[UPDATE, 11:47am EST]: An anoymous tipster tells us they’re at Spin Studios in Long Island city. Spin Studios’ Facebook page “Likes” Roadrunner Records. All signs point to Gojira signing with RR.

Original post:

The last bit of non-news we got from Gojira regarding the Sea Shepherd EP suggested the long-awaited collaboration was finally nearing release after some of the session files had been lost on a crashed hard drive. The band also let us know that they’d finished writing an entire new record… and based on today’s news, it seems like we might get that new album before we get Sea Shepherd. Not that I’m complaining — new Gojira is new Gojira, no matter the form — but the band whipped us into a frenzy regarding Sea Shepherd and it now seems possible that it may never come out. I guess we’ll see.

But anyway, new Gojira is coming! The band landed in New York on Thursday, November 3rd and got right to work in the studio. They’ve posted a few photos from this past weekend’s session on their Facebook page, including a shot of New York City that would place the recording studio somewhere near the Union Square vicinity (those are the Zeckendorf Towers on the right). Which begs the question:

Who, exactly, is paying for an expensive downtown New York studio? Gojira are (were?) label free agents; when I polled MS readers back in July you all thought they’d end up with Century or Metal Blade. But I have it on good word that Spinefarm and Roadrunner are the front-runners, although I’d think the deal is done if the band is already recording. If it’s Roadrunner, it sure would make sense to put Gojira in a studio mere blocks from the Roadrunner offices; on the other hand, pairing up with the right producer (Greg Fidelman?) could be enough impetus for a European-based label like Spinefarm to spend on shipping Gojira across the pond to record (although, to me, this scenario seems less likely).

In the end it’s the music that’s most important, and I don’t believe Gojira’s choice of record label will have much impact on how the music turns out. But it’s still fun to speculate about this kind of thing. Gojira are going big this tine, that’s for sure.

-VN