SLIPKNOT's CLOWN Is 'Proud' Of GOJIRA's Performance At Olympic Games Opening Ceremony: 'I Got Goosebumps'

SLIPKNOT co-founder and percussionist M. Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) 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.

Crahan told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine about GOJIRA's appearance: "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 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 "Ah! Ça Ira!" . Joined by French-Swiss mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and nearly 300 classical musicians, GOJIRA performed from the windows of Paris's 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 Joseph 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."

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, Florida, visits arenas coast to coast, and wraps on October 27 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The band is also scheduled to appear at numerous festivals, including Louisville, Kentucky's Louder Than Life.