3x Grammy® nominated French metal band Gojira, composer Victor le Masne, and opera singer Marina Viotti have unleashed the official audio from their performance of “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)” from the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. The epic song is available to stream and download HERE.
Gojira made history as the first metal band to ever perform at the Olympic Games during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France on July 26. Working alongside composer Victor le Manse, the quartet injected their signature heavy riffs and punishing rhythms into the French Revolution-era song “Ah! Ça ira!”. Joined by French-Swiss mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and nearly 300 classical musicians, Gojira performed from the windows of Paris’ iconic Concierge amidst a grand spectacle of pyrotechnics. The performance made international headlines and was widely regarded as one of the most talked about moments from the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Speaking exclusively to Rolling Stone following the performance, Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier commented, “We took it as an opportunity to represent the metal scene. So it was our task to really go for it and lay it down, not just be there and play a few notes to shock people. We decided to go full-on with double-kick drums, screaming, growling, epic moments, and a tempo breakdown at the end; we really wanted to show what metal is all about.”
Gojira bend extremes to their whim, emerging as an entrancing enigma equally driven by intuition and intensity. Balancing metallic proficiency, primal grooves, and otherworldly melodies, the French quartet continues to facilitate heavy music’s progression into the future by burning down all boundaries.
Next month, Gojira will hit the road in North America, providing direct support to Korn. The 24-city trek kicks off on September 12 in Tampa, FL, visits arenas coast-to-coast, and wraps on October 27 in St. Paul, MN. The band is also scheduled to appear at numerous festivals including Louisville, KY’s Louder Than Life 2024. A complete list of upcoming live dates and ticket information can be found HERE.
