Gojira (band)

Gojira is a French heavy metal band from Ondres. Founded as Godzilla in 1996, the band's lineup—brothers Joe (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Mario Duplantier (drums), Christian Andreu (lead guitar), and Jean-Michel Labadie (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 styles and their spiritual, philosophical, 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'' (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 composed and performed for a one-night show in Bordeaux. Their third album, the critically acclaimed '' From Mars to Sirius'' (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, which gave them visibility in North America. The follow-up album, '' The Way of All Flesh'' (2008), charted on the ''Billboard'' 200, and Gojira later launched their first overseas headlining tour.

The band began recording the '' Sea Shepherd EP'' in a collaborative framework involving several metal musicians. In 2011, Gojira signed with Roadrunner Records. The band released '' L'Enfant Sauvage'' (2012) and ''Magma'' (2016), which peaked at number thirty-four and twenty-four respectively on the ''Billboard'' 200. Gojira shelved death metal 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 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 nominations for Best Rock Album for ''Magma'' and Best Metal Performance for the singles "Silvera" and "Amazonia". Gojira holds the record for the loudest concert (and sound) ever recorded at the Stade de France. Throughout their career, the band has been involved in environmental, human- and animal-rights activism.

History

Background and formation (1993−1996)

At the age of seventeen, while in high school, vocalist and guitarist Joe Duplantier formed his first band called Eclipse after discovering heavy metal three years earlier. His brother, Mario, 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 technical death metal band emphasizing melodies and recruited nineteen-year-old guitarist Christian Andreu. According to Mario, Andreu was "a passionate an like us, of Metallica". They began practicing with guitars and drums in the Duplantiers' garage (where the group had set up a studio) in their hometown of Ondres in southern Landes, on the outskirts of Bayonne. The band soon recruited bassist Alexandre Cornillon, a friend of Andreu from Hossegor. Joe Duplantier said, "We wanted to go fast and strong. We had no plan, no pressure ... We didn't even have a andname".

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

In 1996, the band settled on the name Godzilla. The idea sprang from the original 1954 ''Godzilla'' 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 bars (four months after its formation), selling cassettes at shows and to their friends. Playing straight-ahead death metal with elements of thrash metal, Godzilla self-released a pair of demo albums ('' Victim'' in 1996 and '' Possessed'' in 1997), and toured southwest France.

Cornillon left the band in January 1998 and was replaced by Jean-Michel Labadie, a "young bass player very active on the Basque 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, Edge of Sanity, and Impaled Nazarene. In September 1999, the band supported Immortal during a ten-date tour in France that ended in Lille. While touring with Immortal, Godzilla received national exposure, developing a reputation on the French metal scene for their "incendiary riffs". The band recorded '' Saturate'', 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 inspired his songwriting.

In 2001, Godzilla was legally compelled to change its name. They became "Gojira", the '' rōmaji'' spelling of "Godzilla". Inspired by the production quality of an album by a Parisian metal band, Gojira moved to the same Brussels studio to record their debut album, '' Terra Incognita''. 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.

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. 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. 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 acts such as Scarve, 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 Kites' Studio), a recording studio and rehearsal space in the Landes forest, 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 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 on the vocals or reverb; 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) as part of a lineup of hardcore 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, including Belgium, Switzerland, and Bilbao.

In March 2004, the band played with Loudblast, No Return, Scarve, the Old Dead Tree and Garwall at La Locomotive in Montmartre. 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'', which marked Gojira's first-ever magazine cover. The band released ''The Link Alive'', a concert DVD 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 Bordeaux. ''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 invited Gojira and 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 in December 2004.

The band entered Le Studio des Milans to compose their third album, '' From Mars to Sirius'', 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. He devoted his time to reading ''The Celestine Prophecy'' 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 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. That year, Listenable Records re-released ''The Link''.

In 2006, the "surging wave Gojira" inspired London journalist Lucy Williams of ''Kerrang!'' 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 Prosthetic Records (an "exclusive licensing agreement" with Listenable Records) to give them exposure in North America. Gojira performed in Brighton (their first UK show) on 19 May, forging links with England's media community after a party organized by ''Kerrang!''

After Williams' article in ''Kerrang!'' and increased exposure in the British metal press, Gojira was asked to replace Mastodon 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, and a series of summer festivals in Germany, England and the Scandinavian 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 began a co-headlining tour of the UK. In November, the band performed at the European Unholy Alliance Tour, headlined by Slayer at Paris' Accor Arena. The band was included in Children of Bodom's US tour in late 2006, joining Amon Amarth and Sanctity as opening acts. Brandon Geist of '' Revolver'' 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 and Machine Head. The band made a cameo appearance in Machine Head's " Aesthetics of Hate" music video, which was broadcast on 5 May on MTV2's '' Headbangers Ball''. 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 '' Possessed'' as a limited-edition CD. Gojira participated in the late-2007 Radio Rebellion Tour, featuring co-headliners Behemoth, Job for a Cowboy, and Beneath the Massacre. 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, '' The Way of All Flesh'', 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 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 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 as the opening act for Metallica.

''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 chart for one week, remaining on the chart for four weeks. It reached No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Independent Albums 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's European tour in October, touring North America in November and December. ''The Way of All Flesh'' ranked fifth on '' Metal Hammer''s list of the top 50 albums of 2008, and '' LA Weekly'' 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 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. In June, Gojira followed Soulfly 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'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 and Zoroaster. As their popularity spread to America's metal scene, a Blabbermouth.net 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.

The band's break ended earlier than expected after Gojira was announced as the opening act of Metallica's European and Russian tour in April 2010. In July of that year, they were included in the lineup of the rock-oriented Vieilles Charrues Festival in Brittany. 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'' as "more powerful" than Motörhead'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, Bloodstock Open Air, 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 in Greece 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 Roadrunner Records on 9 November 2011. With their new recording contract, the band entered Spin Studios in New York City in November to record their next album.

''L'Enfant Sauvage'' (2012−2015)

Gojira's fifth album, '' L'Enfant Sauvage'', 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.

In March 2012, Devin Townsend and Meshuggah's Fredrik Thordendal 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. With Volcom Entertainment, a limited-edition 7" single 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, 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 Stade de France, the country's largest stadium, on 12 May 2012). Gojira's performance was measured at 120 decibels 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 and 29 May in Clermont-Ferrand. Mascot Records released a live DVD/Blu-ray, ''The Flesh Alive'', on 4 June in Europe.

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 chart, No. 13 on the US Top Rock Albums chart, and No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hard Rock Albums chart. The album reached the top 40 in six European countries. In Flanders and Wallonia it charted for 10 and 14 weeks, respectively. '' Terrorizer''s Rob Sayce said that the album charted "without making a single concession to accessibility". Dom Lawson of ''The Guardian'' 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 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, but the tour was postponed due to the incarceration of Randy Blythe in the Czech Republic; the tour was postponed until October. However, despite instabilities, the band continued to tour North America and was included at the Slipknot's Knotfest at Somerset Amphitheater with Cannibal Corpse, Deftones, and Serj Tankian. 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; "the whole front row was crying", said Joe Duplantier. Their musicianship and live performances had earned them the nickname "Gojiramazing" by fans in 2012.

In January and February 2013, Gojira, the Devin Townsend Project and the Atlas Moth toured North America. In March, the band played a handful of UK concerts supporting Ghost on the Jägermeister Music Tour. In the middle of the month, Gojira headlined Norway's Trondheim Metal Fest. ''L'Enfant Sauvage'' was nominated for Album Of The Year at the '' Revolver'' Golden Gods Awards at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles on 2 May 2013. Gojira received the ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Award for Best Live Band at The O2 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 Israeli appearance on 15 August 2013 at Reading 3 in Tel Aviv, 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, followed by a North American tour with 4Arm and Slayer.

Gojira released '' Les Enfants Sauvages'' 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 Jägermeister Music Tour concert at London's Brixton Academy 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, Resurrection Fest, Garorock Festival in Marmande (for the third time) and the Graspop Metal Meeting. Gojira continued on the festival circuit, headlining the Sylak Open Air Festival on 9 August 2014 in France and the Vagos Open Air Festival the following day in Lisbon. 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 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 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 ''Magma'', 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.

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 in Aix-les-Bains on 10 July, and was billed beneath Korn at the Rock Off Festival in Istanbul on 1 August. On 28 August, Mario Duplantier announced before Gojira's concert in Dublin that recording had resumed and was almost completed. The band played at Brazil's Rock in Rio 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, Mexico, Argentina, and the Santiago Gets Louder Festival in Chile. Gojira went to Japan as the supporting act for Slayer in Osaka and Tokyo in October 2015, followed by a performance at the Loud Park Festival at Saitama Super Arena before returning to Israel shortly afterwards.

''Rolling Stone'' 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, Poland, 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 in Plaine Saint-Denis (near Paris). 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 later that month. The band was included in the live lineup of the 13 June ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards at the Eventim Apollo 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+ 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 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. ''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'' called the band "pioneers of modern 21st-century progressive metal".

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 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, Volbeat and Like a Storm. 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. Kirk Hammett 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 Best Rock Album and its second single, "Silvera", was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. At that time, Gojira was labeled a "French-American metal band" by the ''Los Angeles Times''. On 6 May 2017, the band performed along with Opeth, Mastodon, Eagles of Death Metal, the Devin Townsend Project, and Russian Circles at Philadelphia's Electric Factory. ''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 Metallica's US WorldWired Tour that summer with Avenged Sevenfold and Volbeat. They headlined the Main Stage 2 at Download Festival, 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. The band played a US headlining tour during the fall; Converge, Code Orange, Pallbearer, Oni, 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".

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, Brutal Assault Open Air, and Bloodstock Open Air. In early August 2018, Gojira played to the largest crowd of their career at Pol'and'Rock Festival in Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland. 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 at San Diego's Petco Park.

''Fortitude'' (2020−present)

In May 2020, Gojira streamed ''Live At Red Rocks'' on YouTube, their 2017 concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, 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 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. ''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 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

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