Review Summary: Fighting for a Cause
If there's one thing that separates Gojira from other metal bands currently playing music today, it's that Gojira is always playing music for a purpose. Whether it is more focused on esoteric and other-worldly subjects as heard on The Way of All Flesh or Joe and Mario Duplantier writing their 2016 release, Magma, to commemorate their mother, Gojira includes some heartfelt messages in their music. This time around, the message seems to center around more earthly matters. Fortitude revolves around the death of our planet and the inhumane things we have done and still do as a species. Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Joe Duplantier tells us to look around and ask what we can do to try and make the world a better place for ourselves and those around us.
Musically, Gojira tries out a few new tricks, mainly on Hold On and the title track Fortitude/The Chant. Throughout the album, they streamline their progressive/technical death metal tendencies and focus on writing songs with a more accessible, possibly "radio-friendly" feel. Some of this works, but often it falls flat. Creating more chances to sing along has allowed them to engage their audience more at concerts, but this grows stale if not executed well (Hold On, The Chant). By no means is this a new maneuver for the band, as their previous release, Magma, started to feature more verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus structures, as heard on the album's singles Stranded and Silvera.
They have reeled back their technical death metal tendencies even further, which becomes apparent once one's attention gets turned towards Mario Duplantier's drum work across the album. What was once an octopus behind the kit is now more of a muscular squid; fewer limbs, less technicality, more power, more groove. As much as this does work in favor of the song and Joe's & Christian Andreu's guitar riffs, I do miss the "What the hell is happening here?!" rhythms as heard on the band's earlier works, Terra Incognita and The Link. Even L'enfant Sauvage had some pretty gnarly drumming, as heard on the title track L'enfant Sauvage and The Fall. Personally, the only song where Mario truly shines is on the album closer, Grind.
Released amidst COVID-19, one of the worst pandemics in recent collective memory, Fortitude is a call to arms and begging to try our best and not set the world on fire. "The greatest miracle is burning to the ground," Joe Duplantier barks on stand-out track Amazonia, which seems to warn us about the dangers that are currently happening and still await the great Amazon, but the world as a whole. The lead single from the album, Another World, cements this truth by focusing on the aftermath of our actions and portraying a post-apocalyptic world. Joe Duplantier, being the visionary he is, tries to get the world to heed these warnings, but how many people will truly listen and pay attention? That is the ultimate question.
