Rock in Rio has just confirmed one of the greatest progressive death metal bands in history to join the lineup for this edition. The French band Gojira will take to the World Stage on September 2nd, the same day that Iron Maiden is the main attraction. The group, formed by Joe Duplantier (vocals and guitar), Mario Duplantier (drums), Christian Andreu (guitar) and Jean-Michel Labadie (bass), will replace Megadeth , who were also scheduled to perform on the 2nd.
The band's latest release, Fortitude , from 2021, was considered one of the best albums of the year and earned Gojira their third Grammy nomination. The album's standout track, "Amazonia," was also nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the awards. Fortitude also marked the biggest chart debuts of Gojira's career, entering Billboard at number 1, and simultaneously reaching number one on Billboard's "Top Current Albums," "Current Rock Albums," and "Current Hard Music Albums" charts.
This will be the group's second appearance at Rock in Rio. In 2015, the band was acclaimed by the festival audience on the heavy metal day, and the drummer was considered by critics to be one of the highlights of that edition.