TOPSHOT – Gojira band Heavy Metal musicians perform during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 … [+] Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 26, 2024. (Photo by Zhang Yuwei / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ZHANG YUWEI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Gojira’s performance at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony is already cementing itself as a monumental moment in the band’s career, and consequently a groundbreaking moment for heavy music. 24 hours leading up to Gojira’s fiery and unrelentingly heavy spectacle, French news outlets had only just begun reporting that Gojira were slated to play the opening ceremony among monumental mainstream figures like Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura, and Celine Dion. The news alone was breaking waves in metal media corners, and as I initially reported the news actually made Gojira the first metal band to ever perform at the Olympics.
However, not much was known outside of the fact that Gojira would be doing a collaborative performance with opera singer Marina Viotti. There was no telling how involved Gojira would be sonically and visually in the performance, and it would be no surprise if Gojira were a shadowed backing band or less in the spotlight, given the fact metal music isn’t as well respected in the mainstream and it certainly doesn’t have the best reputation under the mainstream spotlight.
All that being said, Gojira pulled no punches and delivered the most unrelentingly heavy performances to ever grace a global mainstream event. Performing ‘Ah! Ça Ira,’ a popular song during the French Revolution, Gojira and opera singer Marina Viotti were joined by a plethora of beheaded figures representing the Queen Marie Antoinette. Right from the onset, the brutal aesthetics laid out the the perfect tone for the rebellious metal mayhem that ensued.
The swarm of pyrotechnics coupled with Gojira’s pinch harmonic squeals and rapid fire rhythms was nothing short of what they produce at their live shows. Opera singer Marina Viotti also performed tremendously well with the band, though her performance was fairly short yet sweet in comparison. In fact, surprisingly much of the spotlight was centered on Gojira for the majority of the performance. It certainly played in the band’s favor the fact they were positioned atop such epic scenery, specifically the Conciergerie — a former prison and residence of French kings during the French Revolution.
While the metal community was unsurprisingly ecstatic after witnessing Gojira at the opening ceremony, mainstream news outlets were actually just as thrilled, with USA Today going as far as to say Gojira “stole the show.” The reactions and the performance itself have undoubtedly highlighted Gojira as one of most formidable band’s in heavy music, and massive props are owed to the Olympics and the opening ceremony director Thomas Jolly as well as musical director Victor le Masne for showcasing Gojira and extreme music on one of the most televised and celebrated events in the world. With that Gojira not only made history as the first metal band to perform at the olympics, but for putting on one of the most spectacular opening ceremony performances in the Games’ history.
