Gojira Revisits Still Relevant Album From Mars to Sirius

Written by Gordon Beck

Metal music gets a bad rap from non-metal listeners. If you are an avid metalhead, I’m sure you’ve heard quips like “it’s just screaming” or “I like music, not noise.” Trying to win over friends to the genre can be quite hard. Choosing the right artist or album to recommend is essential. Gojira is certainly a decent pick in terms of warming the waters. Hailing from France, they built a globally recognized and respected stage for themselves over a 20 plus year career and are one of the few acts that can retain the unrelenting energy and aggression the genre is known for while simultaneously sounding quite beautiful. Production choices are raw yet atmospheric, and the “screaming” is often quite melodic. With the release of a limited edition vinyl of their classic 2005 album From Mars to Sirius  on the 17th, perhaps a listening party with skeptics is in order. 

Gojira is made up of brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier on vocals and drums, Christian Andreu on guitar, and Jean Michel-Labadie on bass. Gojira may be a huge metal act nowadays, but that wasn’t always the case. The first half of their career through the 2000s saw them mostly in obscurity. It wasn’t until 2005 when From Mars to Sirius landed them their first attention from critics, positive attention at that, and their first record deal with Prosthetic Records. In a lot of ways, this album marks a turning point in their career to becoming one of the bigger metal acts on the planet, and upon listening, it’s not hard to see why.

In 2023, From Mars to Sirius is perhaps even more relevant than when it first released. Gojira has always maintained a strong stance on environmental issues and climate change throughout their career, and this album is perhaps their most forthcoming on this. It tells a concept story of an interplanetary quest to bring life back to a dead planet. The title refers to the symbolic representation of Mars and Sirius standing for war and peace respectively.  Joe Duplantier has stated this “war” can refer to one within and among ourselves, and the album is a journey through that on an ultimate quest for peace. With modern politics constantly turbulent around how much of a role we play in environmental impact while the window of time to make positive change quickly dwindles away, perhaps Gojira’s 2005 epic is the perfect modern soundtrack to instill epic change. 

The sound of the record is nothing short of epic. Self produced, the album is gargantuan and lumbering, possessing the capability of shaking the very earth. Guitars are blaringly present, the drums articulate and aggressive, and the vocals blisteringly raw. But surprisingly, the album includes a tasteful sense of space. Many metal acts can sound overly compressed to be as loud and in your face as possible. But few can maintain this while also retaining a breathable atmosphere. Gojira accomplishes this beautifully, and the room tone only helps in adding to the massive feel.

As stated earlier, Gojira is one of those rare breeds of bands that can blend beauty with aggression. Many cuts off the record showcase true staples of the onslaught death metal has to offer. Tracks like “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe” and “In the Wilderness” include breakneck speed riffage and blast beats. But simultaneously there is clear melodic intension in Andreu’s guitar work, and even the harshest of Duplantier’s screams are often harmonized into tasteful chords. There is a sophistication and cinematic quality to everything here that elevates the harshness to a contemplative and personal level. This is even more apparent when the band proves they are unafraid to explore more quiet and calm passages. The instrumental track “Unicorn,” which is layered with nature sounds indicative of the environmental message, as well as sections off “Flying Whales” and “World to Come” are great examples of how the band can produce truly harmonious compositions without letting go of the gruff stuff at their core. The flow of the album is also fantastic. Tracks lead into each other effortlessly, even into the quiet bits without feeling forced, and it all ends up feeling like the epic journey shaking at our foundations the band intended.