Gojira’s Joe Duplantier officially joins ESP after debuting new guitar at Paris Olympics opening ceremony

Gojira‘s Joe Duplantier is now an ESP artist after fuelling rumours that he had joined the Japanese brand during their performance at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

Duplantier has historically been a Charvel signature artist, but the instrument he was playing during their performance of French Revolution song Ah! Ça Ira didn’t look like a Charvel at all. Instead, he was playing an offset Jazzmaster-style guitar with a shiny gun metal finish that very much looked like an ESP.

• READ MORE: Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier on activism, metal purists and sweating the small stuff

His new guitar was notably different from others he has played in the past. It only has one humbucker and a bridge made by EverTune, a relatively new feature for ESP guitars, while its body shape and reverse headstock is also rather different from guitars he has previously played.

Now, Duplantier has been welcomed to the ESP roster by director of artist relations, Tony Rauser. “I’m extremely proud to officially welcome Joe Duplantier of Gojira to the ESP family,” reads a statement posted to Instagram. “The epic debut of Joe’s custom chrome ESP happened at the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony. It was a historic moment for Gojira and for Metal! Plus ESP in Olympics? Truly wild.”

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A post shared by Tony Rauser (@tonyrauser)

It transpires that Duplantier was playing a custom XJ at the Olympics. It has not yet been confirmed what his signature model might look like, but perhaps the chrome XJ might give us a clue.

Duplantier wasn’t the only member of Gojira to be brandishing a new instrument either – fellow guitarist Christian Andreu had a new guitar too, a new version of his Jackson signature.