“I first heard Queen on the radio and my brother Joe [Duplantier, Gojira frontman] was really enjoying the music. He played some of their music one day and I was really into [hums note-perfect rendition of Another One Bites The Dust’s drums and bassline]. The groove was just so perfect. I was just 10 or 11 years old, but I really enjoyed that groove and I said [in a whiny, baby voice] ‘I really want this album!’ So it wasn’t actually the first album I ever bought; it was a present for Christmas, it was my first ever personal cassette.
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“Another One Bites The Dust is my favourite song on it, just because of the bass and drums. We actually played on the same bill as Queen [with Adam Lambert] at Rock In Rio in Brazil last year. We played the day before, so we were at the airport to play another show; we were in this van that brought us from the hotel to the stage, and we had this TV in the van so I ended up watching their show from there!
“Freddie Mercury is the best singer – he was the best in the world. His voice was so catchy and emotional, so empowering. The drummer [Roger Taylor] and his simplicity with the beat is still an example for me to this day. I try to challenge myself to stay simple when I drum; it’s not so easy to serve the music and just leave the technique to one side. You can make the song better by making it simpler, like that one [hums another note-perfect rendition of Another One Bites The Dust’s drums and bassline]. It’s so simple but it served the music so well. It’s just pure genius to me.”
Gojira are on tour in support of their new album Magma, out now through Roadrunner.
