Andrea
Mario Duplantier is an exceptional drummer who has played a pivotal role as the anchor of Gojira since its founding in 2001. His drumming is exceptional in this group as it is artful, and it offers color and shade to the group’s signature light and dark sound. His real name is Mario Francois Duplantier, and he was born in Bayonne, France, on 19 June 1981.
Mario Duplantier boasts of French and American origin. He is also best known as the drummer for the progressive death metal band Gojira. Mario also accepts the name Evil Mario because all those are for the betterment of his music. He has specialized in five major music genres: avant-garde metal, drove metal, technical death metal, progressive metal, and thrash metal. The two significant instruments that Duplantier plays are guitar and drums.
Duplantier was raised in Ondres, South-West Coast of France, by his mother Patricia (a yoga teacher), an American with some roots in Azorean, and his French father, Dominique Duplantier. The latter is a painter/drafter for architectural purposes. His parents met in the 70s when his mother was still a student.
The two fell in love, and later they married and settled in Ondres. In his childhood, Duplantier spent most of his time in his father’s workshop. Growing up in a family with many artists, Duplantier had to find his way into other art types. He was a fan of rock music, The Beatles, Tina Turner, and Michael Jackson‘s music, and she used to bring their music into the house.
This brought a significant influence into this young man’s life and the first music that touched him, ‘Another Ones Bites the Dust by Queen. He later discovered metal through his brother’s Metallica cassette tape. He was pretty impressed by his brother’s guitar plays, and they knew they were going to form a band together.
Her mother brought him the first drum kit because she was supportive. He was encouraged by his parents to develop creativity, and he started playing drums when he was eleven. Duplantier ended up starting his first band in school with his friend Nirvana when he was 12. When he was thirteen, he played his first have double bass drums, and he became a death metal drummer in his band known as Putrid. He was known for his musical maturity when he was thirteen, and he was an absolute perfectionist at that age.
In 1996, the two brothers formed the Godzilla band when Duplantier Mario was only 14. They never took drum lessons, but they made their first two demo albums within a short period. Their mother was supportive, and he was sponsored to join Agostino drum school in France, where he spent about seven years being exposed to Jazz and Afro-Cuban drumming. After completing school, they renamed their band Gojira.
Duplantier is well known for technical and rhythmic heavy precision drumming with extended double kick drum blasts. The two brothers often switch roles during live performances, with Mario playing the guitar while Joe is playing the drums. Mario Duplantier named Sean Reinert, Igor Cavalera, and Lars Ulrich as is influencers. Several instruments endorsed by Duplantier are Tama Superstar drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Ddrum triggers, Tama Dyna-Sync Bass Drum Pedals, and Tama Mario Duplantier Signature Sticks.
