Born For One Thing

Joe Duplantier details the themes, tones and influences that led to Fortitude, GOJIRA’s cinematic, hard-hitting and uplifting new album (plus songcraft, Death, Whammy pedals and that fine-looking mahogany Charvel...)

- By Brad Angle

FOR A generation of young headbangers, GOJIRA are the new titans of groove metal: progressive, heavy-hitting riff giants continuing in the lineage of Metallica, Sepultura, Pantera, Lamb of God, and others. And just like the six-string legends that preceded them — Hetfield, Cavalera, Dimebag, and more — central to the French band’s success is a modern metal rhythm guitar hero: Joe Duplantier. But good luck approaching him with that kind of praise.

“I’m not an awesome guitar player,” retorts Duplantier, who’s also Gojira’s singer, producer, and primary songwriter. “Sure, I have my technique and experience, but if you drop me in a room full of people jamming blues, it’s gonna be a little difficult. There’s going to be a lot of wrong notes in there. [Laughs] I don’t have my scales down and I’m not a shredder or anything.”

Duplantier’s humility (and lack of blues chops) aside, what the musician does possess is that enviable, elusive holy grail for a guitarist: a unique voice. He calls it the “Gojira language,” and it’s instantly recognizable from the moment the cavalcade of distorted pick-scraped riffs, propulsive hammer-on rhythms, and intoxicating atmospherics come roaring out of his amplifier.