“The Chant” by Gojira

We will analyze the lyrics of Gojira’s “The Chant” in a linear, fashion in the attempt to capture all of its main points.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Gojira's The Chant at Lyrics.org.

It starts off on the premise that we human beings, if you will, are being systematically repressed via “fear and deception”. But the vocalist challenges us to come to our earthly senses and “rise above” such socializing matters. And the implication is that doing so requires tapping more into the spiritual or “immortal” aspect of our existence as opposed to the worldly one.

And the singer himself is trying to transmit the power for us to actually do so, via a force he refers to as the “purple spring”. The implication is that achieving the above is more of an act of awareness than anything else. Yet and still, engaging in some good old-fashioned chanting proves beneficial also. And in that regard, the mantra that Gojira is putting forth is a repeating of the phrase “get strong”. So with that in mind, we can rather say that more than anything they believe the above act requires courage to execute.

But ultimately, the general instruction with the singer is imparting upon us, the addressees, is twofold. First is that we should not be content to go along with the status quo and instead should try to elevate ourselves, presumably in some sort of a spiritual/internal fashion. And secondly, as implied above, we need to “wakeup” to “the sound of doom”. 

And that latter admonishment reads like some type of apocalyptic warning. It is as if the vocalist is saying the world is ending around us, but we are ignoring that fact.

In Conclusion

So putting all of this together, Gojira believes that we are living in a dangerous time which requires some awakening on our part. And individually, that can be achieved by shifting our focus, metaphorically speaking, to higher things.

Lyrics to "The Chant"

Release Date of “The Chant”

Gojira is a crew of heavy metal musicians from France. With this track being released on 25 April 2021, its lineup, from 1998 to date, consists of its leader Joe Duplantier and the following:

  • Mario Duplantier
  • Christian Andreu
  • Jean-Michel Labadie

This song is from “Fortitude”, the band’s seventh studio album. And it was put out by a label that Gojira has been signed to since 2011, heavy metal specialists Roadrunner Records.

Gojira

Gojira is a band who has experienced notable success throughout the decades. Their most-successful one thus far was 2010s, where they dropped two albums, 2012’s L’Enfant Sauvage and 2016’s Magma. 

Gojira’s “Fortitude” Album

“Fortitude” is the band’s official sixth studio album. The label that brought us this undertaking is Roadrunner Records, the same entity behind the band’s previous two albums, “L’Enfant Sauvage” (2012) and “Magma” (2016). 

Gojira recorded this project in a NYC venue known as Silver Cord Studio, and they employed the services of long-tenured industry musician Andy Wallace to act as its engineer.

And concerning the title of this album, apparently it isn’t symbolic or anything like that. Rather, according to the way band frontman Joe Duplantier has explained it, the purpose of this project is to literally inspire people to have fortitude, though Gojira does hold a more-expansive definition of that word. 

To them, possessing this attribute is akin to conscientiously adopting a positive disposition, even when one may “be caught up in the grind of life” or is stuck in some other type of unfavorable position. 

In other words, it represents a consistency of resolve even in the face of the type of uncertainty and negativity which has become commonplace in the modern world.

In all, there are 11 tracks on the playlist of the standard issue of “Fortitude”. Aside from “The Chant” some other notable tracks from this album are:

1 Response

  1. Cliff M says:

    Great song. A little mellow by Gojira standards but that might make it crossover to more listeners.

    Its theme is one we all need to accept. The vast majority of mainstream media and radical left (and a few radical right) are fear mongers and we need to rise above them and realize the power we hold.

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