SLIPKNOT co-founder and percussionist M. Shawn Crahan, known as “Clown,” recently shared his thoughts on GOJIRA’s performance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The French metal band made history as the first metal group to ever perform at the Olympic Games, delivering a surprise rendition of “Ah! Ça Ira,” a song associated with the French Revolution, alongside opera singer Marina Viotti and a group of performers representing beheaded figures, including Queen Marie Antoinette.
In an interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Crahan expressed his admiration for GOJIRA’s performance: “I got goosebumps. I know this is going to sound stupid, but I’m just so proud of them. I know the word ‘proud’ probably sounds weird coming from me, but that band is so incredible, and they’re friends of ours, and Mario [Duplantier] is one of my favorite drummers in hard rock.”
He continued, “When I saw the performance, I was just proud to have them do that. What a huge, huge honor, what a huge performance. And what an enormous metaphor: you have all these wonderful athletes, the best of the best of the best together, and someone involved thought, ‘We should get GOJIRA to open this up…’ Like, GOJIRA are the gold medal.”
GOJIRA’s groundbreaking performance on July 26 took place from the windows of Paris’s iconic Conciergerie, where they played amidst a grand spectacle of pyrotechnics, accompanied by nearly 300 classical musicians. The band’s powerful rendition of “Ah! Ça Ira!” was crafted in collaboration with composer Victor Le Manse and infused with their signature heavy riffs and punishing rhythms, making it one of the most talked-about moments of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
GOJIRA frontman Joseph Duplantier spoke to Rolling Stone about the significance of their performance: “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.”
Following their Olympic performance, GOJIRA is set to hit the road in North America next month, providing direct support to KORN. The 24-city tour kicks off on September 12 in Tampa, Florida, and will visit arenas across the country before concluding on October 27 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The band is also scheduled to perform at several major festivals, including Louisville, Kentucky’s Louder Than Life.
