Op-Ed – What Gojira’s Olympics Performance Really Means for Metal + Its Future

Gojira's fire-fueled performance at the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, France (July 26) was a massive win for metal. Now, what does it mean for the genre's future?

That's the question we aim to explore, assessing metal in its current state and how newcomers are funneled in while speculating about a changing future with greater sustainability.

For a brief moment, Gojira put over half a century of metal on their collective shoulders and triumphantly held it up for a captive audience of hundreds of millions of unsuspecting viewers worldwide to witness.

The Existing Gateway to Metal

"Exiiiiiiit light! / Eeeeenter nii-iiiight!"

Of course, the most famous and popular metal song of all time is Metallica's "Enter Sandman." The song is entirely inescapable for much of the world's population and its enduring popularity is largely why the album it's featured on — 1991's Metallica, better known as 'The Black Album' — has spent over 750 total weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. It's the fourth album in history to achieve this mark and only the second-ever studio album (the other two being compilations).

This has served as the biggest gateway to heavy metal with fans who, after liking what they've heard in "Enter Sandman," go down the rabbit hole exploring the Metallica catalog and other big name metal acts.

For the most part, that leads newcomers to other of-the-era fixtures, such as the remainder of thrash's "Big 4" (Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax) as well as traditional metal heroes Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. 'The Black Album' has also bolstered today's hard rock scene, sending these new fans in that direction as well.

Sure, there is a bridge to the modern day and so many other acts, but as the sounds become more extreme, it creates additional hurdles that some listeners are unable to mount.

Simply, metal cannot be reliant on a 30-plus year old song to sustain its future for another 30 years.

Metallica have more than done their part — and will continue to — but metal must open new pathways that lead people directly to the sound that is popular today.

Gojira's Performance Was Certifiably Metal and On the Biggest Stage

While so much attention is placed around when or if Metallica will ever play the Super Bowl, Gojira's Olympics performance does so much more for this community.

We know this may seem like this is becoming an attack on Metallica and we assure you that is not at all the case. But let's be honest and candid for a moment — is there a soul watching the big game that hasn't heard "Enter Sandman" yet?

How much will this really do for metal other than a bunch of headbangers high-fiving each other that they didn't have to watch a non-rock or metal act play the Halftime Show? There is nothing new being presented here that will totally blow the mind off an unsuspecting person, at least not in the way Gojira just did. And because Stranger Things already achieved that with their spectacular scene featuring "Master of Puppets."

READ MORE: Fans React to Gojira Playing at 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony

At the Olympics, this wasn't Gojira as a special guest of honor for the sake of getting anyone to play guitar, bass and drums, maybe as a backing band for a polite musical performance. No — for two minutes and 50 seconds, there was heavy fucking metal with zero compromise. It was completely on metal's own terms.

Windows adorned with a beheaded Marie Antoinette cradling her own head in her arms as the band's four members were perched atop balconies high up a castle wall with an endless row of fire cannons adding to the dramatic scene. Streamers representing blood shot out of the windows while Gojira played a pummeling version of "Ah! Ça Ira," a popular song during the French Revolution.

It looked how we all feel inside when we listen to this music, and it forced the world to feel the same. It was the ideal representation of the power of heavy metal and the empowerment it fills us with. Just look at Joe Duplantier's power stance in the collage above — it came off as utterly dominant and imposing, lurching forward with the concussive riff barrage.

Merging Gojira's performance with the talents of opera singer Marina Viotti goes a long way in justifying metal as more than just noise and screaming, too.

Opera is one of the most highly respected forms of music, and to marry it with one of the most universally maligned and misunderstood styles validates heavy music as genuine art.

The best part was that this part of the ceremony was also the darkest by far. It felt dangerous, a perfect soundtrack to unrest, danger and violence as the segment recollected an important moment in the history of French politics.

France wanted this part of their history to be told in this ceremony and they intentionally chose Gojira to — pardon the pun — execute the task!

Watch part of the performance below.

Solving Metal's Biggest Problem — Who Are the Future Headliners?

With hundreds of millions of eyes fixed on Gojira's performance, it immediately exposed a massive population to what metal sounds like in the modern day — rhythmic guitar riffs, groove-based drumming, harsh vocals and technical musicianship. And, yes, a breakdown!

This means that if someone watching liked what they heard and wanted to dive deeper into the metal scene, there are bands who have risen to popularity in the 21st century that they should reasonably find favor with.

Sure, Gojira have been around for over a quarter century now, so it's not like they're a brand new band. For metal, this is what the "youth" movement looks like as we've spent decades bending the knee toward our metal gods of the '70s, '80 and '90s. This has all been rightfully so and not many other genres have this sort of veneration for the musical elders, which is one of many things that makes metal great, but it has also stalled the future.

READ MORE: 18 Bands Big Artists Have Shouted Out As the Future of Rock + Metal

These legacy acts will retire one day, as much as we like to think of these bands and their members as immortal beings.

Metal must establish its future festival headliners beyond those legacy acts if we are to enjoy the same type of scene we have, especially over the last 10-15 years. Much like Olympians pass the torch, metal has to do the same.

Someone who is just getting into metal, excited by Gojira's Olympics performance is much more equipped to support a more current scene than if walking through the "Enter Sandman" gateway like millions before them.

That means a direct channel straight to the likes of Lamb of God, Jinjer, Slipknot, Periphery, Parkway Drive, I Prevail and so many more. Clean singing as the exclusive vocal technique in metal is exceptionally rare today, so newcomers will need to be able to handle harsh and extreme vocals, whether it's an all-out assault or countered by clean-sung parts.

What Does This Mean for the Future?

With a convincingly metal performance, Gojira gave metalheads the payoff of a lifetime. It felt like our world was fairly and accurately represented sonically and visually. This historic event is something we will all spend decades talking about, telling future generations what it was like watching it unfold in real time.

So, congrats, Gojira! And thank you. Thank you for representing metal on the biggest stage possible and for doing it so well.

Let's hope this opens the doors for other big-time events to have an open mind toward metal and to consider booking heavy acts.