BravePicks 2021 - GOJIRA's Fortitude #20
December 11, 2021, 3 years ago
As the world continues to battle a virus, we present the ultimate escape! It is time to celebrate our BravePicks 2021! Heavy metal is the ultimate diversion, so let's let the music do the talking. It is time to unveil our annual BravePicks countdown, where the devout scribes at BraveWords cast their votes at the hits and misses of the year! So who will be our #1? You’ll find out as we count down the BravePick Of 2021 each day in December!
Everybody has an opinion and it’s time for ours! And stay tuned in January for the writers’ individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY), Top 5 Brave Embarrassments (a fan favorite!), What/Who Needs To Stop In 2022? and Metal Predictions For 2022. All will be showcased come the New Year!
First up, the best of the best for 2021 begins NOW!
BravePicks 2021
20) GOJIRA – Fortitude (Roadrunner)
French modern metallers Gojira returned with force in Fortitude. Building upon the foundation laid down in Magma, the Duplantier brothers offer a more inspired take on their proggy groove metal. The vocals hit harder, the choruses are more memorable, the melodies are impressionable, and the drumming lays down some serious beats. This is Gojira cementing themselves as one of the leaders in the metal scene and deserving of the popularity they have garnered in the past few years. Fortitude stands proud as a strong record and takes the #20 position on our list.
BraveWords spoke to Mario Duplantier about Fortitude in a feature story; an excerpt below:
The irony in a progressive metal outfit that combines the best of death metal and melodic sensibilities, that nature of calm meeting chaos, chugging out impossibly addictive riffs and guttural cries from the earth, at the same time raging against the man-made murder machine, is not lost on Mario Duplantier.
In fact, metal with meaning and heart seems to be the only way forward for the Gojira mother-ship, a unit that has firmly found its mission and endgame. If there happens to be head-banging and mosh pits along the way, well, that’s all (vegan) gravy.
“Talking about death and the demons, and our suffering and pain is not something negative at all, because there are so many taboos in our society,” shares Mario. “Talking about death is taboo. Talking about pain is taboo and when you say to someone, I feel very bad, it’s taboo. I understand that metalheads and people who enjoy heavy music and death metal and all the extreme music are actually pretty sensitive people. And I know it’s a fact because we met so many of them and it’s a community. And there is also a very intelligent way of seeing the world with no hypocrisy. So talking about death is also a reaction to our governments and the way maybe religion and states put pressure on people just to think differently, or think the way they want.
“You know, it sounds a bit cliché what I’m saying right now, but my feeling is heavy metal fans and people who enjoy this music are very, very sensitive. So talking about the planet is not something they will reject or be against. It’s also something a bit taboo, to talk about strength. It’s also a reaction at some point.”
BravePicks 2021 Top 30
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20) GOJIRA - Fortitude (Roadrunner)
21) BLAZE BAYLEY - War Within Me (Blaze Bayley Recordings)
22) KONQUEST - The Night Goes On (Iron Oxide)
23) IRON MAIDEN - Senjutsu (Parlophone)
24) CRADLE OF FILTH - Existence Of Futile (Nuclear Blast)
25) DANKO JONES - Power Trio (Bad Taste)
26) DARKTHRONE - Eternal Hails (Peaceville)
27) SMITH/KOTZEN – Smith/Kotzen (BMG)
28) TODD LA TORRE - Rejoice In The Suffering (Rat Pak)
29) KK’S PRIEST – Sermons Of The Sinner (EX1)
30) ASPHYX - Necroceros (Century Media)
