While as harsh and heavy as any metal band out there, France's Gojira are no mere brutes. With a lineup that hasn't changed since their 2001 debut and a sound that lifts precedents like Meshuggah to a whole new astral plane, they've developed into a scientific machine. That means constantly taking hairpin turns, performing physics experiments and solving calculus equations over off-kilter rhythms from Mars. Their lyrical sense is at least as brainy, eschewing extreme metal's usual death-and-devil obsessions to focus on environmental collapse and climate change.