Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell has reacted to Gojira’s Olympics performance.
“I thought that it was a cool, surprising choice,” Cantrell said in an interview with Revolver. “It was also interesting to see Snoop Dogg carrying the torch when they’re so concerned with doping. That dude’s like the stoner from hell! I love Snoop, but I was like, ‘Holy shit, they’re cool with dope now? They’re cool with heavy metal?’ Maybe times are changing for the better.”
Gojira stood on platforms outside castle windows in the rain and performed a metal version of the traditional song ‘Ah, Ça Ira!’ from the French Revolution. Their show paid tribute to the famously executed queen Marie Antoinette.
Some people thought it was ‘satanic’ and was wrong to put a metal band as the performers. Famous names like Andrew Tate also thought Gojira’s performance was satanic and they were ‘controlling people.’ However, names like Avenged Sevenfold’s Johnny Christ, Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, and Slipknot’s Clown all shared their views on the backlash they received and supported the band.
“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,” the A7X bassist said of the performance.
“I got goosebumps,” Clown said. “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.”
Lzzy Hale added in a social media statement, “What a great moment for metal, rock, heavy music and therefore the world! I want to personally congratulate Gojira on conquering the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. This, for any musician, is a right of passage we all write down on our conscious and subconscious bucket lists.”
Frontman Joe Duplantier later addressed the backlash and comments related to ‘satanism.’ He said that there was nothing satanic about the performance and that it was just representing French history.
Gojira released the studio version of the track a month ago.