Image: Gojira - Official Press Photo
Gojira rocked the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but also had to defend themselves against blatant accusations that their performance was "satanic".
The metal kings from France Gojira rocked a fierce version of the French revolutionary song "Ah! Ça Ira" at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 26 July - with epic images of a decapitated Marie Antoinette and lots of pyro. But some people on the internet called the performance "satanic" and "pure evil".
In an interview with Rolling Stone, frontman Joe Duplantier addressed the accusations, saying:
"It’s none of that. It’s French history. It’s French charm, you know, beheaded people, red wine, and blood all over the place – it’s romantic, it’s normal. There’s nothing satanic (laughs)."
Joe further explained:
"France is a country that made a separation between the state and religion during the revolution. It’s all about history and facts. We don’t look too closely at symbolism in terms of religion."
He also mentioned that he plans to use the attention on Gojira to spread positive ideas:
"We are extremely honored and thought it was a great thing for the metal community. But that doesn’t mean we have nothing to say, and I will use the buzz around the band to maybe spread a few ideas here and there."
