Taking to the Way of All Flesh

I'm not sure if it's because I've been listening to a lot more challenging music recently, or I'm finally succumbing (in some sense) to the ridiculous variety of music at my disposal, but I've found it's taking me a few more listens than it used to before I really get into an album I expect to like. Gojira's The Way of All Flesh, for example; I really like From Mars to Sirius (even though it took me a while to get into that album when I first heard it a few years ago), so I figured I'd take to the follow-up like a duck to water. And it wasn't as The Way of All Flesh was bad...I just didn't get feel the hook immediately. For several weeks after I downloaded it, it sat in my iTunes display, mocking me with its unfulfilled promise, until I gave it a fourth shot yesterday.

That fourth hit did the trick: somewhere in the middle of "Adoration for None," around when I realized that I was, in fact, hearing Randy Blythe's distinctive razor blade growl as a secondary vocals, the hook found aural flesh. Then "The Art of Dying,"with its tribal drum intro leading up to an almost Tool-like display of rhythm, hit my ears at their most receptive point and now I'm a fan.