Gojira‘s Joe Duplantier has shared an updated on their “ambitious” next album – see what he had to say below.
Fresh off their historic performance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games – where they became the first metal act to perform in the history of the Olympics – frontman Joe Duplantier has provided an update on the French metallers’ next project.
Speaking on the Loudwire Nights podcast, Joe expanded on his brother – and Gojira drummer – Mario Duplantier’s comments last October that the band’s next album will be “heavier” than 2021’s ‘Fortitude’.
Joe said: “It’s not a secret, but I’ve gotta say we’re in the middle of it, and until it’s completed, it’s hard to tell people what it’s gonna be. And also, I don’t want to. I want people to be surprised. But we’re working. We’re trying to deliver something that is meaningful and impactful. We’re very ambitious in terms of writing songs and the quality of it. And we wanna take a clear step forward and upward with this album. So we’re putting all our love and energy on it.”
While the album has been in the works for some time now, the band have never been as popular as they are now, coming off the back of their Paris Olympics performance. Most recently, the band made their cover of ‘Ah, Ça Ira!’ available on all major streaming platforms.
During the ceremony, the band appeared on the side of a castle surrounded by fire and bursts of red streamers, with opera singer Marina Viotti later appearing on a moving prop boat. Their performance followed a portion dedicated to Les Miserables and came just after a beheaded Marie Antoinette was shown singing.
The spectacle left viewers asking themselves if they’d just seen “one of the most memorable moments of 2024” or a “freakshow”. As heightened reactions on social media swirled, Gojira were forced to respond to claims their performance was “satanic”.
Joe Duplantier said of their performance: “It’s French history. It’s French charm, you know, beheaded people, red wine and blood all over the place — it’s romantic, it’s normal. There’s nothing satanic.”
Despite the controversy, it massively increased Gojira’s streaming numbers, with their monthly listeners shooting up to just under 2.7million a week after their performance, a growth of almost 50 per cent.
They are now set to join Trivium and Machine Head as the headliners for next year’s edition of Bloodstock festival. Gojira are set to close out the entire fest on Sunday (August 10). “We are psyched to play Bloodstock again next year,” said frontman Joe Duplantier in a statement. “Hold on to your socks, it’s gonna be brutal!”
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