As a musician, there are certain career benchmarks that let you know you’ve finally made it. Headlining tour? Huge deal. Festival headliner? Massive accomplishment. But having a 190-million-year-old fossil named after you? That’s the real shit, the Cohibas. And that’s exactly what French experimental metal act Gojira have accomplished, having had a fossil named after the band and another named after frontman and drummer Joe and Mario Duplantier!
The find comes from paleontologists Lea Numberger and Ben Thuy, who have in the past named fossils after The Ocean, Between The Buried and Me, and more.
“Meet Ophiogojira, a 190-million-year old brittle star named after Gojira,” announced the band via social media. “The new fossil comprises two species, Ophiogojira labadiei and Ophiogojira andreui, honoring Gojira’s Jean-Michel Labadie and Christian Andreu, respectively. A third closely related fossil from the same collection was named after Joe and Mario Duplantier: Ophioduplantiera noctiluca. The new fossils were discovered by paleontologists Lea Numberger and Ben Thuy from the Natural History Museum Luxembourg, and biologist Tania Pineda from the Florida Museum of Natural History. Gojira are now part of Earth’s history, and a small step closer to immortality.”
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Catch Gojira (the band, not the fossil) on their 2022 tour with Deftones at one of the following dates:
04/14 Portland, OR – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
04/16 Seattle, WA – WaMu Theatre
04/18 San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
04/20 Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
04/22 Las Vegas, NV – The Cosmopolitan (new show)
04/23 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre
04/25 Denver, CO – Ball Arena
04/28 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheatre
04/30 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
05/02 Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
05/03 San Antonio, TX – AT & T Center
05/06 Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
05/07 Nashville, TN – Municipal Auditorium (new show)
05/08 Cincinnati, OH – ICON Music Center (new show)
05/10 Indianapolis, IN -TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
05/11 Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
05/13 Boston, MA – Agganis Arena
05/14 Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage
05/15 New York City, NY – Pier 17
05/17 Washington DC – The Anthem
05/18 Philadelphia, PA – The Met
05/19 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
05/21 Laval, QC – Place Bell
05/22 Toronto, ON – Echo Beach
05/24 Detroit, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
05/26 Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
05/27 Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
05/28 Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
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Words by Chris Krovatin
