Gojira

Gojira is a French metal band formed in Ondres, near Bayonne, in the mid-1990s, originally performing under the name Godzilla before a name change forced by legal concerns. The lineup is built around brothers Joe Duplantier (vocals, guitar) and Mario Duplantier (drums), joined by Christian Andreu on lead guitar and Jean-Michel Labadie on bass. Their sound fuses technical death metal precision with a heavy, groove-driven low end, and the band is widely credited with helping define a modern strand of progressive/technical death metal in Europe during the 2000s.

Lyrically, Gojira stands apart from much of the death metal scene by centering ecological collapse, biophilia, spirituality, and the cycle of life and death rather than horror or violence, giving their catalog a distinct philosophical weight. Albums such as «From Mars to Sirius» and «The Way of All Flesh» built their reputation for crushing, atmospheric songwriting, while «L'Enfant Sauvage» and «Magma» showed a gradual softening toward more melodic, progressive metal textures without losing intensity.

Beyond the studio work, the band has toured extensively worldwide and drawn attention outside the traditional metal audience, notably performing at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Songs like «Flying Whales», «Silvera», «Stranded» and «The Heaviest Matter of the Universe» remain staples of their live sets and are frequently cited as entry points for new listeners into the band's dense, environmentally conscious brand of metal.