Gojira was formed in Ondres (France) in 1996 by the Duplantier brothers – Joseph and Mario – and Christian Andreu. The band operated under the name Godzilla until 2001 and released four death metal demos: ‘Victim’ (1996), ‘Possessed’ (1997), ‘Saturate’ (1999), and ‘Wisdom Comes’ (1999).

From their debut (‘Terra Incognita’ 2001), to their most recent releases (the single ‘Our Time Is Now’, 2022), Gojira has followed a path in which they defy genre classification. The band’s work focuses on themes related to life, death, spirituality, but also ecology. The members have repeatedly engaged in activism related to nature and humanity’s destructive impact on the climate, human and animal rights. The fruits of these activities included the band’s expression of support for Sea Shepherd – a non-profit organisation working to protect nature and the marine environment – and its founder, Paul Watson. The activist appeared on stage between two Gojira songs at the Rock am Ring festival in Germany in June 2012.

Released in 2021, the song ‘Amazonia’ and its video are a protest against the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Behind the words, music and video also came action – the band set up a month-long fundraiser for the Brazilian indigenous rights charity, Articulation of Indigenous People of Brazil (APIB). The campaign quadrupled its initial goal of $75,000, with the final total reaching more than $300,000 thanks to memorabilia sales from bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Tool and Lamb of God, as well as Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash.