Gojira

Gojira became the first heavy metal band to perform at an Olympics opening ceremony when it appeared during the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. The French band was founded in Ondres in 1996 as Godzilla, adopting the name Gojira in 2001. Its lineup has remained unchanged since then: brothers Joe Duplantier on vocals and guitar and Mario Duplantier on drums, alongside guitarist Christian Andreu and bassist Jean-Michel Labadie.

The group emerged through progressive and technical death metal, pairing dense, rhythmically demanding arrangements with lyrics concerned with spirituality, philosophy and environmentalism. Its first albums, Terra Incognita (2001) and The Link (2003), along with its live performances, established Gojira as a major French metal band. The 2005 album From Mars to Sirius, featuring “Backbone,” “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe” and “Flying Whales,” brought the band coverage in the British metal press. A subsequent deal with Prosthetic Records increased its visibility in North America.

The Way of All Flesh arrived in 2008 and charted on the Billboard 200, after which Gojira undertook its first overseas headlining tour. The band also composed and performed Maciste All'Inferno, a score for a one-night silent-film presentation in Bordeaux. In 2011, it signed with Roadrunner Records and followed with L'Enfant Sauvage in 2012 and Magma in 2016. Both albums were certified gold in France, while Magma marked a move away from death metal toward a more direct sound and became the band's breakthrough release.

In 2020, “Another World” became Gojira's first Billboard-charting single. The following year's Fortitude topped the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart, making Gojira the first French band to do so, and was the best-selling album in the United States during its first week. By 2022, the group was headlining arenas across Europe, the UK and South America. Gojira records at its own studios in France and New York City, and its work has remained tied to environmental, human-rights and animal-rights activism. The band has received Grammy nominations for Best Rock Album for Magma and Best Metal Performance for “Silvera,” “Amazonia” and “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!).”