Gojira is a French progressive metal band formed in Ondres in 1996 around brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier — technical, thunderous, and fiercely environmental in its themes. From Mars to Sirius (2005) and Magma (2016) are the essentials; Fortitude won the 2022 Best Metal Performance Grammy for Amazonia. Browse Gojira vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Gojira formed in Ondres, France in 1996 (originally as Godzilla) around brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier. The band signed with Listenable Records for their early catalog before moving to Roadrunner Records for L'Enfant Sauvage (2012) and subsequently Atlantic. They have become widely regarded as one of the defining contemporary progressive metal acts and one of the highest-profile metal bands from France ever. Magma (2016) and Fortitude (2021) earned multiple Grammy nominations, with Fortitude winning Best Metal Performance for Amazonia in 2022. Their work has consistently engaged with environmental themes - particularly Amazonian deforestation, climate change, and ecological catastrophe.
Gojira's sound combines progressive metal, technical death metal, groove metal, and post-metal with extensive technical guitar work, polyrhythmic drumming, signature pick-scrape and harmonic guitar techniques, and Joe Duplantier's distinctive vocal delivery. Their work is widely cited as one of the most distinctive and important contemporary metal aesthetics.
Roadrunner pressings of the Gojira catalog have been issued in multiple color variant editions and limited deluxe pressings. Multiple anniversary editions of From Mars to Sirius and The Way of All Flesh have been released.
Listeners new to Gojira typically start with From Mars to Sirius (2005) or Magma (2016).
