At the 2025 edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival in the United Kingdom, GOJIRA drummer Mario Duplantier spoke to Bloodstock TV‘s Oran O’Beirne about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the follow-up to the French progressive metallers’ 2021 album “Fortitude”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): ”We already did record some drums and guitars and basses.
“It took us a long time. We needed that time, I think, just to make sure we are all on the same page, make sure what is GOJIRA is bringing next is strong enough,” he explained. “Also, we don’t have that much pressure. We are not a young band anymore. We’re not like SLEEP TOKEN or LORNA SHORE where the next album is so important. We’ve been a band for 30 years, so GOJIRA is already an established band. It doesn’t mean that we can be lazy — it doesn’t mean that — but it’s very crucial to take the time to bring something fresh and new and powerful.”
Mario added: “For the new songs, we took so much time just to make sure everything is fine and powerful enough and — I don’t know — smart enough as well. But it’s on the way, it’s on the way. 2026, for sure.”
A year ago, Mario‘s brother, GOJIRA guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier, told Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights that he and his bandmates were “in the middle” of working on their next studio album. He said at the time: “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.”
This past February, GOJIRA was honored with a Grammy in the “Best Metal Performance” category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, which was held at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. GOJIRA was nominated for “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!)” — a version of the French Revolution-era standard “Ah! Ça Ira!” — which the band performed at last year’s Olympic Games opening ceremony.
In July 2024, GOJIRA performed a surprise rendition of “Ah! Ça Ira” alongside opera singer Marina Viotti as well as a number of beheaded figures representing the slain Queen Marie Antoinette. The performance took place outside the Conciergerie, a former prison and residence of French kings during the French Revolution where Antoinette was held before she was beheaded in 1793.
GOJIRA made history as the first metal band to ever perform at the Olympic Games. The performance made international headlines and was widely regarded as one of the most talked about moments from the 2024 summer Olympics.
Prior to winning this year’s Grammy, GOJIRA had been nominated for a Grammy Award three times — twice in 2017, for “Best Metal Performance” and “Best Rock Album” (“Magma”) and once in 2022 for “Best Metal Performance”.
GOJIRA is considered a standard-bearer for French rock and bringing French rock to an international audience. Metal Hammer declared GOJIRA “metal’s most important band” in 2016.
“Fortitude” entered Billboard‘s Top Albums chart at No. 1 in May 2021, 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).
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 were 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.”
Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine
