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GOJIRA drummer Mario Duplantier has released a video for his latest drum solo “Movement”. The clip, which was directed by Anne Deguehegny, can be seen below.
In an interview with the “Behind The Vinyl” podcast, GOJIRA frontman Joseph Duplantier was asked if he ever has arguments with Mario, who is also his brother. He responded: “Sometimes, but we’re pretty patient. We have anger. I wouldn’t say we have anger issues, but sometimes I wonder. We respect and love each other very much. We’re aware that we’re dealing with a project that is very life-defining for us, and there’s a lot of people around us. So we’re pretty patient. Sometimes I can feel and I can tell — and he would say the same — that sometimes we just can’t stand each other. For a little bit — for, like, an hour or two hours. And then we’ll be, like, ‘You know what? I’m outta here.’ We will not start screaming, for example, if something is not happening. Maybe once a year or twice a year we’ll raise our voice on each other and it’s pretty nasty, but it’s very short. So, yeah, we’re not punching each other in the face or anything like that.”
Joseph also talked about the musical chemistry and connection between him and Mario, saying: “Sometimes he starts just playing something and I’ll follow him directly. And then something grows. Or we’ll stop and say, ‘Hey, I have this vision of something. It goes a bit like this.’ And then we start… We build together. It’s pretty incredible. I actually never really experienced that with anybody — making art together without being, like, ‘Oh my God. What is he doing? That’s not what I wanna do.’ There’s always a connection in something. And I’m very comfortable on the creative process, ’cause I know we’re looking for the same thing — sort of. He has his world, I have my own world, of course — we’re not the same… But sometimes we get together, and the common area is what defines what the band is, pretty much. So when we’re in that zone, where we connect, and there’s this thing where we’re both… And we know — we just look at each other; we raise an eyebrow or something, and, boom. We don’t need to talk. We just play, play, play.”
GOJIRA‘s latest album, “Fortitude”, entered Billboard‘s Top Albums chart at No. 1 last May, while also claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard‘s Top Current Albums, Current Rock Albums and Current Hard Music Albums tallies. The release also marked a career high debut on the Billboard 200 for GOJIRA, arriving at No. 12, with several career high chart positions and Top 10 debuts in countries around the globe including: France (No. 2), United Kingdom (No. 6), Australia (No. 3), Germany (No. 8), Belgium (No. 2), Netherlands (No. 4), Denmark (No. 3), Portugal (No. 4), Finland (No. 2) and Norway (No. 10).
“Fortitude” is highlighted by the singles “Another World”, “Born For One Thing”, “Into The Storm”, “Amazonia” and “The Chant”, a slow-burning track featuring some of GOJIRA‘s most melodic material to date.
Furthermore, GOJIRA concluded a month-long fundraising initiative in support of the indigenous-owned NGO The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) who advocate for environmental and cultural rights of indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Working with the social good-focused digital platform Propeller, the charitable campaign raised over $300,000 through an auction and raffle of one-of-a-kind items from the band and their friends in METALLICA, TOOL, SLIPKNOT, SLAYER, Slash and more. All proceeds will be donated to APIB to support their work aiding the indigenous tribes of the Amazon who have suffered immensely — victims of deforestation, land loss, forced labor, violence, and harassment.
Recorded and produced by Joseph Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio — GOJIRA‘s Ridgewood, Queens, New York headquarters — and mixed by Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE), “Fortitude” is GOJIRA‘s first album in five years and the follow-up to 2016’s Grammy-nominated LP “Magma”. A collection of songs urging humanity to imagine a new world and then make it happen, “Fortitude” has been earning widespread critical praise with Rolling Stone naming it one of their best albums of April 2021 and remarking “It’s all the rage of death metal mixed with the conscience of punk rock and the musicality of progressive rock.” NPR hailed “Another World” as “an apocalyptic banger,” and Paste called “Into The Storm” a “much-needed revolutionary anthem.” Stereogum declared, “hearing this band operating at their peak is a life-affirming thing,” while Revolver attested “Fortitude” “could spark a revolution.”
