to a punchier approach and a massive increase in clean vocals.

Magma is short and sweet, evolving from song to song: the stoner rock-infused grooves of “The Shooting Star” loudly give way to the harsh hit single “Silvera”, while the title track, “Pray” and “Low Lands” all linger with gorgeous sweetness before a metallic climax.

Currently, it’s hard to tell whether Magma is a one-off in its disowning of full-on death metal, or a defiant symbol of Gojira’s impending future. But, either way, it shouldn’t matter, as the record’s sheer magnificence outweighs any form of genre elitism.