LET THE GOJIRA NAME-DROPPING BEGIN

If 2008 was the year of Gojira, then 2009 will most certainly be the year every new band looking for some traction starts saying they sound like Gojira. Especially bands from France. Take recent Metal Blade-signees END. (all capitals, followed by a period. not to be confused with The End, the Tool soundalikes from Canada, or The End Records, based right here in New York). A press release announcing the signing informs us that “Much like fellow homeland heroes Gojira, END. pull off a signature sound that can immediately be picked up by the metal critics.”  Sheesh, I guess they have my number!

Much to my surprise, End do sound a little bit like Gojira; but only a little, which is actually a whole lot more than I was expecting. More prevalent are elements of Meshuggah-esque rhythmic pummeling and the kind of fast Euro-death-thrash played by bands like The Arcane Order and Mnemic. END. are pretty decent, really, even if they’re not pushing boundaries the way, say… well… Gojira do. But yes, this is a good band, and you should definitely check them out. My only complaint is that the singer’s monotonous delivery grates quickly on the nerves.

Check out some tunage from END. on their MySpace page and keep an eye out for their Metal Blade debut which should drop at some point this summer.

-VN