Jump to content

From Mars to Sirius

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Keith D (talk | contribs) at 22:39, 28 January 2021 (→Writing, recording, production: Fix cite date error). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

From Mars to Sirius
Studio album by
Gojira
Released27 September 2005
Studio
GenreTechnical death metal, progressive metal,[2] groove metal, post-metal[3]
Length66:52
LabelListenable, Prosthetic
ProducerGabriel Editions[1]
Gojira chronology
The Link Alive
(2004) 		From Mars to Sirius
(2005) 		The Way of All Flesh
(2008)

From Mars to Sirius is the third studio album by the French progressive metal/technical death metal band Gojira.

Writing, recording, production

A concept album, From Mars to Sirius relates the resurrection of a dead planet through an interplanetary quest, tackling environmental issues such as climate change and impacts on marine life as well as broader themes of life, death, and rebirth.[4][5][6] Explaining the meaning behind the album title, Joe Duplantier said in an interview that "In some cultures, Mars symbolizes war and Sirius peace. I'm simplifying! It is a journey of a state of war, even if in France we are preserved, but it can be a war within us, in our flesh, in our mind, a war with ourselves".[7] The album was largely written by Joe and Mario Duplantier, but Christian Andreu contributed certain parts such as the outro of "Where Dragons Dwell" and the central melody on "World to Come". According to Mario, the album was entirely self-produced by the band.[8]

Release

Listenable Records reissued the album on vinyl in September 2012 and in November 2015 in limited quantities.[9][10] A 10th anniversary box-set was released on February 12, 2016, again through Listenable Records.[11][12] A video directed by Alain Duplantier was filmed for the song "To Sirius".[13]

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[14]
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubB[15]
Blabbermouth.net9/10[16]
Phoenix New Timesfavorable[17]

From Mars to Sirius was received positively by critics. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia noted the influences of bands such as Pantera, Meshuggah, and Neurosis on the album, particularly in the guitarwork and emphasis on atmosphere. Heaping praise on the album, Rivadavia wrote that "the fluidity with which utmost heaviness and delicate melodies were made to coexist within the scope of single songs like "Where Dragons Dwell," "Flying Whales," and "World to Come," was truly astonishing—as was the surprisingly seamless flow accomplished by the sequencing of these wildly disparate tracks, and the thematically conjoined esoteric subjects undertaken throughout. The final outcome was still not easy to digest, and admittedly just a tad bit overlong (Gojira's next challenge was definitely to be a little more concise), but compared to most of the impossibly dense (and often exhausting) prog metal available, From Mars to Sirius, struck a close to perfect balance between degree of difficulty and ultimate reward." Blabbermouth's Keith Bergman made similar comparisons to Meshuggah and Neurosis, but wrote that "A grocery list of influences does Gojira no justice" and that "This is a masterpiece on par with anything Meshuggah or Mastodon have released." He described their musical style as "dark, churning and hypnotic, massively heavy but varied and surprising, never monotonous.", and their lyrics as "surprisingly positive and life-affirming, their words add humanity to even the most angry, mechanized portions of the album." Bergman concluded his review by praising From Mars to Sirius as an "immense, intense, and very impressive album."

Rolling Stone named the album no. 97 on their list of the Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time, and MetalSucks named it no. 9 on their list of the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century.[18][19] Metal Hammer named this album no. 15 out of The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the 21st Century.[20] AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia describes the album as marking a turning point for the band, "gaining them access into the exclusive top echelon of the world's progressive metal elite." In 2018, Decibel inducted the album into their hall of fame.[21]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Joe Duplantier; all music is composed by Gojira

No.TitleLength
1."Ocean Planet"5:32
2."Backbone"4:18
3."From the Sky"5:48
4."Unicorn" (instrumental)2:09
5."Where Dragons Dwell"6:54
6."The Heaviest Matter of the Universe"3:57
7."Flying Whales"7:44
8."In the Wilderness"7:47
9."World to Come"6:52
10."From Mars"2:24
11."To Sirius"5:37
12."Global Warming"7:50
13."Escape (Metallica Cover)" (bonus track)4:23
Total length:71:15

Personnel

Personnel adapted from AllMusic.[22]

Gojira

Technical personnel

  • Seb Dupuis – mastering
  • Jean-Pierre Chalbos – mastering
  • Laurent Etchemendy – engineering, mixing

References

  1. ^ a b c From Mars to Sirius (booklet). Gojira. France: Gabriel Editions. 2005. p. 6. MS08.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b "From Mars to Sirius". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  3. ^ "#TBT: From Mars to Sirius is GOJIRA's Massive Meaningful Masterpiece". Metal Injection. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  4. ^ "GOJIRA - FROM MARS TO SIRIUS". MetalSucks. 2009-06-24.
  5. ^ Lucas, Olivia R. (October 2019). "'Shrieking soldiers … wiping clean the earth': hearing apocalyptic environmentalism in the music of Botanist". Popular Music. 38 (3): 481–497. doi:10.1017/S0261143019000308. ISSN 0261-1430.
  6. ^ "Gojira - "From Mars to Sirius"". Decibel Magazine. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  7. ^ "Gojira : Interview / Spirit of Metal Webzine (fr)". www.spirit-of-metal.com (in French). October 2005. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  8. ^ Pratt, Greg (August 2018). "In the Deep End: The Making of Gojira's From Mars to Sirius". Decibel. pp. 49–54.
  9. ^ "Gojira catalogue set for vinyl release". Metal Hammer. 2015-11-27. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  10. ^ "Gojira To Release Past Albums On Limited Splatter Vinyl | Theprp.com – Metal And Hardcore News Plus Reviews And More". Theprp.com. 2015-11-27. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  11. ^ "GOJIRA: 'From Mars To Sirius' Limited-Edition Tenth-Anniversary Box Set Due In February". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  12. ^ "Gojira's From Mars To Sirius gets 10-year box set". Metal Hammer. 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  13. ^ Listenablerecs (2006-11-02), Gojira - To Sirius, retrieved 2016-06-17
  14. ^ "Gojira - From Mars To Sirius Review". Heavymetal.about.com. 2011-08-27. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  15. ^ Murray, Noel (August 23, 2006). "Music in Brief". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  16. ^ "Blabbermouth.Net". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  17. ^ D'Andrea, Niki (25 October 2007). "From Mars to Sirius review". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  18. ^ "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  19. ^ "#9: GOJIRA - FROM MARS TO SIRIUS | MetalSucks". MetalSucks. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  20. ^ Hammer, Metal Hammer 2018-10-12T22:37:52Z Metal. "The 100 greatest metal albums of the 21st century". Metal Hammer Magazine. Retrieved 2019-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "Gojira | Decibel Magazine". Decibel Magazine. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  22. ^ "From Mars to Sirius - Gojira | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=From_Mars_to_Sirius&oldid=1003423436"