From Mars to Sirius

A concept album, From Mars to Sirius relates the resurrection of a dead planet through an interplanetary quest, tackling environmental issues as well as broader themes of life, death, and rebirth.[4] Explaining the meaning behind the album title, Joe Duplantier said in an interview that "In some cultures, Mars symbolizes war and Sirius peace. I'm simplifying! It is a journey of a state of war, even if in France we are preserved, but it can be a war within us, in our flesh, in our mind, a war with ourselves".[5] The album was largely written by Joe and Mario Duplantier, but Christian Andreu contributed certain parts such as the outro of "Where Dragons Dwell" and the central melody on "World to Come". According to Mario, the album was entirely self-produced by the band.[6]

Listenable Records reissued the album on vinyl in September 2012 and in November 2015 in limited quantities.[7][8] A 10th anniversary box-set was released on February 12, 2016, again through Listenable Records.[9][10] A video directed by Alain Duplantier was filmed for the song "To Sirius".[11]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[12]
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B[13]
Blabbermouth.net	9/10[14]
Phoenix New Times	favorable[15]

From Mars to Sirius was received positively by critics. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia noted the influences of bands such as Pantera, Meshuggah, and Neurosis on the album, particularly in the guitarwork and emphasis on atmosphere. Heaping praise on the album, Rivadavia wrote that "the fluidity with which utmost heaviness and delicate melodies were made to coexist within the scope of single songs like "Where Dragons Dwell," "Flying Whales," and "World to Come," was truly astonishing—as was the surprisingly seamless flow accomplished by the sequencing of these wildly disparate tracks, and the thematically conjoined esoteric subjects undertaken throughout. The final outcome was still not easy to digest, and admittedly just a tad bit overlong (Gojira's next challenge was definitely to be a little more concise), but compared to most of the impossibly dense (and often exhausting) prog metal available, From Mars to Sirius, struck a close to perfect balance between degree of difficulty and ultimate reward." Blabbermouth's Keith Bergman made similar comparisons to Meshuggah and Neurosis, but wrote that "A grocery list of influences does Gojira no justice" and that "This is a masterpiece on par with anything Meshuggah or Mastodon have released." He described their musical style as "dark, churning and hypnotic, massively heavy but varied and surprising, never monotonous.", and their lyrics as "surprisingly positive and life-affirming, their words add humanity to even the most angry, mechanized portions of the album." Bergman concluded his review by praising From Mars to Sirius as an "immense, intense, and very impressive album."

Rolling Stone named the album no. 97 on their list of the Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time, and MetalSucks named it no. 9 on their list of the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century.[16][17] Metal Hammer named this album no. 15 out of The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the 21st Century[18]. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia describes the album as marking a turning point for the band, "gaining them access into the exclusive top echelon of the world's progressive metal elite." In 2018, Decibel inducted the album into their hall of fame.[19]

All lyrics are written by Joe Duplantier; all music is composed by Gojira.

Personnel adapted from AllMusic.[20]