Review by Daniel for Gojira - Terra incognita (2001)

I came to Gojira a little late given that I was well & truly in my electronic dance music hey day when their 2001 debut album "Terra incognita" was released so I didn't end up discovering them until around 2009 when Ben introduced me to the masterful "From Mars To Sirius" which I immediately fell in love with & still regard as a genuine death metal classic today. That awakening would very quickly see me making the effort to explore all of Gojira's other work & there was plenty of quality to get my teeth into too, if not any additional classics to compete with their 2005 pièce de résistance.

"Terra incognita" sees Gojira at their most deathly with their sound being built around a death metal core but still being progressive enough for a progressive death metal tag. There's also a clear groove metal component that ensures that the Frenchmen are kept slightly apart from their peers &, interestingly, I feel that it's this element that sees me being unable to ever really consider a record like this one for my most elite scores, despite the clear talent in the execution. The fairly technical staccato riffs are deadly tight with extreme competence on display in the precision performances & drummer Mario proving himself to already be very competent. I tend to like Joe's vocals more when they veer further towards your classic death grunt rather than a less intimidating groove metal one which is hardly surprising as the extreme metal scene is obviously my comfort zone.

It may not receive the praise that later albums like "The Way Of All Flesh" or "L'enfant sauvage" do but I think "Terra incognita" actually competes very well with them if I'm being honest & it can certainly be mentioned in the same breath as the underrated "Magma" too, although I think I'd probably have it slightly behind all three due to its inability to see me reaching for the classic card with any of the fourteen tracks on offer. Still, it's an underrated & generally overlooked part of the Gojira back catalogue that's well deserving of the attention of our The Horde & The Infinite members.

For fans of Hacride, Trepalium & Decapitated.