THE STORY BEHIND

It’s the modern metal masterpiece that put France’s finest on the map. But Joe Duplantier has a very different view of it

WORDS: MATT MILLS

THERE ARE A multitude of things that set Gojira apart from so many of their contemporaries. There’s the French band’s groundbreaking, environmentally conscious lyricism, with singer/guitarist Joe Duplantier often screaming for the salvation of a polluted world. There’s the mix of technicality and brute force of Mario Duplantier’s intricate drumming against hulking riffs inspired by everything from death metal to nu metal. And there’s their ability to conjure inventive melodies, something backed up by the millions of Spotify streams amassed by hook-laden singles such as Silvera and Stranded.

All three came together perfectly on Flying Whales, the 2005 anthem that has become one of their signature songs. The seven-minute behemoth – originally from Gojira’s third album, From Mars To Sirius – plummets from a hummable introduction to bouncing death metal, before Joe roars about the wonders of ocean life over a torrent of breakdowns.

The song turned out to be Gojira’s moment of self-actualisation and its omnipresence in their setlist for the last 17 years has gifted it with life beyond even their control. Gig-goers regularly bring inflatable whales to gigs and chuck them about, and there’s even a Facebook fan group called Gojira Whaleposting with some 20,000 members. There’s only one downside:Joe Duplantier doesn’t particularly like Flying Whales very much.