Gojira have announced that drummer Mario Duplantier will be unable to join them for their US festival dates due to “visa issues”, and confirmed that another drummer named Luigi will be temporarily joining as a replacement.
The French metal icons made the announcement on social media earlier this week, just days before they were set to perform at Rock Fest in Wisconsin last night (Thursday July 16).
According to the update, the drummer was still “dealing with an immigration issue” which had “made it impossible for him to travel to the US in time for our shows”.
“Mario is heartbroken not to be here with us and has fought hard every step of the way to find a solution,” they added, before saying that the shows would still be going ahead as planned as they had enlisted Paleface Swiss’ drummer to step in at the last minute.
“We’re so grateful for the incredible Luigi Paraventi of Paleface Swiss, who has stepped in on short notice,” the post went on.
With a nod to Mario and Luigi being brothers from the iconic Nintendo game franchise, they added: “Player two has entered the game — RESPECT. We can’t wait to see you all out there!!”
Following the set in Wisconsin last night, Gojira are now set to take to the stage at Upheaval Festival in Michigan tonight (Friday July 17), followed by a set at the Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Ohio tomorrow (Saturday July 18).
All dates come following their recent run of UK and European tour dates supporting Metallica, which wrapped up with two nights at London Stadium earlier this month.
Gojira aren’t the only artists to have their US live shows affected by visa issues lately either. Back in May Enter Shikari told fans that they had been forced to scrap their entire North American tour due to similar issues, and in 2025 FKA Twigs cancelled all of her US ‘EUSEXUA’ tour dates for the same reason.
Gojira haven’t released an album since 2021’s ‘Fortitude’, although they have dropped two standalone singles since then: 2022’s ‘Our Time Is Now’ and 2024’s ‘Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)’ which they performed at that year’s Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
