After making history as the first metal band to perform at the Olympics and earning a Grammy nomination, GOJIRA frontman Joseph Duplantier is turning his attention to animal rights. In a dramatic new PETA campaign, he’s captured on the Brooklyn Bridge surrounded by animals, emphasizing the importance of a vegan diet.
The accompanying video, set to the band’s powerful song “The Trails,” delves into the reasons why going vegan is essential for animals, human health, and environmental sustainability.
“I became vegan for the animals. It’s about the life of the animals and what they go through. But another benefit of being vegan is for your own health. I have more energy now when I perform since I became vegan,” Duplantier says in the video. “I believe people have a responsibility to challenge the laws and the traditions in society … in order to move gracefully to a future where we can actually be alive. It’s not just an ethical question anymore, but it’s also a question of survival for our species. You have to go vegan.”
In August 2023, Joseph spoke with Finland’s Chaoszine and was asked if there were any foods or drinks he avoided before a show to protect his vocal cords, as well as if there was anything he found beneficial for his singing. He replied: “I’m sure I can discover more things about that. But I feel what I need before a show and… For example, before this interview I was just slicing some avocado, ’cause avocado helps. It’s healthy fats, and I like to eat a little bit of that or a banana or something that sort of sticks to your pipes. Definitely I’m not eating for three hours before a show.”
“There’s a lot to say about food, of course, and it’s notorious that dairy is not really good before singing, for example,” he continued. “I don’t do dairies for a long time now; I’m a vegan. I remember struggling before being vegan to manage my energy on stage. The energy level was good at first, and then the first time I screamed, I would almost pass out sometimes because I’m still digesting. Because at the beginning of our career, we were opening a lot, so we would eat and then go on stage, for example. This is very dangerous, because your body is trying to process the food, and if you wanna use your entire body to sing, as you should if you’re a singer, there’s gonna be a lot of things in the way and the body gets confused. And I almost fell passed out on stage multiple times because I was not done digesting.
“Also, I wanna say this on a side note, but since I quit animal products and I eat plant-based [foods] only, my energy increased by ten or a hundred,” Joseph added. “I don’t know, because how would I know? Every time we finish a show, I’m still full of energy and I keep going. I can keep going and going and going. And back in the day, before I changed my diet, at the end of the show, I was at the end of my life. And I was young; I was 20[-something]… Dude, I should be the opposite, right? But then I changed my diet, and now I can go anytime. Even if I eat in this three-hour window, it’s gonna be super light, so it’s gonna be acceptable. But if I would eat cheese or meat or heavy things, it’s impossible.
“So I think although I don’t have the healthiest lifestyle — I drink a few beers after the show; I’m a night owl, so I don’t sleep a lot. I try to catch up on sleep in naps. But I do drink a lot of water and try to sleep as much as possible. These are my secrets — that are not secrets; everybody knows it [laughs], even for non-singers. But yeah, the diet change was crucial in my life.”
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