Band:	Gojira
Album:	Terra Incognita
Style:	Progressive death metal
Release date:	March 19, 2001
Guest review by:	Necrotica

01. Clone
02. Lizard Skin
03. Satan Is A Lawyer
04. 04
05. Blow Me Away You(Niverse)
06. 5988 Trillions De Tonnes
07. Deliverance
08. Space Time
09. On The B.O.T.A
10. Rise
11. Fire Is Everything
12. Love
13. 1990 Quatrillions De Tonnes
14. In The Forest
15. Clone [live] [2009 re-release bonus]
16. Love [live] [2009 re-release bonus]
17. Space Time [live] [2009 re-release bonus]

Chapter I: An Ambitious (Yet Flawed) Inception

Gojira's career trajectory has been interesting to say the least. While their level of brutality and intensity certainly hasn't been lacking with later releases (well, perhaps with the exception of Magma), it's really fascinating to go back to their debut album Terra Incognita and explore the more straightforward sounds the group started with. At this time, Gojira were still a young band who didn't know exactly where they were headed (who does at that point in their career?); as such, Terra Incognita captures the four-piece at a much more embryonic and undeveloped state.

That's not always a bad thing, of course, and there are already plenty of hints at the band's future work. For one thing, the technical prowess is already here in spades. Whether it's the rapid guitar-tapped riff in "Clone," the highly unique bass solo by Jean-Michel Labadie found in "04", or the nimble tempo and time signature shifts of "Blow Me Away You(niverse)", Gojira consistently impress with their instrumental skills. Mario Duplantier in particular makes an excellent showing; songs such as the double bass-dominant "Love" and the ever-shifting rhythms of "Space Time" show that his reputation as one of the 21st century's best metal musicians was already a foregone conclusion. The other members aren't slouches either, and when every member is in the pocket, they are just as tight and controlled in their performances as they are on later records. The bouncy bass grooves of "Space Time," the onslaught of crushing guitars and double bass on "Love," and the quick transitions between thrash and groove metal on "Deliverance" are excellent examples of this.

On top of this, one thing that really makes Terra Incognita stand out from Gojira's other albums is a certain willingness to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. The entire album plays out like a grab bag of sorts; pick any song and you'll likely get a different sound or feel. Because of this, the weird rapping of "Satan is a Lawyer" can sit comfortably beside the brutal death metal riffs of "Lizard Skin," and the absolutely crushing "Rise" can get preceded by a song as ominous and foreboding at "On the BOTA." Of course, this also works to the album's disadvantage since there's not much of a sense of cohesion. Terra Incognita works much more on a song-by-song basis rather than as one holistic experience, something that future Gojira albums (yes, even the divisive Magma) would improve greatly upon. Plus, failed experiments like the annoying screeching voices in "1990 Quatrillions de Tonnes" and the aforementioned rapping in "Satan is a Lawyer" proved that the band hadn't fully fleshed out their signature sound just yet.

Still, this is a really nice launching pad for one of the best bands of the 2000s. The production is suitably crushing and powerful (if a bit murky at times), and as I stated before, the combination of sheer brutality and fascinating experimentation makes it quite the unique experience in the Gojira catalogue. The band just needed a bit more cohesiveness and clearer vision to support their weighty ambitions. But hey, they were quick to rectify that!