Gojira's thrilling performance during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics earlier this summer was momentous on a global scale for both the band and heavy metal in general. We may be biased here. Serious consequencebut he clearly stole the show.
As a celebration following the Summer Games in Paris, Gojira’s rendition of “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira)” was projected in front of the famous Arc de Triomphe monument at Place Charles de Gaulle over the weekend.
Gojira were not there this time, as they are in the middle of a tour supporting Korn in North America (Pick up tickets here). Instead, a striking image of the band that performed at the opening ceremony (performing outside the windows of the Conciergerie building overlooking the River Seine) was projected onto the arch at night.
In fact, the only thing missing from the reprise was the band. As captured by France TV, the sumptuous fire and spotlights of the original performance were recreated, and opera singer Marina Viotti was also present at the Arc de Triomphe show.
Gojira released “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira)” as a single following the positive response to their performance at the opening ceremony. Of course, there were some detractors, including far-right French politicians who claimed that the theatricality of the performance, which referenced the violence of the French Revolution, bordered on the “satanic.”
Gojira's Joe Duplantier was quick to refute such nonsense.
“It's French history,” he said. Rolling Stone“It’s French charm, you know, people with their heads cut off, red wine and blood everywhere. It’s romantic, it’s normal. There’s nothing satanic about it.”
We've had Gojira on our minds since the opening ceremony, so we decided to take a look back at some of their best songs. Check out our newly revealed ranking of their best songs.
Catch Gojira on their aforementioned tour supporting Korn, and watch the video of Gojira's performance of “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça Ira)” projected against the Arc de Triomphe below.
“Ah! This is anger!”
After having performed it with Gojira, the opera singer Marina Viotti performs the song again in front of the Arc de Triomphe. #Paris2024 image.twitter.com/TLmCvm4PmV
— French Television (@FranceTV) September 14, 2024
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