As metal bands increasingly turn to “album-in-full” anniversary tours to celebrate their back catalogs, French heavyweights Gojira are drawing a line in the sand. Frontman Joe Duplantier has confirmed that fans shouldn’t expect the band to perform their classic records from front to back in a live setting, citing the fundamental differences between the studio experience and the concert energy.
Speaking recently to Rolling Stone France, Duplantier revealed that the group actually attempted to prepare such a setlist but found the results lacking.
“We already tried it in rehearsal, but it doesn’t work,” Duplantier stated bluntly.
For Duplantier, the magic of a recorded album lies in its intimacy and narrative flow—elements that don’t always translate to the mosh pit.
“For me, listening to an album is like lying on a bed, headphones on, following a story, with some crazy things happening,” he explained.
While the band isn’t bringing these full-album runs to the stage, they haven’t ignored their legacy entirely; fans of their breakthrough From Mars to Sirius have previously been treated to a special live-in-studio anniversary set, serving as a compromise between the two formats.
During the same conversation, Duplantier pivoted to the future, offering a promising status report on Gojira‘s highly anticipated next studio album. The frontman confirmed that the band is targeting a 2026 release and has been utilizing a portable recording rig to keep the creative momentum going while on the road.
“We have a mobile studio, so we can also work on it while on tour,” he noted. “[The album is gradually taking shape and] we have some solid foundations and some tracks already have demos.”
He also touched on the internal dynamics of the writing process, viewing creative friction not as a hurdle, but as a necessary part of the band’s evolution.
“These are precious things, because it means the band’s message is becoming more refined,” Duplantier said regarding the group’s creative disagreements.
