A gigantic, inflatable whale flew over the crowd during metal heavyweights Gojira’s concert in Paris last night – watch video here

Gojira packed an actual flying whale for their ongoing tour of France.

Earlier today (December 1), the French/American heavy metal four-piece shared footage of the gigantic, blow-up whale that they let loose during their sold-out concert at Accor Arena in Paris the night before.

The huge prop floated around the venue during the intro of the band’s 2005 song, Flying Whales, seemingly steered by drones. Watch the video that the band put on Instagram via the player below.

Flying Whales first appeared on Gojira’s 2005 breakthrough album, From Mars To Sirius, and since then the image that the song’s title describes has been associated with the band by a large number of fans. A Facebook group dedicated to the band called Gojira Whaleposting has 19,700 members, and it’s not rare for people to bring their own inflatable whales and throw them around during concerts.

The band’s embracing of the fan fascination with whales comes as something of a surprise, given that in 2021, singer/guitarist Joe Duplantier told this writer that he wasn’t onboard with the idea of people bringing blow-up whales to his concerts.

“I actually dislike fans bringing inflatable whales to shows,” he said. “I’m trying to express something spiritual and otherworldly, and it ends up being a bunch of plastic objects thrown at people. When I look at this paradox, I’m cringing a little bit. But that’s personal. This band is not my band; it’s everybody’s band. They want to come to the show, have fun and do their own thing.”

The November 30 concerts was Gojira’s second time at Accor Arena, following on from their performance there in 2023 during their first arena tour. Hammer attended Gojira’s first performance at the 16,000-capacity arena and interviewed the band backstage before their set, finding them in a surprisingly calm mood.

“Our attitude, from the very beginning, has been: ‘OK, we’re a death metal band from a little town, but technically a show this big is possible’,” Joe told us. “We were always conscious of the fact that a mental attitude can either stop you from something or push you towards what you really want. When you project what you want out there into the world, you make it possible.”

Gojira’s French tour continues at Zénith de Rouen in Le Grand-Quevilly tonight. Comeback Kid and Neckbreakker are the support acts for the shows.