LIVE REVIEW: Gojira @ O2 Academy Brixton, London
GOJIRA are a staple of modern day metal music. They have been honing their craft for more than two decades at this point and have created a style of music that is truly unique. Tonight is their biggest UK headliner to date. A headlining show at one of the countries most renowned venues, O2 Academy Brixton, and the whole metal world is watching.
Originally billed to open tonight’s proceedings were the British progressive outfit BLACK PEAKS. However, unfortunately due to health concerns for vocalist Will Gardener they have been forced to step aside. Instead Irish metallers DEAD LABEL step in at the eleventh hour to kick things off and they do so valiantly. The band fight their way through the dreadfully poor mix which seems set to let the bass drown out all of the other instruments and lay down a set of high velocity groove-heavy metal tracks that get the crowd moving and joining in throughout.
Rating: 7/10
Next up we have the schizophrenic melting pot of genres that is ROLO TOMASSI. The band have enjoyed a steady ascension over the past few years with their music growing in maturity and creativity on every release. Tonight they sound as visceral and unpredictable as ever with their frontwoman Eva Spence shifting between ear shredding screams and angelic, tranquil singing as she dances her way across the stage. Her peers are water tight with the instrumental work as they blow countless minds in the crowd with their THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN-influenced riffs, melodic keys and truly incredible drum work. Unfortunately, much like DEAD LABEL’s set, it takes until mid way through for the sound-man to get the levels right and this somewhat muddies the sound somewhat but ROLO TOMASSI do not let that phase them and show why it will not be long before they are headlining venues of this size themselves.
Rating: 8/10
By the time GOJIRA hit the stage the temperature in the room is almost unbearable and the atmosphere is hitting the same dizzying heights. The band stand barrel-chested and brimming with confidence as they dive straight in to the monstrous Oroborus, from their stellar 2008 effort The Way Of All Flesh, the crowd are treated to an impressive display on the giant LED board at the back of the stage as well as full pyrotechnics (as if it wasn’t hot enough in the venue already) and lights. It’s clear from the start that the band are pulling out all the stops for the is momentous event.
The Frenchmen are renowned for their technical prowess and incomparable tightness which comes across as almost robotic. This is no more apparent than when they fire off the tracks Backbone and the colossal Flying Whales with the kind of precision that you would expect to see from neurosurgeons which is even more impressive when you see the calmness etched across Joe Duplantier’s face throughout. The crowd are split down the middle at this point between losing their minds and throwing themselves around in the many pits and watching in awe as the band masterfully carve out these intense lashings of metal mastery. The inclusion of Love from the band’s phenomenal debut release Terra Incognita is a surprise addition that is welcomed with mass hysteria.
Any sound complaints that the openers suffered from are long gone and the band seem to be firing on all cylinders at this point, particularly Mario who is undoubtedly GOJIRA’s secret weapon with his impossibly difficult rhythmic patterns and fills that make him seem more than human. This is no more apparent than in The Cell where he gets to show the world just how mind blowing his poly-rhythmic beats can really be.
Another track that the band showcase from Magma is the superb Silvera. A song that is a wonderfully melodic and intricate as it is crushingly heavy, proving to be one of the highlights of the night this song has become and overnight classic with the GOJIRA faithful. The same can be said for the title track of the previous album L’enfant Sauvage, the translation for which ‘The Wild Child’ couldn’t be more apt for the delivery of the track with the band being surrounded by flames and laying siege to the famed venue with their metallic battery.
The boys then come back for their encore which begins with a mind blowing drum solo from Mario as if to put a stamp on the fact that he is one of, if not the best metal drummer in the world at this point in time. They then run through a hellaciously heavy rendition of Clone and the sludge metal influenced Vacuity before closing out the night with the night with The Gift Of Guilt from L’Enfant Sauvage to ensure that neither the band, nor the engrossed and exhausted members of the audience have any energy left to give.
The fact that GOJIRA have created a show this impressive with their lights faulting and the omission of classic tracks such as The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe and Toxic Garbage Island shows what a professional band they are with more weapons in their arsenal than they know what to do with. Joe Duplantier takes a moment at the end of the show to say that every time GOJIRA come back to our shores the venues double in size. It goes without saying that if the band continue to create this calibre of music and live performances going forward then Wembley Stadium is not an unrealistic target. A band at the top of their game and they are seemingly only just getting started. Viva la GOJIRA.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in London from Hannah Cole here:
