French metal act Gojira recently wrapped up their 2016 North American tour in New York City with a packed house at Terminal 5. The group was touring the States in support of their latest release, Magma.

Fans were sore from the get-go as Gojira unleased their set with a new track “Only Pain.” Then concertgoers headbanged to an older favorite, “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe.” Frontman Joe Duplantier addressed the New York crowd by saying they’ve played Terminal 5 before but always opened up for other bands. Now Gojira had three levels of hundreds of fans passionately singing old and new tunes with them during their headlining show.

Other new and infectious songs performed off of Magma included “Silvera,” “ Stranded,” the percussion driven “The Cell,” “The Shooting Star” and a personal favorite “Pray.” Older anthems that caused hoarse voices was “Flying Whales,” “Backbone” and “Toxic Garbage Island.”

With powerful drum patterns in songs like  “Terra Inc.” and “Wisdom Comes," plus a pummeling drum solo, percussionist Mario Duplantier might be in the background onstage but his sound and rhythm are always at the forefront. The front row felt every bead of sweat from enthusiastic bassist Jean-Michel Labadie. Guitarist Christian Andreu did some headbanging while cranking out familiar riffs. Each member of Gojira brings intensity and together they are a force to be reckoned with onstage.

One surprising element of the setlist was that it did not include tracks from their pervious album L’Enfant Sauvage. The encores (yes, there were two) were made up of older tunes, the first encore included “Clone” and the hypnotic riffage of “Oroborus.” The last song of the night was the heavy “Vacuity” off of the 2008 album The Way of All Flesh. Whether Gojira are cranking out new songs or old, they are one of the most intense metal acts you can see live, so just be ready to sweat.

UK band Tesseract took the stage beforehand and were absolutely mesmerizing. Not only did their powerful ethereal vibe filled Terminal 5. There was a balance of otherworldly melody and deep, heavy sounds. The moody lighting evoked the emotion and mystery of their music. Frontman Daniel Tompkins and every band member perform with their entire body and lets every part of each song overtake them and the fans do the same. Tesseract have been touring in support of their latest full length album Polaris and they’re not to be missed when they roll through town.

Car Bomb, a hometown band hailing from Long Island, kicked off the night with an energetic set. They performed some new songs from their latest release, Meta. Their songs are frantic, fast-paced and just the right speed to get the blood pumping early on in the evening. Their new album was  produced by Gojira’s Joe Duplantier, who also provides guest vocals on a track, as does Suffocation’s Frank Mullen.

Check out our gallery above of all three bands performing at Terminal 5 in New York City.

See Where Gojira Rank Among the 50 Best Metal Bands Who Released Their First Album in the 21st Century

Watch Gojira's Video for "The Shooting Star"

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