AVENGED SEVENFOLD's JOHNNY CHRIST On GOJIRA's Performance At Olympics Opening Ceremony: 'That Was So Cool'

AVENGED SEVENFOLD bassist Johnny Christ has weighed in on GOJIRA's performance at last month's Olympic Games opening ceremony.

GOJIRA performed a surprise rendition of "Ah! Ça Ira", a popular song during the French Revolution, alongside opera singer Marina Viotti as well as a number of beheaded figures representing the slain Queen Marie Antoinette.

But the fiery display angered some Christians online, who quickly branded it "satanic". Even the controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate accused the West of "worshipping the devil".

Christ discussed GOJIRA's performance during a recent episode of his Internet TV show "Drinks With Johnny". He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "That was so cool. I watched it. I didn't expect it. [I was] watching it with my wife. We watch every opening ceremony together. And it's always cool. You see the country coming together, all the artists of the country, they get a team together and they're, like, 'We're gonna show all the art and history of us.' And I think they did a great job."

He continued: "I was in the other room and I heard metal being played, I was, like, 'What the fuck?' I walk out and I see this amazing performance happening on the parliament house or whatever castle that was. And I'm, like, 'Wait a minute. That's fucking GOJIRA. I know those guys. That's fucking GOJIRA right there.' And I was very happy for them. I was, like, 'That's fucking cool.' And then, of course, 30 seconds later, I was, like, 'Why the fuck haven't I been up there doing anything like that yet?' Fuck, dude. I'm moving to France. Fuck this."

Circling back to GOJIRA's performance, Johnny said: "It was so cool. And they did a cool job of — it didn't feel like it was, 'Oh, now we're just gonna go to metal and it's gonna feel completely out of place at the rest of the ceremony.' No, they still kept it. And with them hanging off the side of it, getting that shot, showing everything, going to the different windows and stuff, I thought it was really well done."

Asked in a recent interview with Rolling Stone about Tate's criticism that GOJIRA's performance was "satanic", GOJIRA frontman Joseph Duplantier said: "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]

"France is a country that made a separation between the state and religion during the revolution. And it's something very important, very dear to the foundation of republican France. We call it laïcité. It's when the state is not religious anymore, so therefore it's free in terms of expression and symbolism. It's all about history and facts. We don't look too close closely at symbolism in terms of religion."

Asked if he and his GOJIRA bandmates thought much about the responsibility of representing metal on the world stage, Joseph said: "I try not to think too much about that because it continues to blow my mind. [Laughs] The Olympic Committee could have asked literally anybody to play. I'm thinking of bands like METALLICA or AC/DC that are household names and powerhouses in our genre that we all revere and are our heroes. We never considered ourselves the biggest band in the world that would be worthy to play the Olympics or anything like that. It's so weird.

"The way I think about it is it's a challenge in 2024 to give hope to people, to show something original. People have seen everything from landing on the moon to A.I. So it was a challenge for Paris and the Committee to express something fresh, new, and original [by booking us] and also show what France is all about.

"At least for our part, the fact that metal and opera had never been seen together on TV and in front of so many people before is a statement for the country of France. It's saying, 'Hey, look. We're still pushing the boundaries in the world.' So congrats to France for putting this together."

Regarding who picked the song "Ah! Ça Ira" for GOJIRA, Joseph said: "That wasn't us at all. That was the team of young people and composers and designers that decided the whole theme. We were in the dark when it came to the whole ceremony; we were just concentrating on that picture and that moment of Marie Antoinette. We didn't know how it was going to look or how it would fit in with a whole performance. I didn't know Lady Gaga or Celine Dion were going to be there. We were in [the Olympic Committee's] confidence, and we weren't allowed to tell our people that we were going to do this. We didn't know what was going to happen at all. We just went back and forth with the composer of the Olympic ceremony, Victor le Masne. He threw us a tempo and a guideline. And then we did our thing."

GOJIRA is considered a standard-bearer for French rock and bringing French rock to an international audience. Metal Hammer declared GOJIRA "metal's most important band" in 2016.

GOJIRA has been nominated for a Grammy Award three times — twice in 2017, for "Best Metal Performance" and "Best Rock Album" ("Magma") and once in 2022 for "Best Metal Performance".

GOJIRA's latest album, "Fortitude", entered Billboard's Top Albums chart at No. 1 in May 2021, while also claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top Current Albums, Current Rock Albums and Current Hard Music Albums tallies. The release also marked a career high debut on the Billboard 200 for GOJIRA, arriving at No. 12, with several career high chart positions and Top 10 debuts in countries around the globe including: France (No. 2),United Kingdom (No. 6),Australia (No. 3),Germany (No. 8),Belgium (No. 2),Netherlands (No. 4),Denmark (No. 3),Portugal (No. 4),Finland (No. 2) and Norway (No. 10).

Furthermore, GOJIRA concluded a month-long fundraising initiative in support of the indigenous-owned NGO The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) who advocate for environmental and cultural rights of indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Working with the social good-focused digital platform Propeller, the charitable campaign raised over $300,000 through an auction and raffle of one-of-a-kind items from the band and their friends in METALLICA, TOOL, SLIPKNOT, SLAYER, Slash and more. All proceeds were donated to APIB to support their work aiding the indigenous tribes of the Amazon who have suffered immensely — victims of deforestation, land loss, forced labor, violence, and harassment.

Recorded and produced by Joseph Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio — GOJIRA's Ridgewood, Queens, New York headquarters — and mixed by Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),"Fortitude" is GOJIRA's first album in five years and the follow-up to 2016's Grammy-nominated LP "Magma". A collection of songs urging humanity to imagine a new world and then make it happen, "Fortitude" has been earning widespread critical praise with Rolling Stone naming it one of their best albums of April 2021 and remarking "It's all the rage of death metal mixed with the conscience of punk rock and the musicality of progressive rock." NPR hailed "Another World" as "an apocalyptic banger," and Paste called "Into The Storm" a "much-needed revolutionary anthem." Stereogum declared, "hearing this band operating at their peak is a life-affirming thing," while Revolver attested "Fortitude" "could spark a revolution."