Ever since Metallica went from the world’s heaviest cult band to its biggest rock group, most major metal acts have wondered if they, too, could balance integrity and mainstream success. French prog-death masters Gojira take their shot on sixth LP Magma. Doubling down on the egalitarian edge of 2012 breakthrough L’Enfant Sauvage, vox populi Joe Duplantier nevertheless leaves extremity in the closet. Master craftspeople that they are, the band hits all marks on melody and dynamics, but the furious passion that drove their past work sounds muted. (Gojira plays Emo’s Thu., Sept. 29.)

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This article appears in August 19 • 2016.

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Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.