Progressive groove titans Gojira are among the heaviest bands to emerge in the 21st century. While fans would assume that the members of Gojira were in pursuit of the heaviest music they could find upon first getting into heavy metal, you'll be surprised to know that vocalist and guitarist Joe Duplantier initially couldn't handle Slayer's brutality.

"I remember the first time I heard [Slayer], it was too much for me — it was too fast, too evil… it was too everything; it was too much," Duplantier told BBC Radio 1's Daniel P. Carter (transcription via Blabbermouth). "I was very intrigued by it," he continued, "I'm, like, 'Why is it too much?' It's so evil — the notes, the tones, the playing, the drums, the solos, the vocals. There's something hard to explain about Slayer that makes it so evil."

Duplantier eventually grew to love Slayer, circling back to them when he was about 18 or 19. "My teenage years, being into Metallica, I was then into death metal and then I was ready for Slayer — to go back and listen to Slayer," he recalled, noting, "South of Heaven was a big thing for me."

In 2013, Gojira, in support of L'Enfant Sauvage, toured with Slayer. At this time, Duplantier told Loudwire, "For me it was something really mystical and scary and deep. I felt the depth of the music right away. Even if I wasn’t a fan, I was kind of scared almost. I was 12 or 13 and I was like, 'What is this?' The visuals, the logo, the skulls and all that it was odd."

It's been over two years since Gojira released Magma, but fans can rest easy as there's new music on the way. In fact, Duplantier confirmed the group is writing over 100 songs for their next record. Presumably, they'll cut that number down considerably for the upcoming release.

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