The ESP Guitar Company

Over the past nearly 50 years since ESP opened our doors, we’ve been blessed with some of the world’s most respected and influential guitar and bass players who chose to be part of our artist endorsee roster. The latest addition to our artist family is Joe Duplantier, the rhythm guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of Gojira.

Hailing from France and founded in 1996, the band's lineup — including brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier, along with Christian Andreu and Jean-Michel Labadie — has been consistent since the band set its name as Gojira 23 years ago in 2001.

Since then, Gojira has released seven studio albums, three live DVDs, and is the first French band to top the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. Gojira is considered one of France's most successful musical exports. They’ve received Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance. Throughout their career, the band has been lauded for their innovative, technically-precise sound, and has been involved in environmental, human rights, and animal rights activism.

The debut of Joe Duplantier as an ESP artist coincided with Gojira’s appearance at the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games on Friday, July 26, 2024. Joe performed the show, with total viewership that exceeded one billion people (!), using a very special chrome-finished ESP XJ model that we custom-crafted for the occasion.

We are honored to have Joe as part of our artist family and look forward to a great relationship with him as an ESP artist. More details about Joe and his choice of ESP will be available soon.