For Duplantier, Gojira is truly that serious and his patience seems to have no end. Maybe you’ve never heard a musician liken ten years trying to break even and sticking to the road to going to med school, but Duplantier isn’t your average musician and certainly not your “average Joe” either. The French four piece’s spokesman is humble to say the least, and knows just how important his strong relationship with his band mates is; and how hard he, his brother and drummer Mario Duplantier, 25, guitarist Christian Andreu, 30, and bassist Jen-Michel Labadie, 33, have worked to get noticed here. “It takes a long time to know how to do this job, being a musician and to learn how to deal with the tensions in the band- that’s also very, very important and to know that you can trust your band mates. Now I know that I can trust each one of my friends, we are strong and ready to go on the road for a long time.”

In Duplaniter’s mind, there’s no question it was American and English metal that influenced the 30-year old Frenchman from the beginning, back when Joe was just hitting puberty. The thought of singing in his native language never seemed to cross his mind, growing up in Bayonne in the South of France. In fact, he never even felt like he was faced with a choice at all. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s spontaneous. It’s like all the Metallica songs, Sepultura; they are printed on my mind, you know, so when I start to sing, English comes out. I don’t know why, but it’s in English; sometimes I even dream in English.

“We were influenced by American and English music; that’s’ what we like, that’s what we like to hear. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Morbid Angel, Death; so when we first started, the very first rehearsal I was singing in English because I just wanted to do exactly like those guys. There’s another point and it’s that when you want to speak a message to the world you do it in English, you don’t do it in French, you know what I’m saying.”

Over the past decade-plus of adjusting its sound and experimenting, Gojira has evolved from sounding like a traditional death metal band to a more progressive style––fusing rock, hardcore and of course the harsh sounds that emerged from the band’s first practice. Meshing unexpectedly complex melodies, overtly chunky transitions and a rhythmic power and sharpness second to none, Gojira has not only emerged successfully onto an already crowded metal scene in the U.S., but also seem to have translated into a unique niche for U.S. fans with resounding reviews.

Gojira’s musical development has never been planned, or even thought out.  “When we started my brother was 13 years old, can you imagine that, and I was only 18 and we were very into death metal —so the influences were very straightforward, but yet I had a very high interest in the experimental thing; it was kind of strange death metal I think. Then we get older (he says with a chuckle) and you know that’s life, it’s not that we want to sell more records, it has nothing to do with that; it’s just that we change, we evolve, we experience life with girls, just with life, with hard things, great things and the music is evolving, that’s natural. We just try to stay honest, we try to keep a spontaneous aspect you know, we grab a guitar and just hit it and we do some fuckin’ noise. Personally I don’t try to build anything; I just build it, I don’t try.”

“The message is that we all need to take care of the planet and also take care of yourself, because it’s like ‘hey guys, are you fucking alive or what?’ And that’s the message. And what’s the most important, to kill each other or respect each other. Think for yourself and take care of yourself if you want to take care of the world. We are all in the same ship, you know the same planet and there is a problem with this planet; we just fuck it up and we should stop it right now! Because it’s too important, because we are all stuck in this ship, lost in outer space and we have to do something about it. And it’s spontaneous once again, just when I scream that’s just what comes out, you know? I feel concerned as a human being and we all (band) are concerned and that’s the common point between the four of us. We all agree to have these kinds of lyrics.”

But Duplantier isn’t disappointed at all that other heavy bands seem to preach a message of destruction and chaos hardly the green message Gojira delivers. He seems to have a real connection to the cathartic nature of releasing frustration and anger through metal. “I understand why they say ‘fuck you all and I wanna die and kill myself; I rape you, I fuck you. I understand that perfectly because I feel that also. It’s human, it’s natural. I don’t blame them. I know with Lamb of God and Machine Head - we became good friends and I know them and they are so nice, just incredible people, really, really incredible people. They are down to earth, easy going and they say that, so why do they say that and I just try to understand why they say that and I understand. We all have pains and suffer so it’s natural to express; it’s good, it’s positive for them to say that because they have to let it go and people in the audience — they let it go at the same time. Then I come in and give them another message; it’s not paradoxical, I think it goes well together.”

Joe doesn’t speak from a lack of any experience meeting bands; Gojira has basically been on the road continuously since the release of From Mars to Sirius in 2005. While it’s no easy task, Gojira is committed to perfecting its craft — which means staying on the road and conquering the U.S. one show at a time, but he acknowledges the many sacrifices that come with being road warriors. “It is hard, it is truly very hard to go away from your girlfriend for example, but it’s a choice you have to make for a living; it’s very, very special. We have fun on stage, we do exactly what we want, it’s just like a dream come true to play your music for a living for people. On the road for 50 days you might have 45 shows, which means you only have five days off so you’re getting stronger, you’re getting better and if you’re sick you’re out so you don’t get sick. You have to become like a warrior so it’s a great experience as a band.”

But even warriors feel some pressure sometimes; for Gojira however, that pressure comes from within, not from any record labels, fans or peers. It may in fact be true that Gojira is in fact its worst critic. “We have enough pressure on ourselves. We want to do our best all the fuckin’ time, so we put the pressure on,” he says chuckling. “It’s not the record companies or anything else, but we are such perfectionists, we don’t get pressure from the outside.” It’s that pressure from within and an almost inexplicable rumbling desire that fuels Gojira’s presence to keep forging forward. While Duplantier may do plenty of yelling on stage, he insists when it comes to bragging rights, he keeps his mouth shut. “We are very quiet. We have worked to make this happen and it’s true that it can be a bit of pressure sometimes, but we feel no pressure and I know it sounds strange, but I am very confident; I know when I grab my guitar, I can compose Gojira’s stuff, so no pressure.”

For news and tour schedule please visit http://www.gojira-music.com/