Taking their name from the original Japanese pronunciation of Godzilla, French heavy metal quartet Gojira have risen from utmost obscurity during the first half of their career to widespread global recognition in the second, including regular mention amongst the genre's leading new millennium upstarts. Originating from the town of Bayonne, on France's southernmost Atlantic Ocean coastline, Gojira recorded the first in a sequence of almost yearly demos in 1996, gradually honing their sound until the year 2000, when bandmembers Joe Duplantier (vocals/guitar), Christian Andreu (guitar), Jean-Michel Labadie (bass), and Mario Duplantier (drums), felt ready to record their first album, Terra Incognita, relying solely on their own devices. And despite its independent status, the aptly named LP made significant waves with its unpredictable blend of death, thrash, groove, progressive, and math metal -- recalling bands as diverse as Pantera, Meshuggah, Suffocation and Sepultura.