Gojira frontman-guitarist Joe Duplantier has admitted that his band may have accidently ripped off their upcoming tourmates in Mastodon with the cover art for 2021's Fortitude. When Gojira first unveiled the album artwork for their latest opus, many fans on the internet were quick to note the similarities it shares with the cover of Mastodon's 2017 album Emperor of Sand. Both images center some kind of ancient being, decked out in impressive armor, holding a staff in their right hands and staring directly into the viewer's eyes.
They're definitely pretty damn reminiscent of one another, and in a new interview with Resurrection Fest's YouTube channel, Duplantier finally addressed the mini-scandal — also noting this isn't the first time a Gojira album cover resembled a Mastodon record jacket.
"I gotta say this — it's possible that we ripped off Mastodon unconsciously," Duplantier said with a laugh. "I did the cover and I remember I was really [into] the idea of the Knights of the Round Table and the indigenous culture, and I wanted to do a mix of that.
"Then after the album was released, I saw a comment of somebody comparing [Fortitude to Emperor of Sand] and I'm like, 'that's bullshit!' Then I took the Mastodon cover and our cover and I'm like, 'It does look similar. It's true.' It's not the first time it happened — the whale [too]."
While Fortitude and Emperor of Sand's covers do look somewhat alike, "the whale" thing Duplantier's talking about is a bit more of a stretch. Mastodon's 2004 album, Leviathan, a concept record partially based on Moby Dick, features a massive whale bursting out of the sea and sending a ship into peril. Gojira's 2005 album, From Mars to Sirius, also has a whale on its cover, but it's a completely different looking whale that's floating calmly next to a massive planet. You'd have to be really liberal with what you consider a "rip-off" if you think Gojira are in the wrong there.
Anyways, compare the Fortitude and Emperor of Sand album covers below and decide for yourself how similar they are. Then, check out Duplantier's full interview with Resurrection Fest after the jump.
