Gojira is a French heavy metal band from

Ondres Ondres () is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is only two miles from the nearest beach (Ondres plage), which is well known for being a good surfing spot. Population Culture Ondres is the home ...

. Founded as Godzilla in 1996, the band's lineup—brothers

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

(lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and

Mario Duplantier Mario François Duplantier (born 19 June 1981) is a French-American musician and artist best known as the drummer for progressive death metal band Gojira. He established himself as a powerful, technically precise drummer, using polyrhythmic patt ...

(drums),

Christian Andreu Christian Roger Andreu (born November 15, 1976) is a French musician best known as the lead guitarist of metal band Gojira, and was guitarist on a Familha Artús album. Music Christian Andreu's influences include bands such as Death, Metallic ...

(lead guitar), and

Jean-Michel Labadie Jean-Michel Labadie (born 14 July 1974 in Cambo-les-Bains, Basque Country) is a French musician best known as the bassist of metal band Gojira. Career Labadie grew up in the Basque Country, and played bass in regional underground bands. Sin ...

(bass)—has been the same since the band changed its name to Gojira in 2001. Gojira has been known for their progressive and

technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

styles and their spiritual,

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and environmentally-themed lyrics. The band has gone "from the utmost obscurity during the first half of their career to widespread global recognition in the second". Gojira's first two albums, ''

Terra Incognita ''Terra incognita'' or ''terra ignota'' (Latin "unknown land"; ''incognita'' is stressed on its second syllable in Latin, but with variation in pronunciation in English) is a term used in cartography for regions that have not been mapped or do ...

'' (2001) and '' The Link'' (2003), and powerful live performances established their reputation as a leading French metal band. '' Maciste All'Inferno'' was a silent

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

composed and performed for a one-night show in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. Their third album, the critically acclaimed ''

From Mars to Sirius ''From Mars to Sirius'' is the third studio album by the French progressive metal/technical death metal band Gojira. It is a concept album addressing environmental issues and the rebirth of a dead planet through a space travel storyline, with t ...

'' (2005) with "Backbone", "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe", and "Flying Whales", was covered in the British metal press. The band then signed with

Prosthetic Records Prosthetic Records is an American record label specializing in heavy metal recordings, founded in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by E.J. Johantgen and Dan Fitzgerald. Prosthetic Records released the first two albums by Lamb of God and Animals ...

, which gave them visibility in North America. The follow-up album, ''

The Way of All Flesh ''The Way of All Flesh'' (sometimes called ''Ernest Pontifex, or the Way of All Flesh'') is a semi-autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler that attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. Written between 1873 and 1884, it traces four generations of the ...

'' (2008), charted on the ''Billboard'' 200, and Gojira later launched their first overseas headlining tour. The band began recording the ''

Sea Shepherd The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

EP'' in a collaborative framework involving several metal musicians. In 2011, Gojira signed with

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

. The band released ''

L'Enfant Sauvage ''The Wild Child'' (french: L'Enfant sauvage, released in the United Kingdom as ''The Wild Boy'') is a 1970 French film by director François Truffaut. Featuring Jean-Pierre Cargol, François Truffaut, Françoise Seigner and Jean Dasté, it te ...

'' (2012) and ''

Magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

'' (2016), which peaked at number thirty-four and twenty-four respectively on the ''Billboard'' 200. Gojira shelved

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

in favor of a more straightforward style on ''Magma'', the band's breakthrough album. In 2020, they released their first single, "Another World". The chart-topping '' Fortitude'' (2021) was the best-selling album in the US during its first week. In 2022, Gojira attained

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

headliner status in Europe, the UK, and South America. With a DIY approach, the band produce their albums at their own recording studios in France and New York City. Gojira has released seven studio albums, three live DVDs, and is the first French band to top the ''Billboard'' Hard Rock Albums chart. Gojira is considered one of France's most successful exports to the US. The band has received

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations for

Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sev ...

for ''Magma'' and

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

for the singles "Silvera" and "Amazonia". Gojira holds the record for the loudest concert (and sound) ever recorded at the

Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...

. Throughout their career, the band has been involved in

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

, human- and

animal-rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

activism.

History

Background and formation (1993−1996)

At the age of seventeen, while in high school, vocalist and guitarist

Joe Duplantier Joseph Andrew Duplantier (born 19 October 1976) is a French-American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of heavy metal band Gojira. He is also a record producer and environmental activist. Duplantier was born ...

formed his first band called Eclipse after discovering heavy metal three years earlier. His brother,

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...

, started a band at the age of twelve and had already demonstrated his capabilities as a drummer. Over time, the two brothers embarked on jam sessions after school. Joe and Mario Duplantier, aged nineteen and fourteen respectively in 1996, decided to start a

band emphasizing melodies and recruited nineteen-year-old guitarist

. According to Mario, Andreu was "a passionate an like us, of

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

". They began practicing with guitars and drums in the Duplantiers' garage (where the group had set up a studio) in their hometown of

in southern Landes, on the outskirts of Bayonne. The band soon recruited bassist Alexandre Cornillon, a friend of Andreu from

Hossegor Soorts-Hossegor (; oc, Sòrts e Òssagòr) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France, 20 km (12 miles) north of Biarritz. It is a well known seaside resort that is renowned for its surfing. The ci ...

. Joe Duplantier said, "We wanted to go fast and strong. We had no plan, no pressure ... We didn't even have a

and or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a boolea ...

name".

Early years and ''Terra Incognita'' (1996−2002)

In 1996, the band settled on the name Godzilla. The idea sprang from the original 1954 ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'' black-and-white '' kaiju'' film and "the myth of the big furious atomic lizard ... It was, in our heads, a symbol of devastating power". The band first performed in Bayonne

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

s (four months after its formation), selling cassettes at shows and to their friends. Playing straight-ahead

with elements of

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

, Godzilla self-released a pair of demo albums (''

Victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis Films and television * ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by ...

'' in 1996 and ''

Possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

'' in 1997), and toured southwest France. Gojira logo

Cornillon left the band in January 1998 and was replaced by

, a "young bass player very active on the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

scene", according to author Marie-Hélène Soenen. Godzilla won the ''tremplin Ultrasons'' (Ultrasound Springboard, a regional festival for emerging artists) in early 1999. The band toured regularly, serving as the opening act for

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...

Edge of Sanity Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band that, alongside Opeth, is commonly regarded as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death and black metal with progressive rock. The group was founded by Dan Swanö in 1989 and ended in ...

, and Impaled Nazarene. In September 1999, the band supported

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

during a ten-date tour in France that ended in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

. While touring with Immortal, Godzilla received national exposure, developing a reputation on the French metal scene for their "incendiary riffs". The band recorded ''

Saturate Saturate may refer to: * ''Saturate'' (Breaking Benjamin album), 2002 * ''Saturate'' (Gojira album), 1999 * ''Saturate'' (Jeff Deyo album), 2002 * " Electronic Battle Weapon 8", a song by The Chemical Brothers, a shorter version of which was re ...

'', their third demo album, which was released in the Fall of 1999. The band released '' Wisdom Comes'', their fourth demo album, in 2000. Godzilla then began writing what they intended as their first full-length album, a project planned since 1996. According to Joe Duplantier,

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

inspired his songwriting. In 2001, Godzilla was legally compelled to change its name. They became "Gojira", the ''

rōmaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logographic characters borrowed from Ch ...

'' spelling of "Godzilla". Inspired by the production quality of an album by a

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

ian metal band, Gojira moved to the same

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

studio to record their debut album, ''

''. Before entering the recording studio, they asked friends and family for donations. Although Joe Duplantier said that Gojira took a long time to write the album, it was recorded in ten days. Gojira live on October 4, 2002

After finishing recording and mixing by Stephan Kraemer at Impuls Studios, Gojira had no label, record company, or management. Joe Duplantier said that after the tour with Immortal, Gojira became "a real war machine". However, Soenen wrote that record labels called them "too ambitious" for their style of music. Labels advised them to abandon death metal and sing in French; "The door was clearly closed", said Joe Duplantier. The band realized that their way out was to consider an independent infrastructure; they established Gabriel Editions (their own label) as a

limited-liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

. Andreu said that they could now "manage the band's activities, financing everything ourselves". Gojira released their debut studio album, ''Terra Incognita'', on Gabriel Editions in March 2001. The album "made significant waves", according to John D. Buchanan of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Do-it-yourselfers, the band had a shipment of 1,500 albums delivered to the Duplantiers' parents' kitchen and persuaded a small store in Bayonne to sell them. Gojira then signed a contract with Sphere Management, and Richard Gamba became their manager. The band went on a nationwide tour to promote ''Terra Incognita'', sharing the stage with French death–thrash metal

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

acts such as

Scarve Scarve is a French technical death metal''The Undercurrent'' review
at

Hertz and Silence, Nihil, and No Flag. Gojira later signed with the independent Boycott Records–Next Music for national distribution. The band acquired what became Le Studio des Milans (

Red Kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

s' Studio), a recording studio and rehearsal space in the

Landes forest The Landes forest (; La forêt des Landes in French) in the Landes de Gascogne (las Lanas de Gasconha in the Gascon language), in the historic Gascony natural region of southwestern France now known as Aquitaine, is the largest man-made woodland ...

, in November 2002. The studio was originally a derelict barn, which Gojira rebuilt over a two-year period between tours and recording. On their investment, Joe Duplantier said that "The budget is important for this econdrecord, but for the next one, it will be minimal", and further noted that they could "henceforth produce" their music "from A to Z".

''The Link'' and ''From Mars to Sirius'' (2003−2007)

Writing '' The Link'', Gojira's second studio album, took a year. Mario Duplantier said about his approach to the album that "it was a period during which I wanted to play fast: I was starting to master the grind parts and the double bass pedal properly". Newly purchased

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, onl ...

had not been delivered to Le Studio des Milans, and the scheduled recording start date for the album had passed; it was hastily self-produced and recorded with Laurentx Etchemendy, the band's live engineer. The songs were conceived without

delay Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can * ''The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and acto ...

on the vocals or

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

; Joe Duplantier called it "all very raw and very honest". In April 2003, Gojira released ''The Link''; 2,500 copies were shipped to French stores with the same self-distribution as ''Terra Incognita''. ''The Link'' was well received. In June, Gojira played at the Furyfest (an earlier version of

Hellfest Summer Open Air Hellfest (), also called Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one ...

) as part of a lineup of

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

bands. Renowned for their live performances, Gojira was developing a fan base through a 40-concert nationwide tour. The band also performed beyond

metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

, including Belgium,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and

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. In March 2004, the band played with Loudblast, No Return, Scarve,

the Old Dead Tree The Old Dead Tree was a progressive death metal band from the city of Paris, France active between 1997 and 2019. Musical style Their musical style is a mixture of death metal elements, such as double bass drumming and heavy guitar riffing, and ...

and Garwall at La Locomotive in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

. A reviewer described this Gojira concert as "timed, with millimeter precision, of a phenomenal power ... With a gigantic sound! ... the Landais cataclysm has just struck at La Locomotive". Gojira continued to promote the album and toured with the Swiss grindcore band Nostromo. Joe Duplantier (alongside singers of Loudblast and Scarve) appeared on the 2004 April issue of ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

'', which marked Gojira's first-ever magazine cover. The band released ''

The Link Alive ''The Link Alive'' is the first live album by French heavy metal band Gojira. The show was filmed in Bordeaux in 2003. The material is mostly older songs from '' The Link'' and ''Terra Incognita'', as well as earlier demos. The extra features i ...

'', a concert

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

from ''The Link'' tour, in April 2004. The DVD was filmed by a team of seventeen cameramen during a sold-out 2003 show for an audience of 800 in

. ''The Link Alive'', self-produced and self-distributed, was marketed without a major distributor and was followed by a 500-copy album version. In late May 2004, the organizers of the concert venue Le Florida in

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department ...

invited Gojira and

Yat-Kha Yat-Kha is a band from Tuva, led by vocalist/guitarist Albert Kuvezin. Their music is a mixture of Tuvan traditional music and rock, featuring Kuvezin's distinctive '' kargyraa'' throat singing style, the '' kanzat kargyraa''. Biography Yat-Kha ...

for a three-show one-night stand of metal and ethno-rock music. Both bands played separately (Gojira toning down their performance) before playing together. In July 2004, ''Terra Incognita'' and ''The Link'' had sold 7,000 and 8,000 copies respectively. ''The Link'' era ended after a successful tour of almost two years, with significant financial difficulties. Gojira signed with the Mon Slip label (which gave them a higher financial advance), followed by a contract with French-based

Listenable Records Listenable Records is an independent metal label originally founded in 1990 in France. The label specializes in metal, with a focus on extreme metal music. The company has published albums from many acclaimed extreme metal bands, such as Immo ...

in December 2004. Gojira live 15 October 2005

The band entered Le Studio des Milans to compose their third album, ''

'', focusing on an "irreproachable sound". "Gojira wants to control all stages of creation, from composition to mixing", said Labadie. For the album's themes, Joe Duplantier was influenced by the possibility of other worlds and

dimensions In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coordin ...

. He devoted his time to reading ''

The Celestine Prophecy ''The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure'' is a 1993 novel by James Redfield that discusses various psychological and spiritual ideas rooted in multiple ancient Eastern traditions and New Age spirituality. The main character undertakes a journ ...

'' and books by Baird T. Spalding and other spiritual seekers. Writing the album took seven months, reinforced by Labadie and Andreu. The band performed "Backbone" and "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe" from their forthcoming album at the twenty-ninth

Printemps de Bourges Le Printemps de Bourges is an annual music festival that is held in Bourges, France, over the course of five days. It is now a major event in France and Europe. History The festival was created in 1977 (by , , and ). With its span of 35 years ...

in April 2005. Gojira released ''From Mars to Sirius'', their self-produced album, in September of that year; it received positive reviews from French music critics. Pascal Bagot of RFI wrote that "the public and critical acclaim is phenomenal". Fifteen thousand albums were shipped to French stores. Entering the Top Albums chart in France at No. 44, it remained on the chart for three weeks. After the album's release, Gojira toured France, Belgium, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. That year, Listenable Records re-released ''The Link''. In 2006, the "surging wave Gojira" inspired

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

journalist Lucy Williams of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' to write a laudatory article about the album. The band played a February concert at the Élysée Montmartre in Paris, where a number of journalists had gathered. By the end of the month, ''The Link Alive'' DVD had sold over 5,000 copies and ''From Mars to Sirius'' had sold 12,000 to 13,000 copies. According to Labadie, they earned their living primarily by touring. At that time, they worked jointly with Listenable Records, intending to promote their music overseas; "Gojira wants to work with people whose approach is sincere", said Labadie. In May, after 300 concerts in France and the surrounding region, the band signed a contract with American label

(an "exclusive licensing agreement" with Listenable Records) to give them exposure in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Gojira performed in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

(their first UK show) on 19 May, forging links with England's media community after a party organized by ''Kerrang!'' Gojira Roskilde Festival 2007

After Williams' article in ''Kerrang!'' and increased exposure in the British metal press, Gojira was asked to replace

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

at England's 2006 Download Festival; according to Joe Duplantier, "It was a decisive concert". In June, they performed on the main stage at the Hellfest Summer Open Air in

Clisson Clisson (; br, Klison), is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is situated at the confluence of the Sèvre Nantaise and the Moine southeast of Nantes. The town and the celebrated ...

, and a series of summer festivals in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n countries. Prosthetic Records released ''From Mars to Sirius'' in the US on 22 August 2006, which led to a sudden pre-order of 5,000 copies on the label's website, followed by an upload of a cover version of Metallica's "Escape". AllMusic writer Eduardo Rivadavia highlighted the album's songwriting, describing the "fluidity with which utmost heaviness and delicate melodies were made to coexist" in songs such as "Flying Whales", "World to Come", and "Where Dragons Dwell". In September (a year after its release), the album had sold over 20,000 copies in France and as many abroad. In early October, Gojira and

Hatesphere Hatesphere is a Danish thrash metal band from Aarhus, formed in 2000 by guitarist Peter "Pepe" Hansen. As of 2016, the band consists of vocalist Esben "Esse" Elnegaard Kjaer Hansen, guitarists Peter "Pepe" Lyse Hansen, and Kasper Kirkegaard, ba ...

began a co-headlining tour of the UK. In November, the band performed at the European

Unholy Alliance Tour The Unholy Alliance Tour is a biennial heavy metal concert tour of Europe and North America, with the tag-line "Preaching to the Perverted". The tour is headlined by the thrash metal band Slayer, and featured Trivium, Amon Amarth and Mastodon ...

, headlined by Slayer at Paris'

Accor Arena Accor Arena (originally known as Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, and previously as AccorHotels Arena; also known as Bercy in competitions where commercial names are prohibited, such as in the Olympic Games) is an indoor sports arena and concert ...

. The band was included in

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sepp ...

's US tour in late 2006, joining Amon Amarth and

Sanctity Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ...

as opening acts. Brandon Geist of ''

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

'' wrote that since the release of ''From Mars to Sirius'', "they have risen from virtual unknowns outside of their homeland to the single-most-buzzed-about metal band on the planet". In March 2007, Listenable Records (Prosthetic Records in the US), reissued ''The Link'' with remastered audio and new booklet artwork in North America. The following month, the label released ''The Link Alive'' DVD in the US. Gojira later supported Lamb of God on their American tour with

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but t ...

and

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

. The band made a cameo appearance in Machine Head's "

Aesthetics of Hate "Aesthetics of Hate" is a song by American heavy metal band Machine Head from their sixth studio album, '' The Blackening''. Written by vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn, the song is a retaliation to an article written by William Grim. Grim wro ...

" music video, which was broadcast on 5 May on

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

's ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

''. The band supported Trivium on the UK dates of their European tour with Sanctity and Annihilator, and made a number of festival appearances. In October, Listenable Records re-released Gojira's 1997 demo album ''

'' as a limited-edition CD. Gojira participated in the late-2007 Radio Rebellion Tour, featuring co-headliners Behemoth,

Job for a Cowboy Job for a Cowboy is an American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album ''Genesis'' was released in 2007, peaking at No. 54 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first we ...

, and

Beneath the Massacre Beneath the Massacre is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, Quebec. Their debut EP '' Evidence of Inequity'', was released in 2005, under Galy Records. In early 2006, the band signed with Prosthetic Records and released their ...

. Near the end of their over-220-concert tour to promote ''From Mars to Sirius'', Gojira began working on their follow-up album.

''The Way of All Flesh'' (2008−2011)

Returning to Le Studio des Milans to write their fourth studio album, ''

'', Gojira had developed their desired sound by touring. Joe Duplantier said that the album would be "more intense, more brutal, and more melodic" than its predecessor. The album took four months to write, with its songwriting finished in late March 2008. The album was recorded from April to June, and the drums were initially recorded by Logan Mader with Joe and Mario Duplantier in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

before they returned to Le Studio des Milans to continue working with Laurentx Etchemendy. Mader mixed the album in Los Angeles over a two-week period.

Randy Blythe Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them ...

of the American band Lamb of God, an active supporter of Gojira in the US, co-wrote and appeared on "Adoration for None". In August, two months before the album was released, Gojira performed "Vacuity" live for the first time at the Rock en France Festival in

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

as the opening act for Metallica. Gojira live - Nachtleben, Ffm - 2009 - JD - 7

''The Way of All Flesh'' was released on 13 October 2008 in Europe on Listenable Records and the following day in North America on Prosthetic Records. The album debuted at No. 138 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 4,200 copies in its first week of release. It reached No. 28 on France's Top Albums chart, and No. 25 on the Official Finnish Albums Chart. The album topped the '' Billboard''

Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart for one week, remaining on the chart for four weeks. It reached No. 21 on the ''Billboard''

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

chart. Rivadavia wrote that the album provided "imaginative progressive headbangers ... that were rife with technical fireworks and songwriting variety" and "a few failed experiments". Gojira supported

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During t ...

's European tour in October, touring North America in November and December. ''The Way of All Flesh'' ranked fifth on ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

''s list of the top 50 albums of 2008, and ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' listed it as one of the year's top 10 metal albums. In late January 2009, Gojira began a headlining tour of France, the UK, and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to promote the album. On 17 March, the band's first North American headlining tour was announced; their opening bands were The Chariot and

Car Bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

. In June, Gojira followed

Soulfly Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 19 ...

on the main stage at the Hellfest Summer Open Air and performed to more than 20,000 people. They appeared for the fourth time at

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

's July Dour Festival and Les Eurockéennes de Belfort. ''Terra Incognita'' was re-released with bonus tracks on 24 August in Europe and on 15 October in North America. Gojira accompanied Metallica on their tour of the US and Canada from 14 September to 12 October, performing before Lamb of God. Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe began to join Gojira on "Backbone" at concerts when the bands appeared together. The tour included headline dates on off days, supported by

Burst Burst may refer to: *Burst mode (disambiguation), a mode of operation where events occur in rapid succession **Burst transmission, a term in telecommunications **Burst switching, a feature of some packet-switched networks ** Bursting, a signaling m ...

and

Zoroaster Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is ...

. As their popularity spread to America's metal scene, a

Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in Octob ...

poster said that the band "has become one of metal's most acclaimed and admired acts". Gojira returned to France after the US tour for a few concerts and began a planned six-month hiatus; Joe Duplantier cited "just five days' break" since 2004. Gojira BergenCalling2011 ChristianMisje-5171

Gojira BergenCalling2011 ChristianMisje-5171

The band's break ended earlier than expected after Gojira was announced as the opening act of Metallica's European and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n tour in April 2010. In July of that year, they were included in the lineup of the rock-oriented

Vieilles Charrues Festival The Vieilles Charrues Festival (french: Festival des Vieilles Charrues, ; br, Gouel an Erer Kozh, ; literally: Old Ploughs Festival) is held every year in mid-July in the city of Carhaix, located in western Brittany, France. This festival is the ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. Playing for an audience largely unaccustomed to metal music, Gojira's "delicate mission" was to close Saturday evening on the Glenmor stage. Described in an article in ''

Le Télégramme ''Le Télégramme'' is a French-language daily newspaper from the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany region of France, based in the commune of Morlaix. It has been founded in 1944 and still exists to this day, although circulation is exper ...

'' as "more powerful" than

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

's concert in 2008 on the same stage, the show began with "Lizard Skin" to an estimated crowd of 40,000 to 50,000; twenty minutes later, between 4,000 and 5,000 people remained. According to ''Le Télégramme'', "The show had a rare sonic power ... so brutal that the band lost 90 percent of its attendance along the way". Undaunted, they continued to perform "as if their lives depended on it" with a drum solo of "breathtaking mastery". Since the Gojira show, metal has been slowly excluded from the Vieilles Charrues Festival. In August, they headlined the Rock Altitude Festival in Switzerland. The band continued to promote ''The Way of All Flesh'' into 2010, including the European

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...

Bloodstock Open Air Bloodstock Open Air is a British heavy metal festival held annually at Catton Hall in Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, since 2005. Originally held indoors for one day with two stages, the festival started in 2001 at the Derby Assembly Rooms and h ...

, and Brutal Assault festivals. Gojira had made substantial progress on their fifth album by March 2011, saying that they had written almost half of it; according to Joe Duplantier "These songs are original and a good reflection of what we are today". The band was relatively quiet during the year, focusing on new material and playing a handful of concerts in June and July, including at the

Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and France. The band became free agents during the summer of 2011, after their contract with Prosthetic Records expired. Admired by Monte Conner, Gojira was acquired by

on 9 November 2011. With their new recording contract, the band entered Spin Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in November to record their next album.

''L'Enfant Sauvage'' (2012−2015)

Gojira's fifth album, ''

'', was co-produced by Josh Wilbur and Joe Duplantier. The band juxtaposed their death-metal roots with more ambient and sophisticated elements on the album to find "the ultimate sound" on which they had been working since their beginning. In 2012, K2 Agency founder John Jackson agreed to produce Gojira concerts abroad. Mario Duplantier Gojira 2012

In March 2012,

Devin Townsend Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...

and

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer To ...

Fredrik Thordendal Fredrik Thordendal (born 11 February 1970) is a Swedish musician, best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the extreme metal band Meshuggah, of which he is a founding member. Along with Meshuggah's rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagst ...

joined Gojira for the collaboration track "Of Blood And Salt" (intended to appear on the unreleased Sea Shepherd EP) at the Soundwave Festival in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. With

Volcom Entertainment Volcom Entertainment, officially founded in 1995, in Big Bear, California, and currently based in Costa Mesa, CA is the brainchild of Volcom founder Richard Woolcott and theLINE's singer/guitarist Ryan Immegart. Ryan being Volcom's first sponsor ...

, a limited-edition

7" single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

containing "Bleeding" and "End Of Time"—originally on Godzilla's 1997 ''Possessed'' demo—was released in 12" vinyl packaging in North America and Europe. Following an Australian tour with Mastodon and

Kvelertak Kvelertak () is a Norwegian heavy metal band from Stavanger, formed in 2007. The group comprises vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen, guitarists Vidar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland and Maciek Ofstad, bassist Marvin Nygaard and drummer Håvard Takle Ohr. Foun ...

, Gojira began a national tour supporting the album. After many tours with Metallica, the band was invited to open a series of concerts on the European Black Album Tour (including the

, the country's largest stadium, on 12 May 2012). Gojira's performance was measured at 120

decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...

s in the backstage corridors, setting a stadium volume record. About Metallica's motive for taking Gojira on tour with them, James Hetfield told a reporter, "I discovered their music with ''From Mars to Sirius'', an album that I loved. Humanly speaking, I liked them a lot. They have their feet on the ground, are intelligent, sensitive. I have immense respect for them. And then Mario is an incredible drummer." Gojira performed at the European Sonisphere Festival during the summer. The band shared two French dates with Slayer headlining: 27 May in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

and 29 May in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

Mascot Records Mascot Records is a record label and rock music subsidiary of Mascot Label Group. Artists *10 Years *Agent Steel * Black Country Communion *Black Label Society *Black Stone Cherry * Bootsy Collins *Crobot *Conquer Divide * Dragged Under *Dublin ...

released a live DVD/

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

, ''

The Flesh Alive ''The Flesh Alive'' is the second live album by French heavy metal band Gojira. It was released in 2012 on Mascot Label. Most of the tracks are taken from the album ''The Way of All Flesh ''The Way of All Flesh'' (sometimes called ''Erne ...

'', on 4 June in Europe. Gojira Aalborg Metal Festival 2012

Gojira released ''L'Enfant Sauvage'' in June 2012 on Roadrunner Records for worldwide distribution. The album reached No. 34 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 11,000 copies in the US in its first week. ''L'Enfant Sauvage'' charted 104 places higher in its first week than ''The Way of All Flesh'' did. It peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard''

Tastemaker Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart, No. 13 on the US

Top Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the '' ...

chart, and No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hard Rock Albums chart. The album reached the top 40 in six European countries. In

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

and

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

it charted for 10 and 14 weeks, respectively. ''

Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm ...

''s Rob Sayce said that the album charted "without making a single concession to accessibility". Dom Lawson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the album the maximum rating of five stars, and Stephen Hill of ''Metal Hammer'' called the album "the bridge between Gojira's past and future". In June, Gojira participated in the

Nova Rock Festival The Nova Rock Festival, also just Nova Rock, is an Austrian rock festival that has existed since 2005 and takes place each year in June. It is located in Burgenland, the easternmost federal state of Austria, near Nickelsdorf and the Hungarian ...

. ''The Flesh Alive'' DVD was released in the US on 31 July, and the band then began the long L'Enfant Sauvage World Tour. Gojira's setlist during the tour contained "Tron", a short interlude where Mario Duplantier and his brother swapped instruments. Gojira was scheduled to tour North America with Lamb of God and

Dethklok Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series ''Metalocalypse''. The first official Dethklok album was released on September 25, 2007, entitled '' The Dethalbum''. The album debuted at n ...

, but the tour was postponed due to the incarceration of Randy Blythe in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

; the tour was postponed until October. However, despite instabilities, the band continued to tour North America and was included at the Slipknot's

Knotfest Knotfest is a music festival created in 2012 by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The event has been held both as a touring festival and a destination festival in several countries including the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Mexico, C ...

Somerset Amphitheater Somerset Amphitheater is the largest outdoor amphitheater and camping venue in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) and Western Wisconsin area. Located across the St. Croix River, the venue consists of 200 acres of land. Located in Somerset, Wisconsin a ...

with Cannibal Corpse,

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...

, and

Serj Tankian Serj Tankian (born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American singer, musician, songwriter, political activist and entrepreneur. He is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, keyboardist, and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal ...

. In August 2012, at the Heavy Montréal Festival, Labadie announced the European tour until the end of 2012 and a US and Canadian tour in 2013. By this time, Joe Duplantier had lived in New York for a year; his brother, Labadie, and Andreu remained in southwestern France. Labadie said, "We communicate differently, because of the time difference, and it is not really easy, but that is okay because he is truly happy to live in the States ... he is passionate about the United States; his mother is American". On 15 December, Gojira headlined the Indian Metal Festival in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

; "the whole front row was crying", said Joe Duplantier. Their musicianship and live performances had earned them the nickname "Gojiramazing" by fans in 2012. Gojira, Jean Michel Labadie at Wacken Open Air 2013 02

Gojira, Jean Michel Labadie at Wacken Open Air 2013 02

In January and February 2013, Gojira, the

Project and

the Atlas Moth The Atlas Moth is an American post-metal band from Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footno ...

toured North America. In March, the band played a handful of UK concerts supporting Ghost on the

Jägermeister Music Tour The Jägermeister Music Tour is a hard rock, hardcore punk, and heavy metal music tour that has been held twice a year in the United States since 2002. It is owned by the American importer of Jägermeister, Sidney Frank Importing. History Firs ...

. In the middle of the month, Gojira headlined Norway's

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Metal Fest. ''L'Enfant Sauvage'' was nominated for Album Of The Year at the ''

'' Golden Gods Awards at

Club Nokia Club Nokia was a mobile internet digital distribution portal, similar to an App Store, operated by Nokia to provide special offers, paid-for ringtones, picture messages and game content directly to members. Following resistance from its mobile ope ...

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

on 2 May 2013. Gojira received the ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Award for Best Live Band at

The O2 The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely withi ...

on 17 June 2013 in London. The tour continued, and the band appeared at the Hellfest Summer Open Air, the Wacken Open Air, and the Bloodstock Open Air. Gojira made its first

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i appearance on 15 August 2013 at Reading 3 in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, a "packed venue", according to ''Terrorizer''s Avi Pitchon, whose security barriers were bent by the crowd. The band performed at Austin's November

Fun Fun Fun Fest Fun Fun Fun Fest (often abbreviated as "FFF" or "F3F") was an annual music and comedy festival held in Austin, Texas, United States. The festival was the only genre based festival in the United States, featuring stages that focused specifically ...

, followed by a North American tour with 4Arm and Slayer. Gojira released ''

Les Enfants Sauvages ''Les Enfants Sauvages'' (French for "The Wild Children") is the third live album by French heavy metal band Gojira Gojira (ゴジラ) is the original Japanese name for Godzilla, a giant monster at the center of a media franchise. It may also r ...

'' in March 2014, a live-CD/DVD and picture book documenting the band's more than 150 concerts on three continents in support of ''L'Enfant Sauvage''. The DVD includes a March 2013

concert at London's

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

which was recorded by 14 cameras. In an interview that month at Australia's Soundwave Festival, Mario Duplantier said that the band was working on a new album. Gojira supported Mastodon and Kvelertak on a string of North American dates in April and May. The band continued successfully touring in support of the album, further consolidating their discography and launching them "into a new realm of success", wrote Graham Hartmann of ''Loudwire''. The band played throughout the United States and Europe, including

Rock on the Range Rock on the Range was an annual rock festival that was held at two locations. The first and main location was in Columbus, Ohio, United States at Mapfre Stadium (originally Columbus Crew Stadium; renamed in 2015) from 2007 to 2018, while the ...

Resurrection Fest Resurrection Fest is a rock music festival that takes place in Viveiro, region of Lugo, Spain. This festival has been held annually since 2006 during July or early August and features mainly heavy metal, hardcore punk and punk rock bands. Si ...

, Garorock Festival in

Marmande Marmande (; in Occitan, ''Marmanda'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne ''département'' in south-western France. Geography Marmande is located 35 km north-west of Agen, on the southern railway from Bordeaux to Sète. The town is situa ...

(for the third time) and the

Graspop Metal Meeting Graspop Metal Meeting is a Belgian heavy metal festival held in Dessel each year since 1996, excluding 2020 and 2021 due to covid restrictions. Despite the small size of the festival grounds (upholding a perimeter of only ~4 km) the festiva ...

. Gojira continued on the festival circuit, headlining the Sylak Open Air Festival on 9 August 2014 in France and the

Vagos Open Air VOA – Heavy Rock Festival (formerly VOA Fest and Vagos Open Air) is an open-air heavy metal/hard rock festival held annually in Lisbon, Portugal. The festival is being held since 2009 in four different locations: the first four editions, from ...

Festival the following day in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. Mastodon, Gojira and Kvelertak reunited for another US tour in October and November 2014. Joe Duplantier began work on a recording studio in

Ridgewood, Queens Ridgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick and East Williamsburg. Historically, the neighborhood st ...

in November, and Mario moved to New York.

''Magma'' (2015−2019)

Joe and Mario Duplantier finished building Silver Cord Studio, Joe's New York recording studio, in early April 2015. It has become Gojira's recording studio and headquarters in America, joining Le Studio des Milans in Ondres.

Audio files An audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio data on a computer system. The bit layout of the audio data (excluding metadata) is called the audio coding format and can be uncompressed, or compressed to reduce the file size, ofte ...

were created sporadically since late 2013 "on the computer in the tour bus", said Mario Duplantier; the new songs were a change in style for the band, as Joe experimented with clean vocals. The brothers began recording ''

'', Gojira's sixth album, at Silver Cord Studio on 6 April. Ten days into recording, however, recording was suspended when they learned that their mother was ill and flew back to France. 2017 RiP - Gojira - by 2eight - 8SC9299

The band played a handful of dates in Europe for several festivals, ending ''L'Enfant Sauvage''s tour cycle. On 5 July 2015, Patricia Rosa Duplantier died of cancer; Gojira concerts were cancelled, and the recording of ''Magma'' was greatly affected. The band again toured worldwide, commencing at

Musilac Music Festival Musilac is a French music festival. It occurs in Aix-les-Bains, France every year since 2002. It lasts between two and four days, in mid-July, at the Esplanade of the Lac du Bourget. The festival's popularity has steadily increased, with about 75 ...

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

on 10 July, and was billed beneath

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

at the Rock Off Festival in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

on 1 August. On 28 August, Mario Duplantier announced before Gojira's concert in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

that recording had resumed and was almost completed. The band played at Brazil's

Rock in Rio ''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...

festival, one of the world's largest music festivals, on 19 September and closed their set with "The Gift of Guilt". From mid-September to mid-October, their tour visited

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and the Santiago Gets Louder Festival in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Gojira went to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

as the supporting act for Slayer in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in October 2015, followed by a performance at the

Loud Park Festival The was a heavy metal festival held annually at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City or Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, Japan. It was one of the biggest heavy metal festivals in Japan. The festival has featured both Japanese and international p ...

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

before returning to Israel shortly afterwards. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' included the band's forthcoming release in their list of "25 Most Anticipated Metal Albums of 2016". In May 2016, Joe Duplantier announced the itinerary (in larger venues) in France,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, Switzerland, Belgium and the UK for the tour supporting the upcoming album. In early June, a private concert for one hundred people was filmed in black and white by seven cameras at a

television studio A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for ...

in Plaine Saint-Denis (near

). Director Paul Ouazan decided to film a performance video focused on the crowd: "I was immediately convinced that the band had a fifth member: its audience". The performance was broadcast on

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

later that month. The band was included in the live lineup of the 13 June ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards at the

Eventim Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ham ...

in London. They made their first world television appearance as musical guests of the day on '' Le Petit Journal'' three days later, performing an excerpt from "Silvera" in prime time on

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

in France. ''Magma'', Gojira's self-produced album, was released on 17 June 2016 on Roadrunner Records. The album was available for streaming on the band's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel two days before its release. It debuted at No. 24 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 17,000 units in its first week of release in the US. The album debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Top Rock Albums chart and No. 6 on the Tastemaker Albums chart. It topped the ''Billboard'' Hard Rock Albums chart, making Gojira the first French band to top that chart. The album debuted (and peaked) at No. 17 on the ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums Chart, and debuted at No. 11 on Australia's

Australian Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. ''Magma'' reached the top 40 in twelve European countries and the top 10 in Switzerland, Finland, Austria, Norway and France. The album had a generally-favorable critical reception, scoring a 79 on Metacritic. Gojira departed from its tech-death and tried to emphasize its progressive– post-genres side, which divided some fans. Remfry Dedman of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' called the band "pioneers of modern 21st-century progressive metal". Gojira live Toronto 2016 117

Gojira began its three-to-four-year Magma world tour in Europe and at a number of summer music festivals, followed by a 27-date headlining tour of North America with

Tesseract In geometry, a tesseract is the four-dimensional analogue of the cube; the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of six square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of eig ...

as the opening act from mid-July through October 2016. By this time, Gojira had made seventeen US tours. The band began their UK and European arena tour in November and December with

Alter Bridge Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former ba ...

, Volbeat and

Like a Storm Like a Storm is a band from Auckland, New Zealand, best known for combining heavy baritone guitar riffs and hard rock songs with didgeridoo. They are the highest charting New Zealand hard rock band in American radio history. Both of their tw ...

. A November 2016 ''Metal Hammer'' article said that Gojira had "emerged as one of the most important metal outfits on the planet", with a "loyal, passionate, fiercely evangelical fanbase". In mid-November, the band appeared on a live broadcast of the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show at London's

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1 ...

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

later called ''Magma'' "an incredible piece of art". In January 2017, Gojira began a French tour with nine consecutive sold-out concerts. Two more sold-out concerts concluded the French leg of the tour at the Paris Olympia on 1 and 2 April. Within eight months of its release, ''Magma'' had sold 400,000 copies worldwide. On 12 February 2017, the band was nominated for two Grammy Awards; ''Magma'' was nominated for

and its second single, "Silvera", was nominated for

at the

59th Annual Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, ...

at the Staples Center in

. At that time, Gojira was labeled a "French-American metal band" by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''. On 6 May 2017, the band performed along with

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...

, Mastodon,

Eagles of Death Metal Eagles of Death Metal is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1998. Founded by Jesse Hughes (vocals, guitar) and Josh Homme (drums), the band also includes a wide range of other musicians who perform both on the band's ...

, the Devin Townsend Project, and

Russian Circles Russian Circles is an American instrumental band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was originally formed by childhood friends Mike Sullivan and Dave Turncrantz after their previous musical projects dissolved. After parting ways with their ori ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Electric Factory Franklin Music Hall is a concert venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is in a converted building once part of the General Electric Switchgear Plant and opened in 1995. It has a capacity between 2,500 and 3,000 people. It is owned and operated ...

. ''Magma'' received the Best Album award at the ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards on 12 June 2017. Gojira began a short run of US co-headlining dates with Opeth, and supported

's US

WorldWired Tour The WorldWired Tour was a concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of their tenth studio album '' Hardwired... to Self-Destruct'', which was released on November 18, 2016. It is also their first worldwide tour after the Wo ...

that summer with

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, ...

and Volbeat. They headlined the Main Stage 2 at

Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...

, before Linkin Park on the Main Stage 1, in Paris on 9 June and Spain on 22 June. On 15 July, Gojira had top billing at the Dynamo Metal Fest in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Converge Converge may refer to: * Converge (band), American hardcore punk band * Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body * Limit (mathematics) * Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines *CONVERGE CFD s ...

, Code Orange,

Pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

Oni An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess ...

, and Torche supported them on selected dates with festival appearances. In 2017, Mario Duplantier returned to France due to visa-related technical reasons and to see his family, saying that Gojira "is a bit in Ondres, a little bit in Brooklyn, a bit in Bassussarry ... Between the Landes, the United States, and the Basque Country". Gojira - Wacken Open Air 2018-6596

In 2018, the band achieved headlining status at heavy metal festivals. Gojira played a string of festival dates throughout the summer, including the

Tuska Open Air Metal Festival Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, commonly shortened to Tuska ( fi, pain, agony), is a Finnish heavy metal festival taking place annually in Helsinki. The first Tuska took place in 1998 and the festival has since grown larger every year. The locati ...

, Brutal Assault Open Air, and

. In early August 2018, Gojira played to the largest crowd of their career at

Pol'and'Rock Festival Pol'and'Rock Festival, formerly known as Woodstock Festival Poland, ( Polish: ''Przystanek Woodstock''; "Woodstock Station"; English-language materials often referred to it simply to the ''Woodstock Festival Poland'') is an annual free rock music ...

Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (literally Kostrzyn upon Oder) (; german: Küstrin ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, close to the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia ...

. More than 400,000 people attended the festival. Nick John, who managed Gojira, Mastodon and Slayer, died of cancer on 8 September; John had managed Gojira since 2012. On 16 January 2019, Gojira released its Pol'and'Rock Festival 2018 set on YouTube. That summer, they supported Slipknot on their US Knotfest Roadshow tour; Behemoth and Volbeat were also supporting acts. Gojira headlined the first day of the Hellfest Summer Open Air, one of Europe's largest metal festivals, on 21 June. On 2 November, they supported Deftones during their Dia De Los Deftones Festival with Chvrches, Youth Code, JPEGMafia and

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

's Petco Park.

''Fortitude'' (2020−present)

In May 2020, Gojira streamed ''Live At Red Rocks'' on YouTube, their 2017 concert at

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the Western United States, western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, flyi ...

Morrison, Colorado The Town of Morrison is a Colorado municipalities#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 428 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Red R ...

, to celebrate their thousandth performance. The band released "Another World", their first single in four years, on 5 August; it was their first '' Billboard''-charting single. It peaked at No. 5 on the

Hard Rock Digital Song Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

and No. 12 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs charts. Their performance at Hellfest 2019 was made available for streaming on YouTube in November 2020. Gojira announced their seventh studio album, '' Fortitude'', on 17 February 2021. Production had begun in early 2018 at Silver Cord Studio, and its original June 2020 release date had been postponed to September of that year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. ''Fortitude'' was called "one of 2021's most heavily anticipated metal releases". Gojira's 2021 single, "Amazonia", was released as part of a month-long fundraiser by the band for a Brazilian

indigenous rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (includ ...

initiative. It peaked at No. 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Hard Rock Songs charts, and the band also placed the single "Born for One Thing" at No. 18. ''Fortitude'', produced and recorded by Joe Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio and mixed by Andy Wallace, was released on 30 April 2021 on Roadrunner Records. Sonically, the album contained an array of genres, tempos, and

socially conscious Social consciousness or social awareness, is collective consciousness shared by individuals within a society. ''Fortitude'' topped the US

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

all-genre sales chart and debuted at No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It topped the ''Billboard'' Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts. The album topped the ''Billboard''

Top Album Sales Top Album Sales is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine starting in December 2014. It is a weekly chart documenting the best-selling albums on a weekly basis in the United States. Up until December 2014, this had been documented by th ...

and Top Current Albums Sales charts with 27,372

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...

s; 24,104 were

album sales Record sales or music sales are activities related to selling music recordings (albums, singles, or music videos) through physical record shops or digital music store. Record sales reached the peak in 1999, when 600 million people spent an aver ...

, making it the bestselling album in its opening week in the United States. ''Fortitude'' exceeded ''Magma'' chart positions and sales. The album topped the UK Rock & Metal Albums chart. It reached No. 3 on the Australian Albums Chart and No. 8 on the

German Albums Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

. Upon release, the album received critical praise reviews from music critics of ''The Guardian'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Kerrang!'', ''Metal Hammer'', and ''Revolver''. In mid-May 2021, "New Found" peaked at No. 24 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs charts; Gojira was No. 12 on the ''Billboard''

Artist 100 The Artist 100 is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. The ''Billboard'' Artist 100 combines performance across the Hot 100 chart, the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, and the Internet-centric Social 50 chart. The Artist 1 ...

Their headlining US tour commenced on 24 September. On 1 November, Lamb of God's Randy Blythe made a guest appearance at Gojira's concert in his hometown of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, which marked the first time they had performed "Adoration for None" live together. Gojira announced a UK and European headline tour from mid-January to mid-March 2022, with performances at the

Tauron Arena Kraków Tauron Arena Kraków is an indoor arena located in Kraków, Poland. It has a seating capacity of 15,030 for sporting events. It hosted the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship tournament, 2016 European League of Legends Championship Fin ...

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Motorpoint Arena (originally the Nottingham Arena) is a multi-use indoor arena joined with the National Ice Centre in the Lace Market district of Nottingham, England. The National Ice Centre and Nottingham Arena were opened by Olympic gold m ...

, and

Cardiff International Arena Cardiff International Arena (formerly known as Cardiff International Arena & Convention Centre and later, for sponsorship reasons, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff) is an indoor exhibition centre and events arena located in Cardiff, Wales, and was ope ...

, among other locations. The band also announced a three-date French arena tour, including the

. It marked Gojira's first-ever headline

shows in Europe and the UK. However, the tour was postponed to July 2022 and February 2023 due to Covid-19-related restrictions. "Amazonia" received a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards. Andreu left Gojira on the remaining eight dates of their 2022 North American tour with Deftones to be present with his newborn child. They recruited Aldrick Guadagnino from the French band Klone to replace him temporarily from 18 to 28 May. On 19 June, Gojira headlined the third day of Hellfest Summer Open Air, performing to a crowd of 60,000. The band then went on a 4-date South America tour, including performances at the

Movistar Arena Movistar Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Santiago, Chile. It is located inside O'Higgins Park, in downtown Santiago. Its main structure was built in 1956, but it remained unfinished and without roof, the roof was installed i ...

and the Luna Park arena.

Musical style and development

Gojira's sound blends several styles. Rooted in

, the band combines

groove metal Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy ...

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

, and

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way si ...

. They have also incorporated math metal and

avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional soun ...

into their music. ''Magma'' marked a significant change in Gojira's sound. Writer Remfry Dedman said that the album "reinvented the band's signature death metal sound, introducing an accessible thread without compromising their raw intensity". Thus, some songs showcased musical traits associated with

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...

, and leaning towards

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

. Gojira plays a technical, rhythmic style of heavy metal with

polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music ( cross-rhyt ...

ic patterns, a fast double bass drum, blast beats, precision drumming, jazzy fills, and syncopated guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

s. Mario Duplantier's style on ''From Mars to Sirius'' and ''The Way of All Flesh'' was called a "paradise for drumophiles", and he has been considered Gojira's "anchor" since the group's inception. Their songs have "atypical"

time signatures The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note valu ...

and uncommon

song structure Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and ...

s. The band is recognized to have a trademark sound characterized by a pick-scrape technique that occurred spontaneously for the first time while playing "Embrace the World" during their 2003 ''The Link'' tour. Subsequently, the Gojira pick-scrape has become "a calling card" of the band. Joe Duplantier's first electric guitar, a

Gibson Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed ...

, was used for guitar solos on albums. Andreu and Joe Duplantier's guitar playing includes

tapping Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

techniques, and on Magma, they introduced a new sonority with the use of the

whammy pedal The DigiTech Whammy is a pitch shifter pedal manufactured by DigiTech. It was the first widely used effects pedal that could do foot-controlled pitch shifting effects. The pedal emulates sounds that a guitarist normally makes using the vibrato ...

. Gojira creates textures and ambiences throughout their albums. They also use palm-muted guitar riffs and

pinch harmonics Playing a string harmonic (a flageolet) is a string instrument technique that uses the nodes of natural harmonics of a musical string to isolate overtones. Playing string harmonics produces high pitched tones, often compared in timbre to a whi ...

. Their albums have been punctuated by instrumental interludes, which also feature non-musical sounds mingled with the band's music. Vocal styles vary, from the screaming technique often used in

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

to death metal's

death growl A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

, pitch screaming and

clean vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. Screams and clean vocals are sometimes combined to create an aggressive, melodic effect. Joe Duplantier's vocals feature a post-punk singing style in some of Gojira's songs.

Influences

Gojira was influenced by the early albums of

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, Metallica,

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

, and

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered ...

, and have also cited

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

and

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

's debut album as influences. Mario Duplantier called Death "an obligatory path; they are at the origin of death metal", and Andreu agreed: "It's our culture, we come from Death." One of Labadie's earliest influences was Metallica's '' Ride the Lightning'', the first metal album he listened to at age eleven. Joe Duplantier said that "''Ride the Lightning'' saved my life when I faced difficult times in high school" and has also cited Machine Head's 1994 album, ''

Burn My Eyes ''Burn My Eyes'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released on August 9, 1994, by Roadrunner Records. The album's themes generally tie into the social disorder and corresponding inner tension that the band was ...

'', as an influence. He described Morbid Angel's 1993 album, ''

Covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

'', as "beautiful, and it's full of magic and epic brutality" and praised their 1995 album ''

Domination Domination or dominant may refer to: Society * World domination, which is mainly a conspiracy theory * Colonialism in which one group (usually a nation) invades another region for material gain or to eliminate competition * Chauvinism in which ...

''. Other musical influences, to a lesser degree, include Slayer, Pantera, and

. Gojira's music has been compared to that of

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

. In 2003, Joe Duplantier expressed admiration for

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

. By 2016, the band had admitted their interest in the music of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. Gojira also named

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

and Mike Oldfield as influences. On ''Fortitude'', they focused on the lingering influence that the "classic" rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s had on them. The British sound continued to inspire the band's writing, citing

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

and

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

act Portishead. In 2021, Joe Duplantier said that traditional rock,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

had been childhood influences "reawakened" by long conversations with Mastodon guitarist

Brent Hinds William Brent Hinds (born January 16, 1974) is an American musician best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares guitar duties with Bill Kelliher and vocal duties with Troy Sanders and Brann Dailor. Hi ...

: "The older the other guys and I get, the more we appreciate it". In recollecting the band's early history, Joe Duplantier explained how they were "nourished by the rock energy of the Basque Country, fairly unique in France," but, by contrast, compared it to the broader context of their lifestyle, secluded in a forest with their American musical influences while being detached from the local scene. He said: "Thus, we created our own language, our own musical codes. The Gojira sound comes from there." Andreu and Joe and Mario Duplantier described

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

as a particular inspiration; Andreu said, "I listen to 70 percent classical music". About Gojira's songs, which rely on syncopation and ''contretemps'' ( on- and off-beats), Mario Duplantier said: "Joe and I were introduced to classical very early on. There was a love and an understanding of this music in the family. There is a strong link between metal and classical music through heirsolemn side and attention paid to existential subjects: life and death. Pop usicis more focused on romantic feelings." The Duplantier brothers said that their upbringing in a Landes house "lost in the forest, with no neighbors," was reflected in Gojira's music and lyrics. Their father, Dominique Duplantier, was a French architectural drafter and painter; their mother, Patricia, was an American with Azorean roots. Mario Duplantier described his mother as

... a very free spirit, who has always encouraged our creativity. On the one hand, we had this extroverted mother who drew, sculpted, and made magnificent paintings out of driftwood; on the other hand
e had E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...
a silent, 'workaholic' father who could spend whole days on gigantic drawings in Chinese ink with an almost-worrying rigor. These two aspects of our upbringing are found in Gojira, a mixture of discipline and something more extroverted, wacky, and chaotic.

Lyrical themes

Gojira's lyrics address spirituality, life, death, rebirth, and nature. The band realized from the start that it could combine metal's "darkness" with Joe Duplantier's lyrics, which were inspired by the "mystery of nature", the environment,

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. When Joe proposed a song entitled "Love", his fellow musicians were uncertain but the audience reaction was positive. Duplantier then wrote about his beliefs in

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

and the "existence of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

". The band's lyrics revolve around the

human condition The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed f ...

and humanity's place in the world. Andreu said that to "speak and commit ourselves in the fields of ecology and spirituality is essential to the band." ''From Mars to Sirius'' was a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

about

environmental issues Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

, the death of Earth, and its "resurrection". Mario Duplantier said that the album's lyrics and title are "an allegory of oe'sdesire to see humanity go from a destructive and masculine energy (symbolized by the warrior

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

) to an energy based on emotion and femininity". Gojira's lyrics have been described as

"reflections on life". Mario Duplantier said about his brother's lyrics, "each album is a situational analysis of his life. I can see his convictions and his emotions of the moment by listening to our music again". ''The Way of All Flesh'' addressed the question of life after death. Joe Duplantier said, "That's the theme it's about death itself ... It's also about the immortality of the soul. That's the main subject for us." The title of ''L'Enfant Sauvage'' (''The Wild Child''), according to Joe Duplantier, could not be adequately conveyed in English: "''Sauvage'' is something that is not educated or something that is like free and completely free in nature ... The idea with ''L'Enfant Sauvage'' is like with a human that would grow up in nature, raised by wolves, for example, without the influence from others and the influence from institutions or society in general." The album's title made an indirect reference to François Truffaut's film, ''

The Wild Child ''The Wild Child'' (french: L'Enfant sauvage, released in the United Kingdom as ''The Wild Boy'') is a 1970 French film by director François Truffaut. Featuring Jean-Pierre Cargol, François Truffaut, Françoise Seigner and Jean Dasté, it ...

'', but Mario Duplantier said that "it is first and foremost about poetry". Gojira is well known for

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

, and have used their lyrics and music videos to highlight

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial waste, industrial, agricultural pollution, agricultural and municipal solid waste, residential waste, particle (ecology), particles, noise, excess carbon dioxid ...

, and

deforestation of the Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world, covering an area of 3,000,000 km2 (2,316,612.95 square miles). It represents over half of the planet's rainforests and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropi ...

. The song "Global Warming" explore

human impacts on the environment Human impact on the environment (or anthropogenic impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the need ...

, and "Toxic Garbage Island" refers to the Great Pacific garbage patch, a trash vortex in the Pacific Ocean. "Amazonia" has been characterized by Alec Chillingworth of ''Metal Hammer'' as a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

–"amidst a discography littered with them". The band's members were raised in the southwest of France and

French Basque Country The French Basque Country, or Northern Basque Country ( eu, Iparralde (), french: Pays basque, es, País Vasco francés) is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitu ...

(

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...

). Thus, the rugged coastline and its surrounding scenic countryside inspired Gojira's interest in nature and the sea. Mario Duplantier has said that seeing oil spills in the nearby ocean inspired the band's interest in environmentalism. Joe Duplantier believes that songs can make concrete changes in environmental practices. In articulating his environmentalist position, he also shared a sense of anger and frustration with the corrupt political systems and

financial crime Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud ( cheque fraud, credit card fra ...

. '' Paste'' called the song "Into the Storm" a "revolutionary anthem".

Activism

Gojira was involved in action against injustices and social inequalities. For example, on 2 March 2004, a demonstration called ''Avis de KO Social'' (Social Knockout Notice) was organized by

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteering, volunteers, to form a body (or organ ...

s, labor unions, and

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

to discuss, exchange views and protest at the

Place de la Republique Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

in central Paris against repressive policies undermining fundamental human rights and accentuating inequalities between the rich and the poor. Joe Duplantier advocated a moderate and constructive discourse, describing himself as "less refractory" than the other artists. A concert at the Zénith followed, and Gojira was the only metal band in the multi-genre lineup. All proceeds were donated to associations and organizations; Joe Duplantier cited specifically the Fight Against

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

and

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

. The band has frequently supported environmental causes. Joe Duplantier has said if he was not a musician, he would be an

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advo ...

with Greenpeace or the

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action tactics to achieve its g ...

. The band cooperates with Sea Shepherd to raise money for the organization's work to protect marine life, especially dolphins, whales, and sharks. Sea Shepherd named a $4 million interceptor vessel the MV ''Gojira'' before they were forced to rename it the MV ''Brigitte Bardot'' by the Japanese owners of the Godzilla/Gojira name. Members of both organizations may have a merchandise and literature booth at Gojira concerts. Gojira participated in Le Cabaret Vert, a 2010 environmentally-friendly, multi-genre music festival in

Charleville-Mézières or ''Carolomacérienne'' , image flag=Flag of Charleville Mezieres.svg Charleville-Mézières () is a commune of northern France, capital of the Ardennes department, Grand Est. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the river Meuse. ...

, which aims to reduce its environmental impact. Joe Duplantier expressed the band's support for Sea Shepherd and its founder,

Paul Watson Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine conservation activism. Th ...

, when he appeared onstage between two Gojira songs at the June 2012 Rock am Ring Festival in Germany. Gojira was invited to perform at the 2015 Emmaüs Lescar-Pau festival in France, organized by the international movement to fight poverty and homelessness. The theme of the festival was: "the climate, an emergency, a commitment." In 2017 and 2018, Mario Duplantier collaborated with the Los Angeles art team SceneFour to create a collection of canvases entitled ''Vers le Cosmos'' (''Towards the

Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

'') from videos of him drumming with

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

-lit drumsticks. Proceeds from the sale of one work were donated to

The Ocean Cleanup The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit environmental engineering organization based in the Netherlands, that develops technology to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and intercept it in rivers before it can reach the ocean. After initial t ...

, an organization which aims to rid the oceans of

plastic waste Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

. Gojira released "Amazonia", their second single from ''Fortitude'', on 26 March 2021. The song and its music video address the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest; the video depicts the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires, native Brazilians performing a ritual dance, and protests against the deforestation of the Amazon which have increased since Jair Bolsonaro became president in 2019. The band established a month-long fundraiser for the Brazilian

charity Articulation of Indigenous People of Brazil (APIB), dedicated to those impacted by harassment, violence, forced labour, and loss of their native lands due to the deforestation of the Amazon region. The indigenously owned

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

APIB represents three hundred Brazilian indigenous groups. The campaign quadrupled its initial goal of $75,000 on 30 April 2021, raising more than $300,000 by selling autographed instruments and memorabilia from bands such as Metallica,

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

, Slayer, Tool, and Lamb of God. Items in the auction included one of Slash's signature top hats, a signed Gibson "Appetite" Les Paul, and an autographed Fender Precision Bass used by Labadie during the recording of ''From Mars to Sirius''. A guitar owned by Joe Dupantier was sold for $27,000. The band's 2021 music video for "The Chant", filmed in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, was inspired by

Tenzin Tsundue Tenzin Tsundue (born 1975) is a poet, writer and Tibetan refugee and activist. As of 2019 he has been taken into preventive custody, arrested or jailed 16 times for short durations for his activism by Indian authorities, as India does not allow ...

and depicts the refugee children of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

during its invasion by China in 1949 fleeing their country in the hope of preserving their culture. The music video was written and conceived by Joe Duplantier and directed by Russell Brownley. Discussing "The Chant", Joe Duplantier said that he felt a kinship with all indigenous traditions. In 2021, Paris' ''

Rock & Folk ''Rock & Folk'' is a prominent French popular music magazine founded in 1966, and published in the Paris suburb of Clichy. Editor in chief were Philippe Koechlin, Philippe Paringaux, Eric Breton, Philippe Manœuvre and now Vincent Tannières. ...

'' included Gojira in their global list of the "Top 10 Artists Committed to the Animal Cause".

Other projects and collaborations

Empalot

The Duplantier brothers formed Empalot, an

–

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

–

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stat ...

band, in 1998 with Joe's friends from his high-school thrash metal band. Empalot had nine members, including two bass players, a guitarist, a saxophonist, an

electronic keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument, an electronic derivative of keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs an ...

player, a percussionist and a drummer. Considered by the band the antithesis of Gojira because of its musical style and festive side, Empalot emphasized

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

and

self-deprecating Self-deprecation is the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest. It can be used as a way to make complaints, express modesty, invoke optimal reactions or add humour. It may also be u ...

humor. Mario Duplantier said, "It's funny, it's crazy. We had a blast doing it. Above all, it's a bunch of guys who share the same convictions, the same sense of humor and common values". For Joe Duplantier, Empalot evoked happiness and laughter. Empalot released '' Brout'', a 1999 demo album. The following year, they won the regional ''tremplin Ultrasons'' highlighting local bands. Empalot's first album, '' Tous aux Cèpes'', was released in 2002. The band went on a regional

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

tour from 1999 to 2004. An Empalot concert would attract an audience of 1,000 in their hometown, and the band performed in disguise and under fictitious names. ''Empalot en Concert'', a live album, was released in 2004 before the band went on hiatus.

''Avec vautours''

Gojira composed the music for Xabi Molia's

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, ''Avec vautours'' (''With Vultures''), in early 2003. It was filmed in the mountains of the French Basque country.

''Maciste All'Inferno''

In 2000, Alain Marty conceptualized the ''Printemps des Cinéconcerts'' (CineConcerts' Springtime), a series of film concerts in

where regional artists of various musical genres and styles were invited to integrate their music with pre-selected films for two-week shows. In 2003, Gojira received a request from Marty to compose the instrumental music for ''Maciste in Hell'', a 1925 Italian black-and-white silent film directed by

Guido Brignone Guido Brignone (6 December 1886 – 6 March 1959) was an Italian film director and actor. He was the father of actress Lilla Brignone and younger brother of actress Mercedes Brignone. Brignone was born in Milan, Italy. He was the first Italian ...

, and to perform it at the Rock School Barbey, a former Bordeaux theater. That year, the band performed their music in two sold-out performances in front of the film screened at the theater. Gojira's fifty-minute one-night show of avant-garde metal was recorded and released later in 2003 as an album entitled '' Maciste All'Inferno''. In a 2008 interview, Mario Duplantier expressed his hope to release a second version as a fully-fledged Gojira album.

Cavalera Conspiracy

Max and

Igor Cavalera Igor Graziano Cavalera (born 4 September 1970) is a Brazilian musician, best known as the former drummer for the heavy metal band Sepultura, which he co-founded with his brother Max in 1984. Max left the band in 1996, and Cavalera himself wo ...

, the founding brothers of the Brazilian band Sepultura, wanted to recruit a bass player for Cavalera Conspiracy (their new band) in 2007. Labadie was chosen through Roadrunner Records, but could not accept the offer for family reasons. Joe Duplantier called Gloria Cavalera, and he was invited to play bass. He met Logan Mader, recording engineer on ''The Way of All Flesh'' in 2008, while recording with Cavalera Conspiracy in Los Angeles. Joe performed with the band on 31 August 2007 at the 11th annual D-Low Memorial Show at the

Marquee Theatre Marquee Theatre (originally known as the Red River Opry or the Red River Music Hall) is a music venue in Tempe, Arizona. The theater sits on the north side of Tempe Town Lake near the Mill Avenue Bridge, at the intersection of Mill Avenue and ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

, a concert for Dana "D-Low" Wells (Max Cavalera's stepson, who was killed in a 1996 car crash). The album ''

Inflikted ''Inflikted'' is the debut studio album from Cavalera Conspiracy, the Cavalera brothers' first record together in 12 years - since the release of ''Roots'' by Sepultura in 1996. Album information Max Cavalera had indicated that the music on ''In ...

'' was released in March 2008, and a tour followed several months later. Touring with Cavalera Conspiracy became problematic for Joe Duplantier, who preferred to concentrate on recording ''The Way of All Flesh'' and its promotion: "I put everything in Gojira, my whole life."

Unreleased Sea Shepherd EP

In early November 2010, Gojira entered a Los Angeles studio with producer Logan Mader to begin recording a four-song

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

whose proceeds would benefit the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an

anti-whaling Anti-whaling refers to actions taken by those who seek to end whaling in various forms, whether locally or globally in the pursuit of marine conservation. Such activism is often a response to specific conflicts with pro-whaling countries and orga ...

organization. The EP would feature guest appearances from the international metal scene; sales were expected on the Gojira website "without going through traditional ways", said Joe Duplantier. As a preview of the Sea Shepherd EP, Gojira released "Of Blood And Salt" in May 2011 and appeared on a ''Metal Hammer'' UK

sampler album A sampler or promotional compilation is a type of compilation album generally offered at a reduced price to showcase an artist or a selection of artists signed to a particular record label. The format became popular in the late 1960s as record lab ...

with guest vocalist Devin Townsend and a guest guitar solo by Meshuggah's Fredrik Thordendal. The other tracks featured Brent Hinds, Randy Blythe,

Anders Fridén Pär Anders Fridén (born 25 March 1973) is a Swedish vocalist, best known as the lead singer of heavy metal band In Flames. He was also the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity and Passenger, a side project. Career Early career Fridén was original ...

, and Max Cavalera. The EP was originally intended for release in August and September 2011; it was never released, however, because the hard drive which contained the recordings crashed.

Legacy and influence

Gojira was ranked sixth on Paris magazine '' L'Express'' 2009 list of the top 10 best-selling French music artists in the US. In 2012, Gojira was top-ranked in the French metal category by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the US. By August 2016, the band was one of France's biggest rock exports to the US. French national newspaper ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' said in 2016 that Gojira was the country's first metal band to reach international status without support from the

Institut Français The Institut Français (French capitalization, Institut français; "French institute") is a French Établissements publics à caractère industriel et commercial, public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC). Started in 1907 by the Min ...

, which promotes French culture abroad. Gojira has influenced bands and musicians such as

the Agonist The Agonist is a Canadian melodic death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2004. The current line up consists of lead guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, drummer Simon Mckay, rhythm guitarist Pascal "Paco" Jobin and lead voca ...

, Alien Weaponry,

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

, Betraying the Martyrs,

Black Crown Initiate Black Crown Initiate is an American extreme metal band from Reading, Pennsylvania, United States, currently signed to Century Media. The band formed in 2012 and self-released their first EP '' Song of the Crippled Bull'', which was met with pos ...

the Contortionist The Contortionist is an American progressive metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Formed in 2007, the band consists of guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard, drummer Joey Baca, vocalist Mike Lessard, bassist Jordan Eberhardt, and keyboard ...

Erra Erra can refer to: * Erra (god), a Babylonian god * Erra, Estonia, a settlement in Sonda Parish, Ida-Viru County, Estonia * Erra, the purported home planet of the pleiadean aliens described by ufologist Billy Meier * Pizzo Erra, a mountain in Switz ...

Fit for an Autopsy Fit for an Autopsy is an American deathcore band from Jersey City, New Jersey, formed in 2008. The band consists of guitarists Pat Sheridan, Will Putney and Tim Howley, drummer Josean Orta, vocalist Joe Badolato, and bassist Peter "Blue" Spinazo ...

, Hypno5e,

Jinjer Jinjer ( "ginger") is a Ukrainian metalcore band from Donetsk, formed in 2008. None of the founding members remain with the band. The current lineup considers 2009 as its official year of formation, with the arrival of singer Tatiana Shmailyuk ...

Tallah Tallah is an American nu metal band from Pennsylvania. They are currently signed to Earache Records. History Formation and ''No One Should Read This'' (2017-2020) Founded in 2017, Tallah was formed by drummer Max Portnoy, who asked guitaris ...

drummer Max Portnoy,

Miss May I Miss May I is an American metalcore band from Troy, Ohio. Formed in 2007, they signed to Rise Records in 2008 and released their debut album, ''Apologies Are for the Weak'' through the label while the members were still attending high school. ...

Rolo Tomassi Rolo Tomassi are an English band from Sheffield. Their name is taken from a dialogue in the film ''L.A. Confidential''. The band is known for their strong DIY ethic and chaotic style and performances. They are currently signed to MNRK Heavy. ...

, and

Thy Art Is Murder Thy Art Is Murder is an Australian deathcore band from Blacktown, Sydney, that formed in 2006. The band consists of vocalist Chris "CJ" McMahon, guitarists Sean Delander and Andy Marsh, drummer Jesse Beahler and bassist Kevin Butler. Thy Art I ...

. While the band garnered international attention through the release of ''From Mars to Sirius'', vocalist Will Garner of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Black Peaks said that Gojira changed his "perception of music". Vocalist and guitarist Josh Middleton of

Sylosis Sylosis is a British heavy metal band from Reading, Berkshire, England. Signed to Nuclear Blast Records, the band has released five studio albums, a live album, two EPs and twelve music videos. Their fifth album '' Cycle of Suffering'' was rel ...

said that his vocal approach was inspired by Gojira: "when ''From Mars to Sirius'' came out, this album was huge for most people who love heavy music ... There are a lot of very melodic screams on this album, it seems like there is always a height in oe Duplantier'ssinging, and that influenced me enormously".

lead guitarist Acle Kahney said that touring with Gojira influenced the "darker tone" of his band's fourth studio album.

Myles Kennedy Myles Richard Bass (born November 27, 1969), known professionally as Myles Kennedy, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge and the lead vocalist in guitarist S ...

explained his inspiration in composing

's song, "Native Son": "When I wrote that riff, I had certainly been listening to a lot of Gojira". Norwegian singer

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

said that she was inspired by the band's lyrics, and "Gojira is my favorite band of all time". Jinjer's Tatiana Shmayluk and Aurora have said that they would like to collaborate with the band.

Spiritbox Spiritbox is a Canadian heavy metal band from Victoria, British Columbia. Husband and wife duo guitarist Mike Stringer and vocalist Courtney LaPlante established Spiritbox in 2017. The band's full lineup comprises LaPlante, Stringer and drummer ...

and

have incorporated the "Gojira-esque pick scrape technique" into their music, according to ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

'' and '' Billboard''. Niklas Karlsson of Orbit Culture said that their sound and music was "A mixture of Metallica and Gojira", whom he described as having a considerable influence on the band, saying, "Without either band, Orbit Culture simply would not exist." Born of Osiris guitarist Lee McKinney cited ''The Way of All Flesh'' as his inspiration and one of his five favorite progressive metal albums. He praised the album for its technical compositions and described the musical structure complexity of "The Art of Dying" as "Absolutely astonishing." Writing for ''

'', Luke Morton noticed how Gojira gradually rose to prominence over the decades at a constant pace. After their headlining show at Bloodstock Open Air in 2018, he credited the band as having "cemented themselves as one of the best metal bands in the world". In 2019, Kennedy called Gojira "the most important metal band out there right now"; he also said, "They're very important to the evolution of where things are going with hard rock and metal". In December 2019, "Stranded" was ranked No. 8 on ''Guitar World''s list of the decade's 20 best guitar riffs. In January 2020, ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' included "Toxic Garbage Island" in the list of the "Top 50 metal songs from the past 20 years" and deemed it "one of the best metal songs of all time". ''Kerrang!'' listed Joe Duplantier's tapping in "Silvera" among "The 20 Best Guitar Solos Of The 2010s". In 2020, ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' called Gojira "one of this century's most important underground metal institutions": "The band figured out a way to weld the grimy, mathy complications of technical death metal to the grand, mathy complications of , and they quickly became the kind of band that other bands mythologize." In April 2021, they were called "the band of the decade" by ''Metal Hammer''. In June 2021, Brad Angle of ''Guitar World'' called Gojira "titans of groove metal: progressive, heavy-hitting riff giants", adding that they continue "in the lineage of Metallica, Sepultura, Pantera, Lamb of God and others". ''

'' ranked "Amazonia" at No. 8 on its list of "The greatest songs about the climate crisis". "L'Enfant Sauvage" was listed in ''

''s "15 Greatest Title Tracks in Metal History". Three

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

-era

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

fossils, ''Ophiogojira labadiei'', ''Ophiogojira andreui'', and ''Ophioduplantiera noctiluca'', were named after band members by scientists Ben Thuy and Lea Numberger from the

National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg The National Museum of Natural History ( lb, Nationalmusée fir Naturgeschicht, french: Musée national d'histoire naturelle) is a natural history museum in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The museum is located in the Grund, Luxembourg, ...

, and Tania Pineda-Enríquez from the

Florida Museum of Natural History The Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) is Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural-history museum. Its main facilities are located at 3215 Hull Road on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. The main pub ...

. They wrote that their genus was named in honour of Gojira "for producing songs of an unfathomable intensity, beautifully dark and heavy, and exploring the abyss of life and death, of human strength and error, and of thriving and yet threatened oceans."

Band members

Current members *

− vocals, rhythm guitar (1996–present) *

− drums (1996–present) *

− lead guitar (1996–present) *

− bass (1998–present) Touring members * Aldrick Guadagnino − lead guitar (2022) Former members * Alexandre Cornillon − bass (1996–1998)

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (2001) * '' The Link'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2012) * ''

'' (2016) * '' Fortitude'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Music Awards

! , - !scope="row" rowspan="2", 2013 , ''

'' , Album of the Year , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", , - ,

, Best Drummer , , - !scope="row", 2016 , "Silvera" , Best Film/Video , , style="text-align:center;",

''GAFFA'' Awards (Denmark)

The ''GAFFA'' Awards (Danish: ''GAFFA''-Prisen) is an annual

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

awards ceremony delivered since 1991 for Danish and international music. ! , - !scope="row", 2022 , '' Fortitude'' , International Release of the Year , , style="text-align:center;",

Grammy Awards

! , - !scope="row" rowspan="2", 2017 , "Silvera" ,

, , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", , - , ''

'' ,

, , - !scope="row",

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, "Amazonia" , Best Metal Performance , , style="text-align:center;",

Heavy Music Awards

The Heavy Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony in partnership with

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights ...

and

Ticketmaster Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entert ...

. ! , - !scope="row", 2017 , rowspan="2", Gojira , Best International Band , , style="text-align:center;", , - !scope="row", 2018 , Best Live Band , , style="text-align:center;",

Loudwire Music Awards

! , - !scope="row" rowspan="3", 2012 , ''L'Enfant Sauvage'' , Metal Album of the Year , , style="text-align:center;", , - , Mario Duplantier , Drummer of the Year , , style="text-align:center;", , - ,

, Vocalist of the Year , , style="text-align:center;", , - !scope="row" rowspan="6", 2016 , Mario Duplantier , Best Drummer of the Year , , rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;", , - , Joe Duplantier , Best Vocalist of the Year , , - , ''Magma'' , Best Metal Album , , - , "Silvera" , Best Metal Song , , - , rowspan="2", Gojira , Best Metal Band of the Year , , - , Best Live Act , , - !scope="row", 2017 , Mario Duplantier , Best Drummer , , style="text-align:center;",

Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards

! , - !scope="row",

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, Gojira , Best Live Band , , style="text-align:center;", , - !scope="row", 2016 , Joe Duplantier , Dimebag Darrell Shredder Award , , style="text-align:center;", , - !scope="row", 2017 , ''Magma'' , Best Album , , style="text-align:center;",

Rhythm MusicRadar Awards

The MusicRadar Awards is an annual awards ceremony in association with ''Rhythm'' magazine to celebrate drummers. ! , - !scope="row", 2016 , rowspan="3", Mario Duplantier , rowspan="3", Best Metal Drummer , , style="text-align:center;", , - !scope="row", 2020 , , style="text-align:center;", , - !scope="row", 2021 , , style="text-align:center;",

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1996 establishments in France French death metal musical groups French groove metal musical groups French progressive metal musical groups Godzilla (franchise) Listenable Records artists Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Nouvelle-Aquitaine Musical quartets Post-metal musical groups Roadrunner Records artists Sibling musical groups Technical death metal musical groups French environmentalists Political music groups Environmental musical artists