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Magma is the sixth studio album from French metal band Gojira. The album was released on 17 June 2016 through Roadrunner Records.

Background

In November 2014, Gojira relocated to New York City and construction began on their own music studio in Queens. By April 2015, the studio was complete and the band began recording music. However, recording of the album was put on hold when Joe Duplantier and Mario Duplantier's mother fell ill and died. The band spent some time touring before returning to studio to continue recording.

Mixing of the album was completed in February 2016.

Musical style and writing

Mario Duplantier stated about the lyrical aspect of the album: "When you read Joe's lyrics, for me, I cry right away. They're very deep and to the point. No bullshit. We recycle our sadness and depression in the music."

Joe Duplantier stated about the albums general direction: "We want a short album. Something less epic than what we usually do. People's attentions are shorter now. So a lot of the songs are four minutes." He also stated: "We have some Pantera-ish kind of riffs, which is kind of new for us. But we want riffs to be a little punchier sometimes."

He also explained that the writing process for Magma differed from previous albums, saying that "We do things a little differently. We dump songs, we dump riffs, which we never did before. we would prepare 12 songs, get in the studio and record them just exactly as they are on the demos. We decided to do it differently this time."

Release

Magma was released on 17 June 2016, via Roadrunner Records. On 22 April 2016, the band released an official video for the track "Stranded" and on 20 May 2016, the band released an official video for the track "Silvera".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gojira

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	88/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Bloody Disgusting
Exclaim!	7/10
The Guardian
Kerrang!	A
Metal Hammer
Metal Injection	9.5/10
MetalSucks
PopMatters
Rolling Stone
Spin	8/10

Magma was met with critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic (a review aggregator site which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from music critics), based on 4 critics, the album has received a score of 88/100, which indicates "universal acclaim".

In Dom Lawson's review for The Guardian, he gave the album 5/5, writing that "Magma is the kind of album that metalheads would love non-believers to check out, if only because it confounds all the usual stereotypes about the genre being unimaginative and dumb." Adrien Begrand's review for Spin likewise received the album positively, writing that on Magma, Gojira "strip their distinctive sound down even further, most often building songs around one insidiously catchy riff and resisting self-indulgent flights of fancy. It’s common for young acts in modern metal to show astonishing technical skill but no sense of restraint. By contrast, there’s little else out there like the taut, minimalist Magma right now."

Rolling Stone's Daniel Epstein noted that Magma marks a stylistic departure for Gojira compared to previous albums. "Largely absent are the epic song arrangements and neck-snapping displays of instrumental wizardry that marked their recordings up through 2012's L'Enfant Sauvage. Instead, new tracks like "The Shooting Star," "Stranded" and "Pray" are more about finding a fearsome groove or riff and squeezing it for every last drop of darkness and catharsis." He notes the passing of Joe and Mario Duplantier's mother as a likely influence on this development.

Epstein also compared the album to Metallica's self-titled album and Mastodon's 2011 The Hunter, writing that "for those who can appreciate a tightly focused hard rock album infused with emotions that are often just as heavy as its riffs, Magma offers a listening experience that is as rewarding as it is therapeutic."

Personnel

Personnel adapted from liner notes.

References

1. "Roadrunner Records UK // Watch the brand new Gojira video and pre-order 'Magma'!". RoadrunnerRecords.co.uk. April 22, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
2. ^ Grow, Kory (30 March 2016). "Gojira Preview 'Emotional,' 'Epic' New Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
3. "Gojira Completes Mixing New Album". Blabbermouth.net. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
4. ^ "Gojira's New Album Is Incredibly Emotional and Very Different, Here's a Music Sample". Ultimate Guitar. March 30, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
5. "Gojira Album Update: 'We Have Some Pantera-ish Riffs, We Want to Be a Little Punchier'". Ultimate Guitar. June 11, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
6. "GOJIRA's JOSEPH DUPLANTIER Says Next Album Will Feature 'Some PANTERA-ish Kind Of Riffs'". Blabbermouth. June 9, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
7. ^ Reed, Ryan (22 April 2016). "Gojira Tease Emotional New LP With Disturbing 'Stranded' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
8. "Magma - Gojira". Metacritic. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
9. Barkan, Jonathan (June 15, 2016). "Gojira Have Never Been More Dynamic Than On 'Magma' (Review)". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
10. Slingerland, Calum (June 15, 2016). "Gojira Magma". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
11. ^ Lawson, Dom (June 16, 2016). "Gojira: Magma review – hulking grandeur from modern metal greats". The Guardian. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
12. "Music - Review of Gojira - MAGMA". Kerrang!. 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
13. "Gojira – Magma album review". Metal Hammer. May 24, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
14. Lambert, Aaron (June 15, 2016). "Album Review: GOJIRA Magma". Metal Injection. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
15. Rosenberg, Axl (June 16, 2016). "Gojira's Magma: A Magnificent Mixed Bag". MetalSucks. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
16. Ulrey, Jeremy (June 17, 2016). "Gojira: Magma". PopMatters. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
17. ^ Epstein, Daniel (June 17, 2016). "Gojira's New Album: Magma". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
18. Begrand, Adrien (June 16, 2016). "Review: Gojira Deserve to Take Experimental Riffage Mainstream on 'Magma'". Spin. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
19. Magma. Roadrunner Records (CD liner). Gojira. 2016. p. 6. RR7479-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

• Official website

• Pages with empty short description
• 2016 albums
• Gojira (band) albums
• Roadrunner Records albums