New GOJIRA Song ‘Amazonia’ Is ‘A Tribute To SEPULTURA,’ Says JOE DUPLANTIER

Gojira 2021

During a recent interview with Cuartel Del Metal, GOJIRA frontman Joe Duplantier has commented on the fact that some people have compared the band’s new song “Amazonia” to SEPULTURA‘s Roots [1996] album.

When asked how much of an influence SEPULTURA has been on GOJIRA‘s sound, Joe said: “How much? From one to 10? A solid seven, whatever that means. I could say 10 also, because I love them so much. But SEPULTURA is massive in the history of our band, for some reason. I discovered Arise first, and I was pretty blown away — it was so dark and so fast and so technical.

“It was right after I discovered the band DEATH and MORBID ANGEL, and then SEPULTURA. And I was absolutely blown away by their craft. And then, I had a few bands in high school, and I started to get together with my brother. We were playing at home, sometimes after school, and then we decided to form our own band. We dropped our other bands, got together, and Chaos A.D. came along. And we were absolutely blown away — absolutely blown away. And [it was] easy to play too — it’s simple riffs. They stripped down everything to the core… I mean, oh my God. They said it all with this album.”

As for what he thinks when people compare “Amazonia” to SEPULTURA, he said: “I go, ‘Yup.’ And it’s a compliment, and there is no shame here. And we ripped them off, but we didn’t do it on purpose. But we realized it right after. We were, like, ‘Oh, that sounds like SEPULTURA. Ahhh, whatever.’ It’s a tribute to SEPULTURA — how about that? It’s about Brazil. It’s about the Amazon. It’s tribal.”

GOJIRA will released new studio album, Fortitude, on April 30 via Roadrunner Records.