Mastodon, Gojira and Kvelertak: An Epic Joint Interview | Revolver

Mastodon, Gojira and Kvelertak: An Epic Joint Interview

Metal leviathans take their unholy alliance once more 'round the sun for a fall of blood and thunder
mastojira michael anderson, Michael Anderson
photograph by Michael Anderson

It was so nice, they simply had to do it twice. After rampaging across our fine continent together for three weeks this spring, Mastodon, Gojira and Kvelertak have decided to rejoin forces this fall for another North American tour.

The killer triple bill features three very different yet incredibly complimentary strains of heaviosity, with the added attraction of Mastodon offering up a fair amount of songs from the new Once More 'Round the Sun album in their set list. "Going into this summer, we'd only worked up three of the new songs as a band," explains vocalist-bassist Troy Sanders. "It always takes us awhile to re-learn new stuff, especially figuring out who's singing what over what part. For this tour, we're hoping to learn the whole record in its entirety, and be able to pick and choose which songs we're playing each night."

When Revolver convened this roundtable conversation, Sanders was relaxing at home in Atlanta between European festival dates, while Gojira leader Joe Duplantier and Kvelertak frontman Erlend Hjelvik were calling in from Oslo, Norway, where there respective bands were playing the Øya Festival. ("We've just arrived at the hotel and I feel like shit," laughed Duplantier.) But even over a dodgy transatlantic phone connection, the love and respect that the three bands have for each other came through loud and clear.

REVOLVER You guys have already done one U.S. tour together this year. Why do it again?
TROY SANDERS
Because it's perfect. [Laughs] It's like when my mom used to cook the weekly family meal that made everyone very happy when it came to the table. I like food analogies, and I think Kvelertak, Gojira and us is a very wholesome meal for any fan of heavy rock music. It pleases everyone, I think!

JOE DUPLANTIER Yeah, that's a great analogy. Every night was such a blast for all of us, and the fans were going crazy at every show. It's very special to have that high level of energy with every band on the bill. It's awesome.

ERLEND HJELVIK The first one with Mastodon and Gojira was the best U.S. tour we'd ever done. The turnout was great and the audience was perfect. Those were the best shows we've ever done in the States, I think.

Are there any particular highlights that stand out for you from that tour?
SANDERS
I think the highlight for me was noticing how every show people would come early because they wanted to see what Kvelertak is about. And I think they're easily one of the rawest rock bands I've ever played with, toured with or watched. They have something very, very special, and I was glad to see people wanting to be there for them. And then you've got Gojira, who are about as powerful as it gets for a live band. They replicate their records phenomenally, and they sound amazing, and their performance is tighter than hell. And it's great when you really respect the bands that play before you, because that only makes me and my band want to play really well and continue the evening's worth of music. You've got a kick-ass, raw rock-and-roll band in Kvelertak, you've got the spectacular precision of Gojira, and then you've got whatever we are—it's three different flavors under the umbrella of heavy rock music. It's not three hours of the same sound, and I think every band is very special. The first tour went great, and I think if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I was just glad that both bands wanted to try this again.

DUPLANTIER I wanted to say something about this Mastodon thing. Everybody's excited to support this phenomenon that's happened with Mastodon. It is so refreshing, so amazing to see such a good band become so successful without selling out. We are so excited to be part of this trip… There's always something good with any band we open for, but with Mastodon, it feels like they have the whole package.

SANDERS You're very nice, Joe! [Laughs]

HJELVIK Like Troy said, the people showing up early for us, that was great. But it was just super inspiring to be on tour with two of the best live bands I've ever seen—it was fun to watch them kick ass onstage every night! So we're looking forward to seeing that again, and there are places in the States like Florida where we haven't been yet, so we're looking forward to that, too.

Were there any backstage shenanigans of note happening during the last tour? Any LARPing going on, like in the new Mastodon video?
SANDERS
Hmmm…

DUPLANTIER It's pretty quiet backstage. We're doing our jobs. I don't want to sound boring, but it's difficult to go out on the road—especially when you're not 18 anymore. We try to do well onstage. Everybody's very focused on what they do, and the crew and the bands alike are trying to be very professional. I think everybody's really in the same mindset, that they want to put on a great, great show. It's not what people think it is, sometimes. But we do have moments at least once a day where everybody is getting together, talking or having a drink, and it's great! But everybody knows why they're here. It's nice to be on the road with a bunch of people who are used to touring—that helps, that everybody knows what's up. Sometimes you need a little privacy, or whatever, and everyone is very respectful. There is a great, great vibe on the tour!

SANDERS Yeah, there's a very popular misconception that bands on tour are just fucking raging 100 percent full-on every moment. I would love to ride rollercoasters everyday and worship goat's blood all night long, but that's just not the reality of things. [Laughs]

DUPLANTIER It's a very musical atmosphere, actually. I shared a lot of moments with [Mastodon guitarists] Bill [Kelliher] and Brent [Hinds], where we would be jamming on guitar, showing each other tricks, things like that. That was very cool!

SANDERS Really, between calling home, trying to find a toilet, eating food, doing a soundcheck and doing your show, your whole day is done!

So the search for a toilet is usually a major expedition?
SANDERS
It's the first adventure of every day!

DUPLANTIER You wake up and you want to go to the toilet, but you don't know where you are. You remember where it was the night before, but now you're in a different place. It's very disorienting. Sometimes you'll wake up in a parking lot, with fans around the bus. You'll come out of the bus looking like shit and you want to take a shit, and there are a bunch of people who want to talk to you. [Laughs] You know, it's an adventure!

HJELVIK I just shit on the bus! [Laughs]

Is there anything nonmusical that you bring on tour in order to keep yourself sane?
HJELVIK
I myself really love comic books. When the day is over, I go into my bunk and I read comics—or I watch movies. It's a very good way to wind down. My bandmates and I also like to play backgammon, actually!

SANDERS Me and my bandmates get caught up on all our movies when we're on tour, because there's so much down time at the end of the evening. We'll plow through 10-15 movies a week, which is great.

DUPLANTIER I'll always bring a book with me on tour—but I'll always end up using that book as a pillow, or something. I never really read anything on tour! [Laughs]

What was the first show you ever saw with three great bands on it?
SANDERS
The one that I remember was Clash of the Titans in, like, 1991, and it was Slayer, Anthrax, and Alice In Chains. I was quite young, so that was beyond impressive to me. I was maybe 15 years old, and that was the first show I can remember where I really fell in love with all three bands. And Slayer scared me! [Laughs]

HJELVIK Those kind of package shows were very uncommon in Norway. I can remember going to shows with three bands, but usually it was one really cool band, and the other two were locals. So I can't actually think of one.

DUPLANTIER I grew up in the countryside, in an area where almost nothing was happening, musically. It's a very beautiful place, the south of France—lots of good food and wine—but I wasn't able to see many shows. Once in awhile, a punk band or something would come through, and I would go to see the show because it was the only thing happening. I remember seeing Metallica with Corrosion of Conformity, though I didn't know C.O.C. at the time. But now we are on a tour with three great bands! [Laughs]