Fortitude

Fortitude

by Gojira
Fortitude

Fortitude

by Gojira

CD

$14.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by Thursday, April 4
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

Five long years after the release of the groundbreaking, wildly successful Magma, the pressure is on France's Gojira to deliver a fitting follow-up, making Fortitude one of 2021's most heavily anticipated metal releases. The earlier set offered artfully rendered songs that were uncharacteristically personal; they were composed in response to the death of frontman/guitarist Joe and drummer Mario Duplantier's mother. The band utilized everything from clean vocals and throwback grunge to post-punk, knotty prog, and neo-psych to get the songs across, consequently winning over new fans, many of whom did not usually frequent the metal section of the record store. Fortitude was recorded at Sterling Silver Studios in Brooklyn, New York, produced by Joe Duplantier and mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana). Despite a wider array of stylistic and production elements, these 11 songs hang together like a suite. Opener "Born for One Thing" is propelled by Mario's bombastic beats amid death metal grooves and punishing industrial breakdowns as Joe sings about the human fear of death and preparing for its inevitability. The twin guitar vamps from Joe and Christian Andreu collide and bounce off one another. The anti-deforestation anthem "Amazonia" offers a massive bass groove from Jean-Michel Labadie, buoyed by power chords, swinging drums, and indigenous instrumentation that directly pays homage to Sepultura's Roots era. "Another World" offers a glorious display of Gojira's abundant tech-death prowess. The layered, near-chanted vocal harmonies introduce "Hold On" atop a Sabbath-ian riff orgy and incantatory drumming. The layered clean vocals stagger the guitar and bass cadences, swirling together amid reverb and neo-psych effects before Andreu signals a change with a crunch-and-burn vamp appended by distortion and blastbeats. It erupts with heavy, grooving death metal anchored by Joe's snarling lead vocals. The title track is more like a two-minute intro featuring marimbas, tom-toms, and bass drums offering cumbia and reggae rhythms, wordless clean singing, and plucked guitars before exploding into "The Chant" amid crunchy bass and boisterous electric guitar vamps. Combined, they sound like remixes of outtakes from Neil Young's Re-ac-tor and Killing Joke's self-titled debut album. "Sphinx" is a furious backward glance at Gojira's recording history while "Into the Storm" busts out of the gate with melodic twin guitars that transform into a roiling death metal vamp atop triple-timed blastbeats and chanted, harsh vocals. For longtime fans, set-closer "The Grind" is the payoff: It's fantastically heavy, syncopated, technical, and nuanced in production, with raging vocals that may preach surrender but are actually deeply insurgent as the seething music offers proof. Fans of Magma needn't have worried: Fortitude is a fitting, welcome follow-up, and a brave new chapter in Gojira's continuing musical evolution as they weave old sounds with new ones in creating a sonic tapestry that showcases startling imagination, thought-provoking musical and human intelligence, complex emotions, and immense physical power. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date: 04/30/2021
Label: Roadrunner Records
UPC: 0075678645372
Rank: 19882

Tracks

  1. Born for One Thing
  2. Amazonia
  3. Another World
  4. Hold On
  5. New Found
  6. Fortitude
  7. The Chant
  8. Sphinx
  9. Into the Storm
  10. Trails
  11. Grind

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gojira   Primary Artist
Adriana Vanella   Vocals
Mario Duplantier   Drums
Adriana Varela   Vocals
Joe Duplantier   Guitar,Vocals
Christian Andreu   Guitar
Jean-Michel Labadie   Bass

Technical Credits

Morgan David   Assistant Engineer,Arranger,Assistant,Mixing Engineer
Cody Rhan   Drum Technician
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Andy Wallace   Mixing
Mario Duplantier   Composer,Group Member
Brian Montgomery   Engineer,Pro-Tools
Joe Duplantier   Design,Artwork,Composer,Producer,Group Member
Gojira   Composer
Dan Malsch   Editing,Engineer,Pro-Tools
Peter Svee   Guitar Technician
Kristen Mulderig   Management
Robin Hood   Studio Assistant
Dave Rath   A&R
Jorge Taveras   Pro-Tools,Engineer,Pro-Tools
Cody Rahn   Drum Technician
Johann Meyer   Engineer
Petter Svee   Guitar Technician
Christian Andreu   Group Member
Gabrielle Duplantier   Band Photo,Photography
Jean-Michel Labadie   Group Member
Jamie Uertz   Engineer
Taylor Bingley   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
William "Billy" Knauft   Arranger,Assistant,Mixing Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Jorge Tavares   Engineer
Jamie Vertz   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews