Progressive metal band Gojira is taking its time to craft a new album that will “bring something fresh and new and powerful” to its fans. In a new interview at the Bloodstock Open Air festival in the United Kingdom, drummer Mario Duplantier gave an update on the follow-up to the band’s 2021 album, Fortitude, saying that a new album should arrive sometime in 2026.
“We already did record some drums and guitars and basses,” Duplantier said. He explained that the band has been working for a long time to make sure that the next album is up to their own standards and will make an impact on their fans.
Duplantier said that while the band doesn’t have the same pressure as younger acts like Sleep Token and Lorna Shore, it doesn’t mean they can be “lazy.” “We’ve been a band for 30 years, so Gojira is already an established band. It doesn’t mean that we can be lazy — it doesn’t mean that — but it’s very crucial to take the time to bring something fresh and new and powerful,” he said.
He also said that the band has been carefully crafting the new songs to make sure they are “smart enough” for their fans. “For the new songs, we took so much time just to make sure everything is fine and powerful enough and — I don’t know — smart enough as well,” he said. “But it’s on the way, it’s on the way. 2026, for sure.”
This latest update on the album’s progress comes a year after Duplantier‘s brother, Gojira guitarist and vocalist Joseph Duplantier, told Loudwire Nights that the band was “in the middle” of working on the new record. At the time, Joseph said that the band was “very ambitious in terms of writing songs” and that they want to “take a clear step forward and upward with this album.”
In February, Gojira was honored with a Grammy for “Best Metal Performance” for their song “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira!),” which they performed at last year’s Olympic Games opening ceremony.
