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Earliest: Jun 27, 1998
Latest: Oct 27, 2024
[
WikiPedia] Gojira is a French heavy metal band from Ondres. Founded as Godzilla in 1996, the band's lineup - brothers Joe (lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar) and Mario Duplantier (drums), Christian Andreu (lead and rhythm 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 its progressive and technical death metal styles and 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 its 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. Its 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 it visibility in North America. The follow-up album, The Way of All Flesh (2008), charted on the Billboard 200, and Gojira later launched its 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 numbers 34 and 24, respectively, on the Billboard 200 and were certified gold in France. Gojira shelved death metal in favor of a more straightforward style on Magma, the band's breakthrough album. In 2020, it released its first Billboard-charting 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 produces its albums at its own recording studios in France and New York City.
Gojira has released seven studio albums and three live DVDs, and is the first French band to top the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. The band has received Grammy 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 its career, the band has been involved in environmental, human rights, and animal rights activism.
Gojira also became the first heavy metal band to perform at an Olympics opening ceremony during the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.
