Despite the utterly ridiculous backlash from conservative right-wing commentators, the 2024 Paris Olympics has so far been a huge success for ratings. The opening ceremonies alone were watched by almost 29 million people, which is the most since 2012. Much of the talk centered around the Paris presentation of the ceremonies, with two moments in particular being singled out – Celine Dion’s comeback, and metal being recognized on the world’s stage with an uncompromising performance by Gojira. Gojira is not a new band, of course. The French metal veterans existed for quite a few years before 2005’s breakout album From Mars To Sirius put them into the greater consciousness.
But there have been few moments throughout the history of metal that were as important as this one. A French metal band, performing in the capital of their homeland, for millions of people to see live on television. A headless figure of Marie Antoinette joined them, along with opera singer Marina Viotti. And Gojira did not compromise their sound for Network television. It was an unmistakably loud and metal moment, especially when you consider that the song they covered was one popular during the French Revolution.
The performance is already having reverberations through the music scene, too. For Gojira, they’ve seen their monthly Spotify listeners increase by 1.5 million in the last few days alone. King of the incels, Andrew Tate, called them Satanic – as did others on the far-right. The same band that writes songs about flying whales and the Amazon rainforest. We are SO back.
And they’re *still* trending on social media as we speak, with a lot more than just the metal community talking about them. The fact that Gojira’s music has now been exposed to an audience that might not have heard them otherwise (or any metal at all) is a big-time cultural moment. These effects won’t soon go away, either. They did not play it safe for the greater public at large, Gojira simply operated as themselves, telling the story of their homeland in all its bloody history.
For anyone who’s even remotely a fan of heavy music, it was a moment for outsiders to have the art they love seen on one of the world’s biggest stages. Especially for those who’ve been Gojira fans since their early years, it’s special seeing a band on a global stage that you may have seen play to a few hundred people or so. Yet, the opportunity for the entire genre to enter the spotlight was given. And Gojira, despite feeling the pressure to represent the entire metal community, embraced the challenge and did things their way. Did you really expect anything else, though?
