generation of young headbangers, GOJIRA are the new titans of groove metal: progressive, heavy-hitting riff giants continuing in the lineage of Metallica, Sepultura, Pantera, Lamb of God and others. And just like the six-string legends that preceded them — Hetfield, Cavalera, Dimebag and more — central to the French band’s success is a modern metal rhythm guitar hero: Joe Duplantier. But good luck approaching him with that kind of praise.

Mario Duplantier, Jean-Michel Labadie, Joe Duplantier and Christian Andreu

GABRIELLE DUPLANTIER

“THIS IS OUR LIFE. We have a purpose to create something artistic, SOMETHING TO SURVIVE FOR ETERNITY…”

“I’m not an awesome guitar player,” retorts Duplantier, who’s also Gojira’s singer, producer and primary songwriter. “Sure, I have my technique and experience, but if you drop me in a room full of people jamming blues, it’s gonna be a little difficult. There’s going to be a lot of wrong notes in there. [Laughs] I don’t have my scales down and I’m not a shredder or anything.”

Duplantier’s humility (and lack of blues chops) aside, what the musician does possess is that enviable, elusive holy grail for a guitarist: a unique voice. He calls it the “Gojira language,” and it’s instantly recognizable from the moment the cavalcade of distorted pick-scraped riffs, propulsive hammer-on rhythms and intoxicating atmospherics come roaring out of his amplifier.

Since Gojira formed in 1996 (first as Godzilla, before adopting their current moniker in 2001), their career has followed a steady trajectory upward. Duplantier and his band — which also includes his brother Mario Duplantier on drums, bassist Jean- Michel Labadie and lead guitarist Christian Andreu — have continuously refined their musical chops and expanded their artistic vision across six albums. And with each one, from 2001’s fierce debut Terra Incognita and 2005 breakout From Mars to Sirius to 2016’s Grammy-nominated Magma, Gojira have earned more fans, more critical praise and more respect from many of their own heroes. Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe was an early backer (and guested on 2008’s The Way of All Flesh), and Metallica, Slipknot, Rammstein and others have personally recruited them as tour support.

Gojira’s seventh and latest record, Fortitude, is primed to be their biggest outing yet. The initial preview of the album arrived back in August 2020, when Gojira surprise dropped their first new song in four years, “Another World.” Fans went wild — and the epic rager became an instant hit for the band and their first Billboard-charting single ever. Six months later, in February of this year, Gojira premiered Fortitude’s second punishing single, “Born for One Thing” — and its accompanying video topped a million views within days.

So, by all measures, expectations are pretty high ahead of the album’s April release (via Roadrunner Records). But Duplantier isn’t really sweating it. While he’s definitely grateful for the external praise and accolades (“Being nominated for a Grammy was incredible!”), he says any pressure he’s experiencing is self-administered — and stems from his own infinite ambitions. “People ask me, how do you deal with the pressure?” he says. “I’m like, ‘Honey, this is nothing.’ [Laughs] This pressure is nothing compared to the pressure I’m putting on myself. This is our life. We have a purpose to create something artistic, something to survive for eternity…