Gojira. The whole world has been talking about this word since the incredible performance of the metal band at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Hanging from the windows of the Conciergerie, the four Landes musicians offered an explosive show, with a metal version of the revolutionary song “Ah ça ira”, with decapitated characters, flames, red streamers to represent the blood and the arrival of the lyrical singer MARINA Viotti for an epic meeting of genres. Seen by more than a billion viewers, this performance had an immediate effect since streaming of Gojira exploded by 282% in France and by 129% in the rest of the world, allowing the group to go from 1.8 to 2.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. It’s a bit surreal. We’ve been working on it for months. Since we were contacted by the Olympic Committee, (…) I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, because it seemed completely surreal. The number of people who were going to see us live kind of overshadowed the moment. ” enthuses singer Joe Duplantier Rolling Stone : ” The reality of the moment was absolutely breathtaking, from where we were, at the Conciergerie, and the view we had, with all the Olympic teams passing by by boat. “.
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“It’s the history of France!”
However, the ceremony was not without controversy and some were offended by Gojira’s performance. This was the case for right-wing and far-right politicians, but also for the very controversial American businessman Andrew Tate, who spoke of a sequence ” satanic ” because of the severed heads and the (fake) blood sprays. But what is the real story? ” That’s not it at all. That’s the history of France. ” Joe Duplantier complains: ” It’s the French charm, you know, the decapitated people, the red wine, the blood everywhere – it’s romantic, it’s normal. There’s nothing satanic about it. “And he takes the opportunity to remind us that ” France is a country that separated the State and the Church during the Revolution » : « And this is something very important, very dear to the foundation of republican France. We call it secularism. The State is no longer religious, so it is free in terms of expression and symbolism. It is a question of history, of historical facts. “.
“A great thing for the metal community”
Despite everything, the Gojira singer says he is happy with the international impact of the group since this explosive live, which allows things to move forward on a metal scene very little represented in the media. The metal community is ecstatic. We are a very tight community, we keep an eye on each other and we work together, we tour together, we support each other. A lot of people have expressed their support and joy after [la performance]. Maybe people will think metal isn’t so bad after watching these three minutes. ” smiles the musician, happy that Gojira was chosen instead of other big names of the genre like Metallica or AC/DC: ” For me, I see it as a challenge in 2024 to give hope to people and to show something original. (…) We are extremely honored and we think it is a great thing for the metal community “.
Satanists control the west and they show you that they worship the devil.
It’s not a conspiracy theory.
They literally show you.
Are you blind?
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) July 26, 2024
And the first effects are starting to be felt: while some are calling for the creation of a metal category at the Victoires de la Musique or for Metallica to come to the Super Bowl 2025, the Conciergerie has seen its number of visitors explode since last Friday. For its part, MARINA Viotti is also pleased to have made progress: ” If it helps remove the satanic, violent clichés stuck to this music, it makes me happy. “.
