The Way of All Flesh (album)

The Way of All Flesh
Studio album by Gojira
Released 13 October 2008
Genre Technical death metal, progressive death metal, groove metal, progressive metal
Length 75:07
Label Listenable, Prosthetic
Producer Joe Duplantier
Gojira chronology

From Mars to Sirius
(2005)		 The Way of All Flesh
(2008)		 The Flesh Alive
(2012)

The Way of All Flesh is the fourth studio album by French death metal band Gojira.

Background

The album was released on 13 October in Europe via Listenable Records and on 14 October in the US through Prosthetic Records. It sold around 4,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at number 138 on the Billboard 200 chart.[1]

The cover features artwork created by vocalist Joe Duplantier, who was responsible for the artwork on past albums. The album was recorded at the band's home studio while Joe Duplantier produced it. The drums were recorded in Los Angeles and engineered by Logan Mader, who also mixed and mastered the album.

Joseph Duplantier revealed to Total Guitar magazine that the album deals with their vision about life and death.

Randy Blythe from the American band Lamb of God appeared as a guest vocalist on the song "Adoration for None."

At the end of the song "The Art of Dying", there is a small part that is played backwards. If backmasked, the section would bear a resemblance to the song "Esoteric Surgery", which is then repeated at the end of that very next track. A similar technique is used at the end of "Wolf Down the Earth."

In March 2013, Listenable Records made a double vinyl format of the album available for pre-order, with the official release date listed as 29 April 2013; 250 copies each of blue and white vinyl were manufactured.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 67/100[3]
Review scores
Source Rating
About.com [4]
Allmusic [5]
Alternative Press [6]
Blabbermouth.net [7]
ChartAttack [8]
Pitchfork Media 6.0/10[9]
PopMatters [10]
Spin [11]
Sputnikmusic [12]
Terrorizer (Nov 2008)

It was listed at #5 in Metal Hammer‍ '​s Critic's Choice 2008 end-of-year top albums list.[13]

Music videos

On 6 October 2008, a music video was released for the song "Vacuity", produced by Julien Mokrani and Samuel Bodin.[14] The video was shot near the band's hometown in France, and starred the Duplantiers' cousin, actress Claire Theodoly.[15] On 11 January 2009, Gojira released a second music video from the album, an animated video for "All the Tears", illustrated by Jossie Malis.[16]

Track listing[17]

All lyrics written by Joe Duplantier, except where noted, all music composed by Joe Duplantier and Mario Duplantier, except where noted.

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Oroborus"   J. Duplantier, M. Duplantier & Christian Andreu 5:21
2. "Toxic Garbage Island"     4:06
3. "A Sight to Behold"     5:09
4. "Yama's Messengers"     4:03
5. "The Silver Cord" (instrumental)   2:31
6. "All the Tears"     3:40
7. "Adoration for None" (feat. Randy Blythe)J. Duplantier & Randy Blythe  6:19
8. "The Art of Dying"     9:54
9. "Esoteric Surgery"     5:44
10. "Vacuity"     4:51
11. "Wolf Down the Earth"     6:25
12. "The Way of All Flesh"     17:03
Hidden track

The final song and title track of the album, "The Way of All Flesh," contains a hidden instrumental song. The main piece of the track ends at 6:51 and the hidden songs starts in at 12:33 giving the song a period of silence lasting 5:42. The song contains complex layers of ambient guitar sounds with various echo and reverb effects. This song ends promptly at 17:03 and closes the album.

The original vinyl version does not contain this track; it ends at 6:51. The 2013 vinyl release contains the hidden track.

Personnel

Gojira
Guest musicians
Production
  • Logan Mader − mixing, mastering, drum engineering
  • Gabriel Editions − executive producer
  • Emma Salzard − production manager
  • Undercity Recordings − drum engineering
  • Laurentx Etxemendi − guitar/bass/vocal engineering
  • Studio des Milans − guitar/bass/vocal engineering
  • Mike Rashmawi − drum tracking assistant
  • Gabrielle Duplantier − photography
  • Fred Collinet − artwork

References

  1. ↑ "Blabbermouth: GOJIRA's 'The Way Of All Flesh' Lands On Billboard Chart". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  2. ↑ [http://shop.listenable.net/product.php?id_product=3876 Gojira - The Way of All Flesh Double Vinyl Pre Order !!!!!] listenable.net. Retrieved on 9 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Way of All Flesh reviews at". Metacritic. 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  4. ↑ Bowar, Chad. "The Way of All Flesh review". About.com. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  5. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "The Way of All Flesh review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  6. ↑ dead link] "The Way of All Flesh review". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  7. ↑ Bergman, Keith. "The Way of All Flesh review". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  8. ↑ Mihsin, Andre. dead link] "The Way of All Flesh review". ChartAttack. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  9. ↑ Lee, Cosmo. "The Way of All Flesh review". Pitchfork Media. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  10. ↑ Begrand, Adrien. "The Way of All Flesh review". PopMatters. 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  11. ↑ Gross, Joe. "The Way of All Flesh review". Spin. 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  12. ↑ Schroer, Brendan. "Gojira The Way of All Flesh". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  13. ↑ dead link] "Metal Hammer's top 50 albums of 2008, numbers 6 through 4". Metal Hammer. 2008-12-22. Retrieved on 2009-09-03.
  14. ↑ "GOJIRA: 'Vacuity' Video Available". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  15. ↑ "GOJIRA: New Audio Interview With JOSEPH DUPLANTIER Available". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  16. ↑ "Gojira: 'All The Tears' Animated Video Available". Blabbermouth.net. 2009-01-11. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  17. ↑ The Way of All Flesh (CD liner). Gojira. Prosthetic Records. 2008. pp. p. 9.
  18. ↑ Lamb of God Frontman To Guest On New Gojira Album blabbermouth.net. 2008-07-10. Retrieved on 2009-08-11