Gojira is a French heavy metal band from Ondres. The band was founded as Godzilla in 1996, its lineup - Joe (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Mario Duplantier (drums), Christian Andreu (lead guitar), and Jean-Michel Labadie (bass)—has been the same since the band changed its name to Gojira in 2001.
Gojira has been known for its progressive and technical death metal styles and its spiritual and environmentally-themed lyrics. The band has gone "from the utmost obscurity during the first half of their career to widespread global recognition in the second".
Gojira's first two albums, Terra Incognita (2001) and The Link (2003), and powerful live performances established their reputation as a leading French metal band. Their third album, the critically-acclaimed From Mars to Sirius (2005) with "Backbone", "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe", and "Flying Whales", was covered in the British metal press. Gojira then signed with Prosthetic Records, which gave them visibility in North America. The follow-up album, The Way of All Flesh (2008), charted on the Billboard 200.
In 2011, Gojira signed with Roadrunner Records. The band released L'Enfant Sauvage (2012) and Magma (2016), which peaked at number thirty-four and twenty-four respectively on the Billboard 200. Gojira shelved death metal in favor of a more straightforward style on Magma, the band's breakthrough album. The chart-topping Fortitude (2021) was the best-selling album in the US during its first week. With a DIY approach, Gojira produced their albums at their own recording studios in France and New York City.
The band has released seven studio albums, three live DVDs, and is the first French band to top the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. Gojira is considered one of France's most successful exports to the US.