Gojira Makes A Whale Of A Sound.

Byline: Curtis Ross

Mar. 30--Like many visitors to the United States, Frenchman Joe Duplantier notices some of its differences with his homeland. "People are a bit bigger, louder, taller," Duplantier says. "There are plenty of wide-open spaces. At home, everything is a bit smaller. When we speak we are more quiet." Not that Duplantier is complaining, mind you.

"It's very refreshing," Duplantier says. "People are very friendly. I love being here." Duplantier should feel at home in the States, because the music he makes is anything but small and quiet. Duplantier fronts Gojira, a band that single-handedly lays waste to the notion that "French" …