It’s been a good month to be French. Just ask the city of Paris and also Gojira, who are reaping the rewards of not compromising their country’s bloody and graphic history for anything. Oh, that and having metal seen and heard on a national and worldwide audience, something that would make others quite afraid to take a risk as such.
The band’s performance at the opening ceremonies in Paris landed them worldwide attention at the same time. In fact, it particularly catapulted their monthly streaming statistics on Spotify by 2.5-3x, which means that they’re doing numbers, as the kids say.
Hilariously, many on the right think that Gojira’s performance was somehow satanic, along with the Paris Olympic opening ceremonies as a whole. Seriously, this is what some of these people like megaincel Andrew Tate and Skillet’s John Cooper think, and God knows Gojira’s messages of conservation and nature would likely ensure Cooper labeling them “wimpy, weak, and woke”. Just like the book he needs to sell to his Fox News fanbase.
It’s actually really sad to know they feel that way, though. Gojira’s performance is now part of an Olympic opening ceremony that literally made history in France, and the fact that it’s still being talked about over a week after it happened? It’s very significant. The fact that both Gojira and the organizers of the Paris Olympics in 2024 refused to water down their history or sound for a worldwide audience is very important. Whether you’re a very recent fan of the band or you’ve been listening to them since From Mars To Sirius, the fact is that you got to witness literal history. And metal was able to be a part of it.
