Style: progressive metal, groove metal (mixed vocals, mostly harsh)
Recommended for fans of: Gojira, Mastodon, Lamb Of God
Country: Denmark
Release date: 27 March 2026

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Wine, cheese, and perfumes—those are the main French exports, right? If we’re stereotyping, sure. But it turns out that France’s most profitable shipments are a bit less posh: machinery, aircraft, pharmaceuticals, and vehicles. Figures; we live in an industrialized world, after all. As far as some metalheads are concerned, though, the country’s only export is a pod of flying whales known as Gojira. And those whales have landed in Denmark. 

The sophomore album from Danish progressive metallers Deadnate,¹ titled Mosaic, has a certain French sonic affinity that’s impossible to ignore. For those who have heard the band’s 2022 debut, this will hardly come as a surprise—although this time around, the Gojira influence seems to be turned up a notch. Big riffs chug and groove, melodies surface, tight drum fills bludgeon, and shouts ring, mostly carried along at a persistent mid-to-slow pace. We’ve heard all these tropes before; do Deadnate assemble them in a musical Mosaic worthy of its own export?

To hammer the point one more time, yes, most of the album sounds like an amalgamation of Gojira song pieces; and yes, Deadnate play the style convincingly. “Morass,” with its melodic fretboard tapping and mid-paced grooves, is a few pick scrapes away from something off any middle-era Gojira record. And the opening to “Neon Burner” might as well be taken off From Mars to Sirius—there are enough hefty chugs with pitch drops, double-kick interjections, and slick cymbal accents to fool me. “Funeral Cortège” is much the same, but it has some quick, bouncy phrasings that give it a proggier feel than most of the other tracks. At least, to Deadnate’s credit, Mosaic has an excellent sound, particularly for an independently produced (shoutout to the drummer, Ole Frank²) and released record. The mix is crystal clear without being devoid of character; each instrument sounds huge, yet none is overbearing, and the vocals retain just the right amount of force. Mosaic’s sound quality is indistinguishable from a professional production.

Looking past the stylistic familiarity for a moment, Deadnate pepper in some highlights. The dueling guitars during an early verse of “Morass”—one tapping, and the other carrying out a melodic lead—are sublime, and they’re brought back beautifully at the end of the track to close the album. The lengthy guitar solo in “Two Tongues,” meanwhile, strikes a deft balance between tasteful lines and legato shredding. “Neon Burner” also features a fiery solo that helps the track stand out as more than just another chug-fest; as does the song’s moody, subdued bridge and outro. On the other hand, opener “He Who Pays” contains a couple of simplified, post-hardcore-like verses that stick out like a sore thumb: the basic riffing and stereotypical post-hardcore vocals sound out of place and never reappear after the opening cut, making me wonder why they were included in the first place.

Even at a reasonable runtime of just above forty minutes, and despite its high points, Mosaic tends to drag. The songwriting is varied to a degree—moods shift, intensity ebbs and flows, melodies come and go—but most of the songs converge in a texturally similar, moderately paced fog. Several listens in, I still doubt I could distinguish “The Lie We Can Trust” or “Mosaic” from the other tracks. Of course, there’s also the issue of familiarity and fatigue among those who have heard enough Gojira over the years. A few exciting compositional turns and some textural synths or effects—or more sonic variance in general—would go a long way.

Ultimately, Mosaic is an album fit for those who simply want to headbang along to groove-laden songs with a familiar feel. Deadnate do the Gojira style well, and the album’s production is undeniably strong. A few passages hint at the potential for the band to break into a more distinct, compelling direction, but for the most part, Mosaic remains rather limited. For me personally, the one French export of this type is plenty.

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Recommended tracks: Two Tongues, Morass
You may also like: URNE, Centuries of Decay, Nostoc
Final verdict: 5.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Deadnate are:
– Simon Juul (guitars, vocals)
– Kenneth Kejlstrup (guitars, vocals)
– Ole Frank (drums)
– Frederik Fammé (bass)

1. Fortunately, no member of the band is named Nathan. Unfortunately, this review won’t help elucidate who Nate is or how he died. ↩︎
2. My American brain can’t help but read Ole Frank as ol’ Frank. Good ol’ Frank did a great ol’ job producing this record. ↩︎