Gojira, Klone & Trepalium Great Hall 2 Cardiff 08/11/12
Trepalium
Didn't see much of these but from I saw they were slightly generic death metal with some progressive flourishes, they seemed to have the breakdowns and riffage to move the set along but did nothing much to get the already and unfortunately small crowd going. 6/10
Klone
Klone on the other hand seemed to have an identity crisis, they were unsure whether they wanted to be Pantera, Tool, Alice In Chains or Killswitch. They had groove metal breakdowns and furious thrashy riffage before the next song moved into more progressive arty territory. This did make for a somewhat disjointed listen. They seemed to have the chops but they were not my cup of tea. 6/10
Gojira
No such ambiguity from the French progressive metal merchants as from the end of the intro tape came the mighty heaviness of Explosia and from there on the extreme noise onslaught refused to lament. This gig was probably one of the loudest I have ever attended in such a small venue and in some parts it actually physically hurt. After the first song came Flying Whales and The Heaviest Matter In The Universe and Backbone all camein quick succession insuring that the pit that opened was filled with ferocity. The riffage of the Joe, Christian and Jean-Michel was frighteningly mechanical and intensely technical, with bassist Jean-Michel the main focal point as he jumped around the stage. Gojira have always been defined in my eyes by the drumming of Mario Duplaniter and on this occasion he failed to disappoint bring his double kick barrage to every track making sure that there would be no-one left standing at the end of the show. The band then talked about their love for their large stage head before launching into the title track of the new record L'Enfant Sauvage. With this being a tour for the last release I thought more would be played but the classics came with The Art Of Dying and Toxic Garbage Island following before Wisdom Comes and Ourobouros led to the obligatory drum solo which considering Mario's form throughout the night didn't need to happen as really he had nothing to prove. The main set ended with Clone, The Axe which is not for those with tinnitus and Vacuitythe short break gave everyone time to breathe before the encore of new trackThe Gift Of Guilt which left everyone well and truly destroyed by a truly brutal metal assault. Gojira are not a band that conjures violent pits like say LOG or Slayer but they don't need to, they can do as much damage to an audience with just their instruments and sheer volume than most bands fans could ever dream of doing to each other. Simply an awesome live band! 9/10