Gojira’s Powerful Song ‘Amazonia’ Brings Memories of Sepultura’s ‘Roots’
Gojira have just released their latest single, “Amazonia,” and it brings the feel of Sepultura’s Roots into the 2020s. The song was written as a vehicle for environmental activism, with Gojira launching a fundraising effort on behalf of Brazil’s indigenous tribes.
“The greatest miracle is burning to the ground,” Joe Duplantier sings in “Amazonia.” His voice reels with pain for the large sections of the Amazon that have burned down in the last few years, largely caused by deforestation, and farmers and loggers clearing land for crops or grazing.
“Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, often for agricultural purposes, creates conditions that are conducive for fires,” Purdue University reports. “Researchers at Purdue University, the University of Lleida and the Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia in Spain used remote sensing technology to show that 85 percent of the Amazon rainforest fires of 2019 were in areas that had been deforested just the year before.”
Gojira use indigenous folk instruments on “Amazonia,” adding another layer of activism upon Duplantier’s lyrics.
The band have also partnered with Propeller to launch a charity auction for The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil. Items being auctioned include a Joe Duplantier signature guitar hand engraved by the Gojira frontman himself, a hand engraved bass from Metallica’s Rob Trujillo and wife Chloe Trujillo, items from Slayer, Lamb of God and more. Fans can check out the charity auction here.
“Despite the fact that I think humans are pretty fucked up and a part of me wishes that humans disappear from this planet to leave these poor animals alone, I believe in the potential of us human beings,” Joe Duplantier recently told Full Metal Jackie. “I think we have beautiful things to offer, and I still wished to see that best that we have inside of us come out and that's what I'm trying to do on an artistic level and the human level in my everyday life.”
“That's what we wanted to express in this album too, to see people give their best and be strong and to not despair and to project a positive image for their future and for our future, and through discipline and decision and the right intentions, we can better ourselves and better display. So it's almost by default the energy and the message we choose versus, ah, let it burn.”
Watch Gojira’s new video for “Amazonia” below and read the lyrics below too.
Gojira, "Amazonia" Lyrics
Incite a riot, put yourself in a trance
You rotate the frame in a world you rely on
A scar, a line has been drawn in the sand
Behold the life, the boundaries fools will crushThe greatest miracle
Is burning to the groundOnto the next stage of the plan
Mourn the witness of the wind
A hand full of thunder
Will rise one last timeThere’s fire in the sky
You’re in the Amazon
The greatest miracle
Is burning to the groundGodly Amazonia
Bloody Amazonia
Mighty Amazonia
Killing AmazoniaBurn the land
Learn the endBurn
Another Gold mine is unveiled
The source of our sorrow
Learn
Embedded in these walls of green
Is the curse that we follow
There’s fire in the sky
You’re in the Amazon
The greatest miracle
Is burning to the groundMighty Amazonia
Killing Amazonia
Godly Amazonia
Bloody Amazonia
Gojira - Amazonia [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
Gojira Fortitude Album Art + Track Listing
01. “Born For One Thing”
02. “Amazonia”
03. “Another World”
04. “Hold On”
05. “New Found”
06. “Fortitude”
07. “The Chant”
08. “Sphinx”
09. “Into The Storm”
10. “The Trails”
11. “Grind”