KNAC.COM: That's about how long you were out last time, right? So you must be used to the routine?

KNAC.COM: Were you able to do any shows over the summer or play some of the European festivals, or were your recording the whole time?

It took us like two weeks to rehearse and check the gear to make sure it was OK, because we hadn't played in like 18 months. And it was a great, great show. It was in the north of France, north of Paris, it was the only French gig for Metallica on the tour and we are big, big Metallica fans. It's because of Metallica that we are a band and they are our biggest influence, so it was just impossible to miss that show.

KNAC.COM: Since everyone else seems to be chiming in on the new Metallica album, have you heard it and what did you think about it?

I'm not expecting anything from them. I just want to thank them for what they did for the metal community all over the world. I would say they even saved my life when I was in high school and I felt from another planet, felt really on my own.

I was into Sepultura and Iron Maiden, but Metallica to me was really like a life-saver. I could walk to high school with Metallica on my Walkman and not feel so alone, so alien. I knew there were other people who felt the same way I did, that I could relate to. And that was very inspiring to me when I started playing music myself.

KNAC.COM: I want to return to that in a minute, but first let's go back to this summer. Because you were recording, you couldn't do the tour with Cavalera Conspiracy either, which had to have been tough?

When I ended up being the bass player for Cavalera Conspiracy, of course it was an amazing experience and I was so happy to meet Max and Iggor. But I told them "I can be part of this album, but I won't be able to play shows after that," so they knew right away that I was doing the band, but I had Gojira first. So they were not surprised when they asked me again to do the world tour and I said "no, I'm in the studio and we have to release an album."

KNAC.COM: At least you were able to be part of the Cavalera brothers' reunion, be part of history, as it were.

DUPLANTIER: It was rewarding, it was fulfilling. I never thought I could one day have a band with these guys. Like I said, Metallica was important, but Sepultura was also very important to me. When they released Chaos A.D., I remember trying to play those songs with my crappy guitar. I was playing metal on a classical guitar in my bedroom and I was trying to play these songs, and it was mind-blowing. And when I had my first electric guitar someone lended to me I was amazed I was able to reproduce that kind of sound that I was listening to.

It's a part of my musical structure, so when I first came into the studio in Los Angeles I was very nervous. I had my bass guitar with me and I was waiting for Max and he showed up and I was like, "Oh my god." And he took me in his arms right away, and was like, "Hey Joe, so nice to meet you. We're going to have fun and I'm really glad that you accepted being the band, it's gonna be great." And suddenly he became like a friend, a colleague, a bandmate. And so from a fan I became like an equal and it was very important to me as a human being.

I remember this moment when we were playing for the first time and he asked me, "Well we should have a jam first before composing so we can feel the vibe for the band first, can you play some Sepultura stuff?" And I was like "yes, I can. Basically that's how I learned how to play, so yes."

"OK, Joe tell us what do you want to play."

"Well, 'Territory,' for example," and Iggor started to play the drum intro and the brothers were playing together for the first time in a studio for 11 years, so there was a lot of emotion, it was very intense. The families were there in the studio. I'll never forget that, it was really incredible experience. There was a very, very strong energy.

The songs are a symbol of their brotherhood for years, and working together on the same level, and they put that aside for more than 10 years and then suddenly you play that, and it all comes back. The energy was incredible.

KNAC.COM: To go back again to where your music came from after you were playing Sepultura songs on acoustic guitar, was there much a metal scene in France to draw from or were you, like you were saying, really alone in your world of metal?

The positive thing for music here is we're not far from Spain and there are some bands on the border of Spain and France, the Basque country. There is a scene there of like rock and punk bands talking about being independent and stuff like that, so there is a certain energy coming from that culture.

But I'm not really part of that culture, my father is French and my mother was born in the United States, she came to France when she was very young. When we started we were probably the only guys trying to play technical metal, like Metallica, Sepultura, Morbid Angel. We were trying to build something that was very unknown and new in that area.

KNAC.COM: Has the metal scene grown much in France since then?

But it seems like there is an awakening in France now, a lot of bands are emerging from nowhere, from the vacuum of space (laughs). We have more and more bands coming from Paris, from Toulouse, from very small towns. There are some very talented musicians, so I think France is about to become a place with professional bands that will be making an impact, to be sure.

KNAC.COM: What would you say has been the biggest factor Gojira's musical evolution?

And we are also very big perfectionists. When we listen to our albums, we analyze and try to see what we can do better next time.

KNAC.COM: With the response to the last album, and all the progress you made because of it, were you more confident coming into this one?

We were actually surprised that so many people were saying "From Mars To Sirius is our favorite album." There were so many positive messages and a lot of support from the people and so much enthusiasm. Because we are so critical toward to our music and we analyze it so much, sometimes we don't understand why people are so positive about it. But it's a fact that they are, so we just accept it, say OK, go on and keep on writing songs. Yeah, it brings confidence, so my answer is yes (laughs).

KNAC.COM: Still, you guys can be a hard band for people to get into because your music is so far out in left field ?

So I think it's important to be confident in what you do in general, and I would say that our point of view is that anyone can write a good song or can have a logical artistic world if there is honesty. So that's what we try to put in our music, being honest as much as possible. I know that some of our ideas are pretty crazy, like singing about flying whales and things like that, but it means something. I don't know what, exactly (laughs).

KNAC.COM: By the same token, I'd think that once people feel like they've got their head around your music, they're hooked?

KNAC.COM: Musically, the new album is less death metal and more progressive, is that what you intended at the outset?

KNAC.COM: How does the band put the material together? Does it start with you and your brother, or is it usually the whole band kicking stuff around?

After a lot of touring for From Mars To Sirius we were just exhausted. We were very, very tired and needed some vacations. And Jean Michel and Christian, the two other guys, really needed a break. Mario and I, even if we were drained, it was not that hard to be the two of us in a room finding ideas, so we kept on going like that and finally we did the whole album like that. The other guys were not too far, they were listening to what we were doing and giving their advice and their opinions, it worked like that.

On the other albums it was a bit like that too, but we would rehearse more, the four of us, and talk about the songs. But for this album we just did not have the strength to talk. So for this album it was basically just my brother and I mediating the songs.

KNAC.COM: You mentioned the Cavaleras, who have that same guitarist/drummer arrangement as brothers. Does that help from a creative standpoint, that dynamic, as opposed if you were both guitar players or something?

KNAC.COM: You've described the new album as "a requiem for our planet." Could you explain what you mean by that?

KNAC.COM: Despite your professed optimism, it still sounds like you think we're doomed?

At the same time, I feel this capacity of destroying things inside of me too. I'm a part of this humanity and sometimes I'm jealous or sometimes I'm just stupid or bad or angry toward other people or I don't have compassion. I understand that that is reflecting what is happening with humanity, but I also feel deeply in me some good things, like I like to have other people happy, I like to help other people, I like to make things good for others, for the planet and for myself. I like to think.

So I'm pretty confident because of that, because I feel the dark side and the bright side inside of me, so I'm pretty sure that it's the same thing for everybody, so that's why I chose to be confident about the future.

KNAC.COM: Do people seem to understand where you're coming from, or do they just seem to be confused by it all? Or do they even care? And do you care if they care?