Gojira tour kicks off with Car Bomb's Greg Kubacki filling in on guitar for injured Joe Duplantier

Gojira
(Image credit: Jimmy Fontaine)

Gojira have kicked off a tour of their homeland France with a new face in the lineup – Car Bomb guitarist Greg Kubacki.

Kubacki is filling in for frontman Joe Duplantier, who is unable to perform his guitar parts after injuring his hand just days before the tour launched.

His first performance with the band was at the ReimsArena in Reims on Thursday (November 27). Fan-filmed footage can be viewed below.

Announcing the news in a post on Gojira's social media channels, Duplantier shared an x-ray of his hand and said: "I hurt my hand a few weeks ago. After getting minor surgery, I’m on the mend but unfortunately I won’t be able to play all my guitar parts on the next tour in France.

"No worries though, we hired our good friend Greg Kubacki of the incredible Car Bomb to give us a hand. The mood in our camp is up there, as we’re embarking for an interesting experience on our own turf. Show must go on."

Gojira and Car Bomb go way back, with Duplantier having produced Car Bomb's 2016 album Meta.

In 2018, Kubacki picked his top 10 Gojira songs in a feature for Metal Hammer.

Gojira 2025 France Tour Remaining Dates

Nov 30: Bercy Accor Arena, Paris
Dec 01: Zenith de Rouen, Rouen
Dec 02: Zenith Nantes Metropole, Saint-Herblain
Dec 04: Zenith de Toulouse, Toulouse
Dec 05: Zenith de Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand
Dec 06: Dome Marseille, Marseille
Dec 08: Palais Nikaia, Nice
Dec 09: Areka Arena, Bordeaux
Dec 10: LDLC Arena, Lyon
Dec 12: Zenith of Strasbourg, Strasbourg

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022. 

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