In “The Art of Dying,” vocalist Joe Duplantier growls, ‘Take no possessions; I would rather travel light’ – but this thunderous, harrowing meditation on death is anything but. That track, arguably the core of The Way of All Flesh, begins with shamanic chants and tribal drumming before puncturing the veil to the other side – where a tumultous, rather than peaceful, new state awaits all of us.

The crushing inevitability of that transition is the thrust of Gojira‘s new album. And in a step away from the delicate/heavy dichotomy found in sludge bands like Isis or Cult of Luna, Gojira shows that you don’t need to inject slow, ambient post-rock into your tracks in order to be transportive. Ultimately, it’s the contrast that matters, and throughout the album, Gojira‘s ability to go from sinuous rhythms to sledgehammer blows – with some new twists as well – creates a complete experience that will leave you drained.

“Oroborus” immediately begins the journey on a surprising note, weaving an rippling, twisty riff along a spine of rugged chug, like the titular snake devouring itself. Duplantier’s harsh, oddly clipped roar and the unexpected nimbleness of that main riff suggest that The Way of All Flesh might take a page from proggy forebears like Cynic or Tool – a thought that’s seconded by the album’s strangest track, “A Sight to Behold.” There, Goblin-esque snyths and a even more processed, clipped vocal delivery suggest something closer to industrial than sludge, but then the swinging melody in the chorus confounds you yet again. If the entire album were like “Sight”, it might be too far afield, but the track is far-reaching and different enough to make you want some similar mutations later on.

Instead, Gojira chooses to leave their evolutionary wanderings there, which would be disappointing had the rest of the album not been so damn satisfying on its own merits. Tracks like “Toxic Garbage Island,” with its lurching, Pantera-meets-Enslaved groove, or the explosive “Esoteric Surgery” deliver more of what made From Mars to Sirius such a monster. Gojira even show that you can be relentless with a chaotic rhythmic approach (“Adoration of None,” featuring corrosive guest vocals by Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe), or a more stripped-down one, as on the stomping, martial “Vacuity.” Either way, it’s a pulverizing experience.

Ultimately, it will take a few more listens to convince me whether this is better than their previous album, but the quality, class and thoughtfulness make The Way of All Flesh a more than worthy follow-up. As for the strange, fleeting experiments and progressive leanings on some of the album’s tracks, it will be interesting to see which ones survive into the next album and which ones, like all of us, are destined to die out and disappear.

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