Gojira’s Joe Duplantier Reflects on Summer Olympics, New Music

“I thought of the whole metal community at that moment.”

Joe Duplantier joined Loudwire Nights on Friday (Aug. 30) to reflect on Gojira’s performance at the opening ceremonies of this year’s Summer Olympics.

“That was a pretty mystical moment, before it kicked in,” Duplantier said about what he was feeling right before Gojira tore into “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!)” with composer Victor le Masne and opera singer Marina Viotti.

“I thought to myself, ‘What the heck am I doing here? What is going on? Are we about to play metal on television worldwide? This is insane.'”

When host Chuck Armstrong asked Duplantier what song he would have gone with for the ceremonies if Gojira got to choose, the frontman was grateful he didn’t have that responsibility.

“I would be torn,” Duplantier admitted. “What should we play? One song? Are you kidding? First, for sure, we would have gone with something that has a meaning for the situation on the planet right now. We always want to be relevant and we always want to empower people. We always want to communicate with people through our music and our art.”

Fortunately, Duplantier was able to find significant meaning in “Ah! Ça Ira!.”

“It’s about the revolution,” he explained. “The original song is very, very bloody. The lyrics are really, really gory — we’re going to go to the rich and hang them.”

He said he managed to find a few sentences in the song that, while heavy and dark, also carried a bit of hope. He also wanted to make sure to sing in French, Latin and English so that the song would have an international appeal.

“It turns out we had some wiggle room to do our thing.”

Are Gojira Working on New Music?

With fresh energy coming off of their performance on a worldwide stage — and as they gear up for a massive tour supporting Korn — Duplantier did say that Gojira are working on what will likely be the follow-up to 2021’s Fortitude.

“We’re resting for a bit and writing some music,” he shared. “This is a great opportunity to shake off the rust and get back in action.”

READ MORE: What Gojira’s Olympics Performance Means For Metal’s Future

When Chuck asked more about new music, Duplantier was understandably hesitant to disclose too much.

“It’s not a secret, but I just have to sit in the middle of it until it’s completed,” he said.

“It’s hard to tell people what it’s going to be, you know, and I also don’t want people to be surprised. But we’re working, we’re working, we’re trying to deliver something that is meaningful and impactful. We’re very ambitious in terms of writing songs. We want to take a clear step forward and upward with this album, so we’re putting all our love and energy on it.”

What Else Did Gojira’s Joe Duplantier Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• Why he and the band have thrown their support behind Captain Paul Watson: “I’m absolutely in shock and outraged and I would really like to send a strong message to anybody who’s going to read this or listen to this…it’s a symbol of something that’s happening on earth where somebody who’s trying to do the right thing and is doing the right thing — he saved tens of thousands of whales — is being put to jail when the countries that are doing criminal activities and illegal whaling are still roaming free and killing whales.”
• Why he’s okay opening for Korn, even though Gojira are getting more used to headlining and co-headlining tours: “We love to go on tour with our friends, the bands that inspired us in the first place. I mean, we come from death metal, don’t get me wrong, but Korn was something in the picture at some point. We were listening closely to what they were doing, being very inventive and original.”
• Why he’s more concerned about being a good dad and focusing on the basics with Gojira than anything else: “I have my kids, my wife, I’m trying to be a dad and try not to suck at it … Of course, I’ve dedicated almost 30 years at this point to this band, this is my life to play in Gojira and write songs and deliver messages.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Joe Duplantier joined Loudwire Nights on Friday, Aug. 30; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.