Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on THE ART OF DYING ORIGINAL VIDEO: • THE ART OF DYING Rush - Xanadu (GDrive link) - drive.google.com/open?id=1LqP... Patreon: www.patreon.com/criticalreactions Twitter: critreactions
Even better, Vadrum plays to Super Mario with a much more impressive drum beat. Brian gives tons of drum cred to this basic 16th note blasting that any first year drummer is capable of. Then he listens to Opeth and doesn't even recognize the amazing abilities of Martin Axenrot.
Fun fact the band did not use a metronome while recording this album to give it a more live and raw feel so it really makes you think how good the drummer and the rest of the band are.
Keep plugging away with these guys. It took me a few listens to get used to his vocals but after listening to a few different songs Gojira became possibly my favorite band. Check out Flying Whales for a second go.
I wouldn't suggest Magma. I was a little turned off by them when that came out, and I picked it up on CD format. It was all I heard, and I didn't give their older stuff a chance. I did appreciate the unique sound they had, but I wrote it off as semi-generic. When I finally decided to go back and give them another listen 3 years ago with The Way of All Flesh my thoughts completely flipped about them. It was one of the best things I decided to do with a Sunday evening. I was blown away by their musicianship and unique brand of groove/death metal with incredibly well written lyrics and music. It re-contextualized how I viewed Magma. It's such a departure from their old music. It may come in at number 4 of how I rank their albums, but being a metal musician/songwriter myself I completely understand and appreciate the evolution in their music. They've given me the fuel to learn drums and write lyrics on top of the guitar stuff I've worked on for years. I'd recommend A Sight To Behold as an entry level song, because The Way of All Flesh is some of their best work. I'd still consider a lot of those tracks accessible to potential newcomers seeking this band.
TheSamuraiApocalypse I do understand where you’re coming from with that, but Magma was what got me to actually give them a chance and now they’re probably my favorite modern band, older stuff included. It depends on what you’re used to listening to beforehand I would say.
After listening to their earlier material which I prefer more. Magma is a solid release, great songs of course and a tribute to the Duplantier Brothers mother. So I highly respect the album. Just not a personal favorite.
@@TheSamuraiApocalypse from mars to sirius is probably the best intro album. Magma is an incredible one though. Cleaner vocals could be easier to get in to for someone new to metal and stranded tends to be the one that hooks people because of its unique opening riff and extremly smooth chord progression that just flows into itself beautifully. Such a simple and effective song. That or shooting star.
16:35 I hear this from a lot of people who dont listen to metal and I have to disagree from my own point of view (as a metalhead). I dont listen to metal to be full of energy or because I need to hype myself up. Its often calming for me and I feel a certain level of understanding when I hear this kind of songs. I know it sounds weird and that might be only my way of listening to metal, but I see it this way. Neither I disagree that it helps some people to stay hyped and have some motivation in gym (I also heard that many times, too)
Honestly yes, well put. For me it's comfort music, I feel comfortable with the heaviness and they talk about things I care about. And these guys in particular are awfully talented so yeah it easily becomes your favorite music
This was certainly a jump into the deep end. Maybe try Flying Whales or The Gift of Guilt (studio versions) for something calmer. They also have more accessible heavy stuff too, such as Heaviest Matter of the Universe or Vacuity.
Gojira is one of the greatest band of this century:) Groove and Death metal combined in extreme and tasteful mix! Best sellers songs to react: Heaviest matter of the universe. Flying Whales Toxic Garbage Island Love L'Enfant sauvage. Born in winter Shooting star Silvera Best sounding live recording Polandrock live 2018.
The true magic of Gojira - what made me grow to love the vocal style - is their lyrical genius. It is worth your time to dissect their content as you react to each song. Everything else follows... the odd feel of the signature aligns with the subject matter. This is a meditation on comprehending our own mortality (as well as the fact that we kill to live), and some of the dissonance in the music is reflective of this. The groove of the outro could be taken as acceptance of our unavoidable passage.
I do wish I could get a better appreciation for the lyrics in these reactions but there are so many things going on that it doesn't feel fair to give the vocals so much more attention then the music. It feels a bit like cheating but I might start doing reactions with the lyrics present. Though I'd have to figure out a format that doesn't detract from the music -- like I wouldn't want the lyrics pulled up while the song is playing since it will probably distract me from the music.
Critical Reactions Great point, especially if your main focus is the music itself. Some people spend a few minutes after the song delving into the lyrics, but it might not fit with your vision of your channel. Gojira in particular is an organism, however, and the individual parts don’t always hold up to other conventional standards - other than Mario these are not necessarily virtuoso performers - but the sum of the parts is greater than most bands on the planet. For example, you rarely hear anything resembling a solo in their work (they exist, but are rare). I believe that’s by design, it’s their ethic. They are one, a single mighty beast. So the reason I’m bringing it to your attention is to put some of the music into context... the instruments, production, voice, and lyrics are indivisible. To miss the lyrics is to miss part of Gojira. Thanks for engaging in a conversation brother :) I just subscribed, by the way.
@@thoronthol1175 Awesome, thanks for the sub. And that's some excellent insight into the band and their ethos. Gojira isn't the first band that I've glossed over the lyrics on where they played a large role and I'm so glad that I have excellent viewers (like yourself) that point these songs out to me and allow me to better engage with the music on my own time. But I do regret not getting to do it on camera. I think pulling up lyrics after the song is a great idea and something that I'll experiment with as this channel continues to mature.
@@thoronthol1175 I can feel you share the same exact love I feel for this band, and I agree with most of the things you excellently articulated about Gojira. However, I would consider the other performances aside from Mario's to be virtuosic. I don't know if you're a guitarist or musician in any capacity, but having played for many years with loads of guitar riffing/soloing under my belt I found myself very impressed by the technicality involved in executing some of their riffs. A lot of it does come easy, but some took quite a bit of extra time to work out. The bridge in Vacuity still gives me trouble. It's just a flurry of straight triplets. It's difficult to sustain up to tempo beginning each triplet with a down stroke. I have to switch to uptsrokes every other beat just to give my hand a rest. All this technicality aside, they are incredibly tight musicians. They never play to a click track. They really are just that good.
The more you listen to them the quicker you realize they're actually one of the best bands out there. They have their own unique sound while every song feels different if you get what i mean.
Gojira is one of my favorite bands and I love "The Art of Dying", but I hate when people recommend it as a first song for people to listen to. "Born in Winter", "Silvera", "Stranded", or almost any other song would be much more appropriate to ease people into their sound.
HMM. I don't think Gojira has a bad song or even a worst song. Its really a matter of opinion on what you like. He wanted something more melodic so that is what I recommended. Worst to you doesn't mean worst to everyone.
"'The Art Of Dying' by Gojira cycles from 4 /4 to 2/4 to 21/16 (grouped 5+5+5+3+3) and repeats this pattern during the intro and beginning of the song."
I discovered them about 3 years ago, never really was into metal and the screaming. But Gojira needs a couple of listens, and it just gets better and better. Now you will listen to the more mainstream songs, like the heaviest matter of the universe, stranded and flying whales. Like everyone else i started with those. They're good songs but they have so much better in reserve, trust me. Their first album terra incognita, probably their heaviest is an absolute gem, very Pantera-ish. The following songs are my favourites, but they need a coupe of listens. 1.Remembrance (watch "the link alive" version, it's insane) 2.clone studio version has the most epic breakdown you'll ever hear. 3.Blow me away you also very solid. 4.Gift of guilt at brixton, another brilliant song and the list goes on and. I'd suggest to go with the gift of guilt next, and once ready, go see the heavier stuff, (remembrance (the link live) and clone. It strange, because i really didn't like the Art of dying the first time. Shame though you didn't watch this song live at Vieilles Charrues, it's even better than the studio recording. cheers!
In "extreme" metal, this singer is really easy listening. I mean, no. It is just that he use a lot of different styles of singing. In live, it is not that perfect of course, but he do really well (depends really of the tour). Back from the days, he was not that good, sometimes he is kind of bad, but now, most of the time it's more than Okay.
React to Wintersun: Sons of winter and stars (live rehearsal at sonic pump studios). Amazing finnish melodic deathmetal/powermetal/folk metal band. All the members are incredibly talented musicians
Well damn and here I was in my somewhat drunken stupor thinking this video was from like 8 years ago. I was perusing your channel for the next Gojira vid, in which you inevitably come to the light haha... In all seriousness though, props to you for saying something real instead of pandering to an audience man. As others were saying, this was definitely big waves to jump into. My very first exposure to Gojira was flying whales but I just couldn't get into it. I was like 15 and hadn't gotten into metal yet (I did love the intro though). A few years later after acquiring more of a metal taste, I came upon their song vacuity and got hooked and gradually delved in from there. There are a plethora of great suggestions in the comments. It's really cool to me that so many people are sharing their passion for a band in such a amiable and courteous fashion. Also, the ending portion was kind of a bonus piece. The calmed down part for the last minute or so in particular. If you reverse it, it is a sort of backmasking ode to another track on the album called esoteric surgery, only played in what I guess is more of a distorted acoustic sounding tone(?). I am really musically illiterate. Most of the stuff off of the Magma album is a bit more accessible while the farther back in Gojira's catalog you go, the more the focus seems to propagate towards technicality in the form of mind bending riffs and insane drumming patterns at the cost of accessibility to some audiences.
This was definitely a huge jump into the deep side of this band. This song needs a few listens to grasp the whole thing. Starting with some of their more popular songs would have been a better choice for a first time listen. But respect for choosing this one cus it's one of my favourites.
The vocals are indeed an acquired taste, when my friend first presented me this band i just didn't get it, the difference being that i didn't really get the instrumentals either, it took me a year of just seeing the name of the band everywhere on the internet with me thinking i didn't like it just to get into them again and falling in love with their music
If you are interested, Gojira has a bunch of song that are, I guess you could say on the softer/slower side. I would suggest you check out Global Warming: the studio live version, Born in Winter, The Shooting Star or World to Come. Can't wait to see more of your videos, keep up the great work
Global Warming (live studio version) is an excellent shout. A fantastic mix of soft and hard, with technical ability shown off by every band member throughout.
Gojira is most definitely my favorite band of all time. Funny story, I hated these guys when I first listened to them. I gave them a second listen when the band was receiving non-stop praise and I wanted to understand them some more. Couple of years later, they're my absolute favorite band. It just took me a few listens. I recommend The Gift of Guilt next. If you can, watch them live. They're INFAMOUS for their powerful, energetic live performances. Keep it up tho man.
I discovered you with this react and i'm glad i did ! I'm a huge Gojira fan and always wanted to watch the react of a true musician on that song so thanks a lot for that =)
Really enjoyed your reaction, as a self-taught composer in training (aren’t we all? Haha) I enjoy all your videos because I feel I can learn a lot about what my fav artists (such as Gojira) do on some of my fav songs (such as the art of dying) to make them as “magical” as they are, for lack of a better term, lol Definitely keep doing what you’re doing man, just gained a new sub, and a new member of notification squad!
The live version of this was what made me fall in love with gojira. I LOVE how they build up the song and i get goosebumps ALL OVER when the chorus starts. But if you want some more calmer things i'd say stranded, silvera, the cell, pray
Gojira's Magma, Low lands, Gift of guilt, Global warming, Shooting star, Stranded, Where dragons dwell, Silvera, L'enfant sauvage, are pretty melodic. Clone, Toxic garbage island, Heaviest matter of the universe, remembrance, Love are the heavy songs with odd time signatures
Good recommendations. I just got to the end where he said the song being non stop in your face wasn't totally his cup of tea, but those I think would satisfy that problem for him
The kind of reaction video I like: a unique and well informed take on a piece of media. The part where you explained what they're doing with 4/4 answered one question I had myself, since sometimes their drums really confuse me. A similar trick is done by Meshuggah, they play odd time signatures with kick drums and the cymbals play 4/4.
“Doesn’t sounds like a sustainable vocal style” lol this dude has been doing this for decades and he’s one of the greatest living metal voices with us today. Interesting video anyways.
I love it when you said, "where are they going with this" as it was about to start. Lol, I just said to myself, strap yourself in bro, it's about to take you there. I love this song and you have a new subscriber!
Really enjoying your more technical break down of songs Bryan, so far as I've seen its unique to your channel. I have to recommend Architects // Hereafter (Live ARTE Concert Hellfest). The lead singer Sam is a vocal monster and the band is just as strong and concise.
First time on the channel (because of gojira, i suppose). Nice reflection about the song. And about the last part of the song, it is actually like you said an intro to the next song... but in reverse. I don't know why they choose to do that. The song who follow up is "Esoteric Surgery", really heavy too, but if you play the ending of Art of Dying, you notice it is the same melody, but in arpeges (?). You can find the reverse version somewhere on youtube. Oh, and you got a new suscriber.
I find it interesting that you believe this takes a couple of listens to enjoy. I loved them from day one. Really nice reaction video though keep it up
One of the few newer bands I listened to and liked so much I added them to my daily metal needs .... there where the magic words "I am interested to hear more from them".... Explosia is my recommendation, that song is a masterpiece.
Clone and Remembrance are really great for them being in sync, it’s like they go into the Drift when they play it’s so good, even live they are flawless
Listen to Between The Buried And Me - Extromophile Elite. A great Progressive Metal Band! Also very talented musicians. The song has a ton of different styles and odd time signatures.
the art of dying chorus is fucking intense as fuck. im a dubstep drum and bass kinda guy, the moment my mate showed me gojira ( about 10 years ago) i fucking instantly loved it.
This song itself is not an everyday song and I have this album cover tattooed on my arm. Gojira has plenty of daily bops though like The Gift of Guilt, Esoteric Surgery, Clone, Love, The Heaviest Matter of the Universe, Backbone, Silvera, Stranded, Born in Winter and those are just a very minimal view of stuff you can listen to everyday. The Art of Dying, Flying Whales, Global Warming are just 3 songs that are super heavy in musical sense but also in theme and impact, so I can understand why this might be a bit much as an intro to Gojira. Also, final note to my comment. About the last 90 seconds of this song. It's the riff from the next song played slower and backwards. It's nuts if you listen to it reversed to hear the beginning of Esoteric Surgery in a beautiful atmosphere then the real one comes in and just punches your mouth off and you like it.
This is the video that introduced me to your channel man. I really appreciated your take on this song. Gojira has been a favorite of mine since about 2014, and this is in my top 3 favorite songs from them. You need, NEED to check out Earthside - Contemplation of the beautiful, and eventually some Deadly Circus Fire, Universe imo is DCF's best song.
Wow. I love the angst, despair, and anger in his voice. He isn't just growling, or screaming. And yea, the drummer is AMAZING!!! Go get em Mario. Love this band!!!!!!
The intro with the weird percussion instrument was what I heard in an interview with the frontman joe duplantier bamboo that was being smacked with something
the "late nineties" thrash feel close to the end was a really nice way to start mellowing the song down you know, kind of "finally resting", or so. plus i started by listening to old Metallica and such as a kid so that "late nineties" sound kind of still holds a place in my heartm though i don't go out of my way anymore to only listen to those tunes.
First time hearing this awesome thing for me. I like how they made it heavier with all the weird rhythms. The "blast beat riff" is super enjoyable and the ending is beautiful. To me it sounds like the guitar riff backwards
Hey there Critical! Congrats on the success of your channel so far - always nice to see someone with a true passion for metal getting some well-earned followers. Like many of the other folks in the comments, I’d like to offer you a few recommendations to check out, based upon your own personal taste in music combined with my own (been a metal head since birth!). First, “Where Owls Know My Name” by Rivers of Nihil. The video is a little trippy because the boys were just having fun, but it combines some incredible technicality with brutal tones and even a saxophone. Yes, you read that right. And I promise you’ll love it. Another one? “RedFog” by Orbit Culture. The sound is a mix of Gorjia and Metallica. You won’t be disappointed. Finally, “No Man is Without Fear” by Fit for an Autopsy. The band combines very deep and meaningful lyrics with a brutal and heavy tone. Deathcore at its finest. Should you be unable to find that song, “Black Mammoth” is another superb track. Wishing you all the best from Georgia and love the channel. Cheers mate.
@Evan Tarracciano absolutely great choices in Rivers of Nihil and FFAA! Along with Shadow of Intent, Inferi, and Lorna Shore, they are definitely my favorite modern metal bands.
I LOVE you reaction to how all over the place they are with riffs and themes, "whhhat are they doing?" lol. One of the reasons I absolutely love them. Check out their album The Link for a lot of that goodness. Death of Me off that album comes to mind.
I remember in 2016, when I came across this song. I was hesitant - I liked the beginning, but was not into stuff this heavy. And it felt off. Then, I slowly, over the course of several days, I eased myself into it at work. I was curious. I was intrigued- And then I was changed.
Agree with the rest of the comments on asking him to listen to this first. I will give an ease in order, lol. Flying Whales, Oroborus, Silvera (has music video), Heaviest Matter of the Universe... after those you will join us fans, then it's open season on which entire album you want to start with and digest from there! Have fun down the rabbit hole! Oh and try to watch live performances, these guys won't disappoint!
Please check out more from these guys, they’re super versatile. I think this has one of Joe’s heavier vocals. Try Oroborus, Gift of Guilt, L’enfant Sauvage, or Explosia. Really well composed/performed metal all around. Good review!
stranded put me on to Gojira. ever since that first time, Gojira has been my go to band next to Metallica for 2 years now. went to a Gojira concert in June 2019 and it was phenomenal, going to another this May 2020! Definitely worth every second of your time to check out this band.
Been loving their music since the first album they have achieved great things in the genre, my favs are the first two albums, first one very creepy yet melodic and the second is very tribal...
8:04 “And I like how they chose to put clean backing vocals under the guy’s screaming.” The melody you’re hearing mixed in with the scream is actually only one voice. Joe Duplantier is able to scream with melody, and it’s very impressive! “Indians” is another great example of that “melodious scream.”
He's been singing this for like 20 years at this point probably more since before gojira and he is almost better live than he is in recordings. They did a live recording of their song global warming and it was absolutely crazy
I don't know if this has been mentioned, and apologize in advance if I'm being redundant, but the outro of this song is the intro of the next song on the album, Esoteric Surgery, played in reverse. Search the Art of Dying Backwards, then search the song Esoteric Surgery. There are other musical parallels throughout this album that are fun to discover, if you can get past the harshness of his vocal style.
Check out Where Dragons Dwell live: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nBLaTY1Rec0.html at 6:14 is when Mario begins his cardio workout for the day.
I’m French and I know them since 2003 it’s my favorite band. You can hear that Jo learned to sing and scream compare to the first album. I’ve seen them playing live so many times and never got bored, spoke with them a few times. I’m happy that their talent is well recognized all over the world. Fun fact: their first record label was Mon slip (My panty in English) m.facebook.com/labelmonslip/?locale2=fr_FR
hey youre probably getting requests for other Gojira songs, so heres my suggestion : This Emptiness also this band has a set of two brothers (drummer and singer) they had a side project called Empalot, it was a jazz metal fusion with funk ? not sure, but very cool if youre interested. a good song is Mister Inconvenient
This is one of the hardest songs from Gojira, you should react to The Heaviest matter of the universe (this guys are very creative, indeed it's my favorite band)
Oh, Gojira is a blackhole. Once you got in, it’s hard to go out and there’s so much to discover. I loved to see your comments on this as a composer. I have a few recommendations from other artists, a lot of different genres: Haggard - Of a Might Divine Dio - Rainbow in the Dark Lana Del Rey - Mariners Apartment Complex Aurora - All is Soft Inside You can choose from these if you’d like, sending love!
Check out these three bands and songs: Batushka - Yekteniya 3 (black metal with gregorian chanters) Septicflesh- The Enemy of Turth (symphonic death metal utilizing the Prague symphony orchestra and choir. They also utilize various unique instruments (like didgeridoo, theremin, double reeded flute, and a children's choir. But not in this song.) (all orchestration is composed by lead guitarist Christos Antonio who has a bachelors in composition and a masters in concert music.)