Expectations…they’ll kill ya. After spending the last two years in support of their monstrous From Mars to Sirius effort, French modern metallers Gojria return with an album decidedly less forceful and compelling in the form ofThe Way of All Flesh. While not a dud by any means, what we have is an album (and band) that simply has too much to live up to and with those set expectations, they’re going to let some people down.
From purely an approach standpoint, The Way of All Flesh differs slightly thanFrom Mars To Sirius. The band’s riff-heavy, rhythmic bundle is ever-present on “Toxic Garbage Island” and the throttling “Yama’s Messengers,” but missing are those seismic, mammoth riffs that were all over the place on From Mars.
We’ll skip past the head-scratching “A Sight to Behold,” an experimental, industrial synth number that is poorly placed as track #3, killing any and all momentum made by opener “Oroborus” and the aforementioned “Toxic Garbage Island.” The “Adoration For None,” which features some unnecessary guest vocals from Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe falls well short of the mark, while the neck-snapping “Esoteric Surgery” and “Vacuity” are well-conceived numbers, but don’t have the intrigue or dynamics heard on the last album.
The only spurt of melody is heard on “The Sliver Cord,” a two and-a-half minute instrumental that touches upon Gojira’s ability to create touching, somber melodic interludes. More of this would have been well-suited to be infused on “The Art of Dying” or “Wolf Down the Earth.”
For the lack of engaging moments, The Way of All Flesh will probably heighten Gorija’s profile based on their pounding, no-frills riff approach that has win over the Lamb of God/”pure” American metal crowd. However, the peaks and valleys just aren’t there, and albums like this will do little if Gorija wants to sustain a career far more interesting than LoG’s.
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)