Gojira Made a Bunch of New Fans After 2024 Paris Olympics Performance

Having a metal band open or even playing the Olympics, in general, was already a big feat for the genre. Add in satanic imagery and a headless queen and it becomes an all-out fuckin miracle to be seen on the world stage like that. It was a damn honor to see Gojira up there reppin’ metal, drawing more minions to the dark side, and there’s actual proof of how successful the conversion was. According to Spotify, the uptick in Gojira’s streaming numbers from pre- and post-Olympic performance was by a lot. Like, a whole lot.

In the week since the opening ceremony, Gojira’s monthly Spotify total listeners went up by about a million — or about 50% — from where it was on July 26. As of August 2, the band’s monthly listenership shot up from 1.8 million to 2.7 million and, at the time of my writing this, they’re sitting at a hefty 2.9 million (all numbers rounded up to the nearest million as listed on Spotify, or whatever). That is fuckin tight.

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve seen the performance and understand why. At the point in their set dedicated to French liberty, they were joined by opera singer Marina Viotti to do a metal rendition of the French revolutionary song “Ah Ça Ira” which basically means “It will be okay.” That’s a message all of us needed to hear, not just the Parisians but everyone in the world since it seems like nothing is okay right now.

Accompanying the equal parts positive and pitiless performance were beautiful visuals. An eloquently bloodied and beheaded Marie Antoinette was the main focus at first for those watching at home, the camera fully fixed on the head she was holding (which was hers, duh). The camera pans out, revealing the band perched at different parts along the Conciergerie walls. In case you didn’t know, that was the castle Antoinette was imprisoned in at one point. Epic.

Gojira are hitting the road for a US tour next month with Korn and Spiritbox. Check out all the dates here.