There's no denying the heaviness of French metal outfit Gojira's music, but how much harder does their technical style hit in a live setting? As the afternoon crowd found out on Saturday (August 8), it can reach levels previously thought to be unattainable. Across an eight-song set of sonic obliteration that drew primarily from From Mars to Sirius, brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier undoubtedly stole the show, Mario leaving no room for error in his thunderous drumming and Joe nailing every pinch harmonic and pick scrape alongside a scorching vocal performance.
The band's relentless riffing was responsible for stirring up some of the more energetic mosh pits the main stages had seen, causing some participants to duck out to tend to bumps, bruises and minor bleeding. The energy came to a head when the band launched into the meditative opening melody of "Flying Whales," during which frontman Joe divided the crowd in half to prepare for a wall of death.
"What's this small hole here?" he roared. "Back it up, Montreal!" Both sides hurtled towards each other with abandon as the song's crushing main riff was played, transforming the whole front half of the standing room area not simply into a mosh pit, but a mosh battlefield.
The band's relentless riffing was responsible for stirring up some of the more energetic mosh pits the main stages had seen, causing some participants to duck out to tend to bumps, bruises and minor bleeding. The energy came to a head when the band launched into the meditative opening melody of "Flying Whales," during which frontman Joe divided the crowd in half to prepare for a wall of death.
"What's this small hole here?" he roared. "Back it up, Montreal!" Both sides hurtled towards each other with abandon as the song's crushing main riff was played, transforming the whole front half of the standing room area not simply into a mosh pit, but a mosh battlefield.