Gojira’s Joe Duplantier stunned guitar fans worldwide when he strapped on a chrome-finished ESP XJ at the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony, delivering riffs to over a billion viewers. Long known for his Charvel signature model, the move had many fans asking: what’s going on with Joe and ESP?
Now, in a new interview with Guitar World, Duplantier clears the air—and offers some surprising insights into where his guitar journey might go next.
“People talk about instruments almost like marriage – ‘How could you? I thought everything was going well!'” Duplantier said. “It’s not like that, okay? Can everybody relax?! I love Charvel and I’m proud of the signature we made. Nothing went wrong. But I’m just a dude who wants to have fun and try new things.
“From Fender to Gibson, I just love guitars. I’ve had a relationship with ESP for years. Hetfield personally hooked me up with them. He actually picked up the phone and said, ‘Dude, have you tried an ESP?’ I still use my signature Charvel on stage, and I’ll continue to. I just wanted to experiment in other fields. It feels like I’m expanding, and ESP have a lot to offer. I’m not cheating on anyone – I want all the instruments!”
The Metallica connection played a major role in Duplantier’s ESP journey. “The Metallica connection was a big part of it,” he admitted. “Bill from Mastodon loves ESP and I’ve played his guitar a bunch of times. I’ve been talking to [artist relations head] Tony Rauser about making something different to what I’ve done before.”
That “something different” turned out to be the chrome ESP XJ crafted for the Olympics – a guitar that instantly became one of the most talked-about instruments of the summer.
ESP themselves described the moment: “The debut of Joe Duplantier as an ESP artist coincided with Gojira’s appearance at the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. 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.”
Duplantier’s move isn’t just about adding another guitar brand to his arsenal – it’s about embracing a new stage persona.
“I’m in a phase of life where I accept myself more as a frontman,” he said. “I used to go on stage with dark shirts, jeans and guitars, looking like a black hole. I don’t know if it’s a midlife crisis, but enough is enough – I want to shine on stage! Maybe I’ll design a mirror guitar, so I can blind people with the spotlight!”
Whether ESP will help him realize that reflective dream remains to be seen, but fans have already gotten a taste of what happens when Duplantier breaks out of his usual shadows – and it shines bright.
While the Mirror ESP XJ isn’t available anywhere, you can at least get one of ESP’s production models here.
