This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Gojira are a progressive metal band heavily rooted in groove metal with some death metal elements. Their first album has the most death metal style vocals and the death metal influences persist after that but they have become far less death metal over the years. Their line up has been consistent from the first album. On guitar/vocals Joe Duplantier, second guitar Christian Andreu, bass Jean-Michel Labadie, and drums Mario Duplantier. Early album have writing credits shared but later albums are noted as being written predominantly by Joe and Mario. With a more openness to non metal influences in recent years, I will be curies to revisit this in the future and see if they are naming some of those influences to a greater extent.

Led Zeppelin are hugely influential and among the first hard rockers. Joe said the band all have a Zeppelin influence.

Mike Oldfield

Metallica are the Fathers of thrash. Christian, Joe and Jean-Michel name Ride The Lightning as a big influence on them. Joe and Jean-Michel both said “Fade to Black” was the first song they learned to play. Joe said that Master of Puppets defines … — Metallica are the Fathers of thrash. Christian, Joe and Jean-Michel name *Ride The Lightning* as a big influence on them. Joe and Jean-Michel both said “Fade to Black” was the first song they learned to play. Joe said that *Master of Puppets* defines metal for him. Mario said that Lars was his biggest influence when he started out. Jean-Michel said Jason Newsted is the reason he plays bass and names Metallica has his biggest influences.

Slayer were pushing the aggression that thrash was capable of. Joe said he would listen to South of Heaven riding the bus to school to prepare himself for the day. He also praises Tom as a frontman.

Death are often seen as the fathers of death metal and went into a progressive direction with it. The whole band names them as a huge influence.

Sepulture are best known for their death/thrash sound. Early on they were pioneering death metal and later they became influential for their groove metal as well. Joe said that Chaos AD was a huge influence on them. Mario named Igor as one of hi… — Sepulture are best known for their death/thrash sound. Early on they were pioneering death metal and later they became influential for their groove metal as well. Joe said that *Chaos AD* was a huge influence on them. Mario named Igor as one of his main influences.

Morbid Angel are an important and influential Death metal band. Joe and Jean-Michel named them as an influence.

Cannibal Corpse are one of the most well known death metal bands. Jean-Michel named them as a band they listen to.

Pantera are the fathers of groove metal. Jean-Michel named them as a big influence.

Rage Against The Machine are pioneers of rap/rock. Joe named their self titled album as a favorite. Mario and Jean-Michel also have praise for it.

Tool are an influential alternative/progressive band. Mario, Joe, and Christian all name them as an influence.

Machine Head are a groove metal bands formed by an ex thrasher of Vio-lence. Joe named them as an influence.

Strapping Young Lad was an extreme metal band led by Devin Townsend. Joe said he is a fan of Devin and Mario said that Joe picked up some things after getting into his work and working with him.

Devin Townsend put out solo albums and also album sunder Devin Townsend Project. Again, Mario said that working with Devin had an influence on Joe’s approach to music.

Mastodon are a progressive metal/rock band. Joe is a fan and has said talking with them has helped him learn to appreciate his more non metal influences.

Mario and Joe are brothers. As kids they heard the music their mom would play. Mario played she played The Beatles, Tina Turner, and Michael Jackson. After that they got into Metallica.

Mario said “At 12 years old I started my own band with a friend from school. We played Nirvana covers, Metallica covers and Sepultura. When I turned 13 I was really into death metal.” He said his brother got into death metal later than him. Later Mario took drum lessons for seven years consisting of “one hour of jazz, one hour of rock, one hour of Afro-Cuban. I learned a bit of everything.”"

When talking about their move way into a less metal sound Mario said they still love their metal influences but also like bands like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Radiohead, and James Blake. He also said him and Joe were both exposed to classical music early on and have a love and understanding of it.

Joe said as a kid he heard a lot of bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Dire Straits on the radio. He said his favorite French singer is Alain Bashung.

In several interviews in the most recent years, Joe talks about trying to be less constrained and bringing in non metal influences from their younger years.

When asked about favorite current bands, Joe names Massive Attack, Portishead and Radiohead. As well as, Meshuggah, Tool, Devin Townsend, The Atlas Moth, Die Antwoord, and The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices.

Bands influenced by Gojira!

As this project advances, bands will be added here…

Sources:

https://www.telerama.fr/sortir/les-cinq-albums-de-metal-qui-ont-change-la-vie-de-gojira,143153.php
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/gojiras-joe-duplantier-my-10-favorite-metal-albums-201839/sepultura-chaos-a-d-1993-193622/
https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2004/07/16/259032-rock-tellurique-avec-les-landais-de-gojira.html
https://www.lemonde.fr/musiques/article/2016/06/16/gojira-le-metal-c-est-de-la-dentelle_4951952_1654986.html
https://loudwire.com/gojira-joe-duplantier-early-music-influences-french-curse-word-of-choice/
https://www.musicradar.com/news/gojiras-mario-duplantier-reveals-all-about-his-astonishing-technique
https://www.kerrang.com/features/inside-gojira-new-metal-masterpiece-fortitude-and-their-fight-for-our-future/
https://metalinsider.net/interviews/gojiras-joe-duplantier-discusses-fatherhood-sea-shepherd-2
https://www.powerofmetal.dk/interviews/gojira.htm
https://ainhoaaristizabal.wordpress.com/tag/joe-duplantier/
http://www.radiometal.com/article/gojiras-subconscious,69268
https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/gojiras-mario-duplantier-lars-ulrich-was-maybe-the-only-influence-i-had-when-i-was-starting-out/
http://liveandloudmagazine.com/2012/09/live-n-loud-meets-gojira/