Gojira's Joe Duplantier says he and his bandmates felt pressure to represent their community and show the world what heavy metal is all about when they performed at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
The French heavy metal band set the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on fire Friday with an explosive performance of "Ah! Ça Ira" with the experimental opera singer Marina Viotti.
Duplantier told The New York Times before Friday night's performance that their version of the song "Ah! Ça Ira," a tune popular during the French Revolution, had to bring it.
"It was a very bloody era of French history, so it was very metal," Duplantier said of what he considered the "smart" idea to ask a heavy metal band to play the revolutionary anthem.
Despite the pressure they felt, Duplantier said he and his bandmates were committed to representing "the whole metal community on the world stage" at the ceremony that was broadcast all over the globe.
The singer and guitarist also insisted they would not turn down their amps for the Olympics, sticking to Gojira's unique guttural, bruising sound.
For Friday's set, Gojira stood on the walls of a former royal palace and prison called The Conciergerie, now a French national monument and museum, as they performed. The performance also included flames and red streamers, symbolizing blood.
Gojira made history as the first metal band to play at an Olympic opening ceremony.
Their performance came right after a segment dedicated to "Les Misérables," in which a decapitated Marie Antoinette was seen singing.
After their 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony set, the metal band wrote on Instagram: "Paris!!! Une experience inoubliable! [An unforgettable experience!] Once in a lifetime experience. Thank you Paris, you looked good from up there!"
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