“There was some mild terrorism going on. They were exploding cars and banks and real estate. There was an ongoing war”: From a climate of violence, Gojira made one of modern metal’s most conscious, powerful anthems

Gojira in 2006.

Flying Whales is one of the 21st century’s essential metal songs. Back in 2022, Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier told Hammer how the extreme metal heroes made their defining track – and why he’s not a massive fan of it.

There are a multitude of things that set Gojira apart from so many of their contemporaries. There’s the French band’s groundbreaking, environmentally conscious lyricism, singer/guitarist Joe Duplantier often screaming for the salvation of a polluted world.