Gojira’s Collaborating with an Opera Singer for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you’re well aware of the fact that the 2024 Summer Olympics will be taking in Paris, France. People are more athletic than you or me will ever be will compete for national pride and personal prestige in their respective sports. Yet before all that, there’s a ton of pageantry to get through with tomorrow’s opening ceremony.

According to a report in Paris newspaper Le Parisien, tomorrow’s event will be a who’s-who of performers, with the likes of Céline Dion, Lady Gaga, and Aya Nakamura joining a wide range of other talents on the Seine. Look at the list, however, and any eagle-eyed metalhead will notice one name in particular: Gojira.

Yes, that’s right — the massive French technical death metal act will be represented in the opening ceremony. But before you get too excited, I wouldn’t expect them to start trotting out some “Stranded” or “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe”. According to the report, the band has teamed up with opera singer Marina Viotti for an original piece of music.

Viotti, to her credit, isn’t your typical opera singer. Sure, she can belt out the classics, but she’s also been known to dabble with other genres including jazz and heavy metal as the vocalist for Soulmaker. According to Sortiaparis, the collab is described as a “wonderful artistic proposition, and one that will surprise many if it is confirmed!”

We won’t have long to wait to find out what that will sound like. The Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m. EST and will be shown on NBC and stream on Peacock and NBC Olympic platforms.