Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy Says Gojira are “The Most Important Metal Band” Right Now

Dive just beneath the surface with Alter Bridge and you will quickly realize three songs: 1) they’re stellar musicians, 2) they’re even more stellarer people, 3) they know their metal. Guitarist Mark Tremonti proved it on camera with us a few years back, and now vocalist Myles Kennedy has done the same.

In a new interview with Sweden’s RockSverige, Kennedy spoke about “Native Son,” a track on Alter Bridge’s latest album, Walk the Sky, saying that his love for Gojira had a heavy influence on the track:

“When I wrote that riff, I had certainly been listening to a lot of Gojira, so it was something that I could see was totally rubbing off on what I was feeling at the moment. I think that they’re, in my opinion, the most important metal band out there right now. They´re moving the needle as far as newer bands go… bands within the last two decades. They blow my mind and the cool thing about Gojira is that they’re also incredibly cool guys, for as talented as they are. They’re really just stand up, great individuals, so I’m definitely rooting for them. They’re special.

“I think it’s just that it’s smart. It´s not just pure cookie cutter metal riffs. To me, it’s not status quo. They’re trying to do something unique between the way Joe (Duplantier, guitar, vocals) approaches things with his guitar parts and his brother (Mario Duplantier), who’s a genius drummer… I think a lot of the rhythms that take place under a lot of the riffs really help establish their sound and that’s part of what makes them so unique. I mean, I could just go on and on. There are just so many elements and the visual elements are great too. Their production is amazing and they’ve just got all the boxes checked. They’re really a ground breaking band and they’re going to be around for a long time.”

We tend to agree, of course — we’ve been Gojira fans for a loooong time — as do the 180 metal musicians and industry insiders who voted in our 25 Best Metal Albums of 2010-2019 poll, voting Gojira’s Magma into the #1 spot.

Alter Bridge are on tour now while Gojira are busy readying a new record.