Gojira Just Made the Olympics the Heaviest Event in the Universe

[@forgemastermetal]

Some notable corrections: •"La Conciergerie" was built in the 14th century •Marie Antoinette was not executed by Louis XVI We are not historians, but do want to maintain accurate depictions of the past. Thank you for the corrections in the comments.

[@yodel_diploma2315]

Beheading two of his six wives was a Henry VIII feature... Rick Wakeman from Yes made a great record on this theme: The Six Wives of Henry VIII

[@michaelschwartz8730]

S'all good! For those in the back: admitting mistakes is an essential part of learning

[@vollhov2370]

Do you know what Marie Antoinette had to go through back then? And yes, the Revolution was not organized by ordinary people, but by the Bourgeoisie. Ordinary people were pawns.

[@aldrichuyliong8143]

@@forgemastermetal 💯 Also, the French Revolution was pretty violent. The song Ah Ca Ira in fact joyously celebrated how they were going to hang the aristocrats "a la lanterne" (on the streetlamps).

[@luckyheisler-roman2383]

Gojira was the best part of this year’s opening ceremony

[@forgemastermetal]

Agreed! The whole visual performance was sick too

[@Caporal_Blutch]

Symbolism and historical facts about this scene : - The song "Ah ça ira" (Ah it will be ok) was a famous song that french queen Marie-Antoinette liked to hum, whose origin would be from Benjamin Franklin (in France around 1780) who answered "ça ira, ça ira" (it will be ok, it will be ok) every time he was asked for news about the American Revolutionary War. In 1790, the revolutionaries changed the lyrics of the original song to make murderous apostrophes against the nobility and clergy. - The deca.pitated woman is, of course, the queen Marie-Antoinette. Marie-Antoinette of Habsburg, born Austrian, Imperial Princess of Hungary and Bohemia, last daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis the First, became queen of France in 1774 when her husband, Louis the Sixteen, go to the throne. When revolution began in 1789 and for several years, the Austrian empire and all european monarchies threaten the French people with reprisals if they do not restore the French monarchy. They feared that republican and revolutionary ideas would spread to their own people, in their own country. In 1791, the royal family tried to flee to Austria but was arrested in a small town called Varennes and brought back to Paris. At the end of this year, the revolutionary events had calmed down and France was on its way to becoming a constitutional monarchy, with a parliament running politics, and a royal family that retains only symbolic power. Like England today. But in summer 1792, is the famous "Brunswick Manifesto", distributed in the streets of Paris, written by the the Austrian and Prussian armies chief Duke of Brunswick, ordering the French to restore immediately the king on the throne, otherwise Paris would be burned by its armies. It will have the opposite effect. Parisians will go to the Tuileries palace (where the royal family lived) and discover a secret iron cabinet, containing "embarrassing" letters for the king and the queen. The french royal family is then considered as traitors by the French, because negotiating with foreign enemies who wants to stop the revolutionnary ideas, the republic, and return to the monarchy. This is what will accelerate the fall of the French monarchy. It's not because he was king that Louis was executed. It is because he was traitor, guilty of perjury. In January 1793, King Louis was sentenced to death for perjury and executed. Same year in October, Marie-Antoinette is tried for high-treason and sent to the guillotine. The two years that will follow, a period called "The Terror", should be studied by all those who think that a revolution is always something cool and romantic... - The castle is a medieval castle called "La Conciergerie", in the center of Paris. It is a museum today, but during the revolution it was a courthouse and a prison. It's exactly here that queen Marie-Antoinette and the royal family were imprisoned, with thousands of aristocrats, before being sent to the guillotine. The present version of the castle dates from the eleventh century and has been modified over the centuries, until the fifteenth. But its foundations date from the second, built as a fortress by a Roman governor. In the fifth century, Clovis, first king of France, made it the capital of his kingdom and built his palace over this foundations. The castle is located on the City Island (a small island in the middle of the Seine river, in the center of Paris). It's the oldest district of Paris, where the city began, because an island was easier to defend against attacks from barbarians or Vikings. So the current castle is over 700 years old, and its foundations almost 2000 years. - The guy holding the fire flame in front of the palace is a reference to the video game "Assassin’s Creed" and the French Tech (Ubisoft Studio is a french compagny). - The boat is a symbol of the city of Paris, whose motto is "Fluctua nec mergitur" (latin words for "Struck by the waves but does not sink"), who passes over monarchy. - The lyric singer (Marina Viotti) sings the famous opera Carmen, and symbolizes Lady Marianne. Marianne represents a revolutionary woman, with a Phrygian cap on the head (revolutionary emblem). Today this woman is the symbol of the French Republic, its representation is everywhere, and its bust present in all town halls and public buildings in France, or as French administration logo. She is this woman with naked breast, holding a French flag in one hand and a rifle in other hand, in the center of the famous painting by Delacroix, "Liberty leading the People", visible at the Louvre museum... or above a Coldplay music album ;) - Obviously, all these red fireworks symbolizes blood, noble's blood, because a lot was poured during the ten years constituting the French revolutionary time (from 1789 to 1799), before a guy called Napoleon took power and came to restore order and unity in French society. - Some say the audacity of puting heavy metal for an Olympic ceremony is a response to the terrorist attacks in November 2015 in Paris, where 130 people were killed, including 90 in the Bataclan concert hall, during a concert of the American metal band "Eagles of Death Metal".

[@forgemastermetal]

This is fantastic insight my friend, thank you for adding such great work and context to this video!

[@Caporal_Blutch]

@@forgemastermetal Hope my English didn’t make your eyes bleed too much ;)

[@FutileGrief]

This was amazing dude, thank you so much for sharing!

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Gojira playing the Olympics is objectively awesome and anybody arguing otherwise is lame

[@forgemastermetal]

YEP.

[@ericv7720]

You summed it up succinctly!

[@frankf684]

I’m not a fan of gojira,but it was cool to have metal displayed like that

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

Guess I'm lame. This shit was weak.

[@ericv7720]

@@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers Context. For a mainstream event, it was nice to see. No, there was nobody laying down sick slams or black metal grimness, or wherever our own pet sub-genres happen to be, but you have to take it for what it was.

[@Infernal_Crow_]

Well, i’ve never listened to gojira before today, but i’m now a fan.

[@forgemastermetal]

Incredible. From Mars to Sirius is amazing.

[@maureenwagg5305]

Try Magma or if you are brave. Try their early stuff from Terra Incognita. Lizard Skin, The Art of Dying, etc. You have to see it done live because Mario Duplantier must be experienced. He is the drummer.

[@tommy.m7102]

@Infernal_Crow_ There album Lefant Suvage is also a great one. The album inspired me to play bass. And the first ever album I owned.🤘

[@wheelsofmercury]

That Gojira performance was epic and it’s something I’ll be telling people about for a long, long time. It might’ve made my entire year, to be honest!

[@forgemastermetal]

Wow! Planning on seeing them when they come to North America?

[@wheelsofmercury]

@@forgemastermetalMaybe? I’ll see. I’ve never seen Korn live, so that will be a “maybe”. I’ve seen Gojira twice before.

[@Ashraycure]

Some mistakes here. 1. The Conciergerie (and not "Concierge") was built in the 14th century, so waaaaayyyyy after "roman times". 2. Marie Antoinette hasn't been decapitated by her husband (Louis XVI), but by revolutionaries. And btw, at this moment Louix XVI himself had already been decapitated for about 1 year. 3. And Marina Viotti is not only Swiss, but also French

[@forgemastermetal]

Mistakes were made. I am not a historian. Nor do I speak French. Appreciate the corrections.

[@Ashraycure]

@@forgemastermetal Welcome 🙂

[@gigiatlas2364]

​@@forgemastermetalsorry but these are not valid reasons...

[@aldrichuyliong8143]

​@@forgemastermetalI hear you. One last thing though...the French Revolution wasn't peaceful at all. It was pretty violent. In fact the song you mentioned that was written by the veteran, Ah Ca Ira, was about how joyous the French were that they were going to hang the aristocrats "a la lanterne" (on the streetlamps).

[@hardcyd3r]

@@gigiatlas2364 says who?

[@michaelschwartz8730]

Go to Paris if you can. (And go with a tour if you don't speak any French.) But seriously, the whole city is a damn museum that is equal parts awe-inspiring and metal af at the same time. Gojira just finally said everything I've been thinking for decades ❤

[@forgemastermetal]

Something that’s absolutely on a bucket list to do

[@davey64]

And you can check out the catacombs - any metal head is gonna love that tour.

[@michaelschwartz8730]

@@davey64 I sure did! ☠☠☠

[@oceanicfeeling3135]

My Granddaughter who is 13 seems to naturally gravitate to metal. I had nothing to do with it! ;) She loves Gojira!

[@forgemastermetal]

That's so cool!!

[@mochunk]

If it was anyone BUT Gojira, I probably would have been rolling my eyes... And I say that as a hardcore log time contrarian with tendencies to hold my undergroundedness sacred. But I approve. And I think for the most part, it's been pretty unanimous that most of us agree. Their level of respect in the community is unmatched as you alluded to. Gojria, BMX, skateboarding, all in the Olympics. None of which would have seemed possible when I got into Metal 40 years ago.

[@forgemastermetal]

How times have changed! And in many ways, for the better! One of my first metal shows was an X Games haha.

[@mindful2864]

I'm so glad Gojira made it to play the Olympics this year. I've been a fan of them for over a decade, almost as long as I've been into metal and for them to play at the Olympics is an important part of metal history.

[@forgemastermetal]

Seriously!!

[@StevenMazz1]

Love it, man. glad for your new family member, Wednesday. so special. I come to you (and your partner) as often as i can because you uplift me and treat me to something new and wonderful. I'm VERY much an atheist, but I am a spiritualist, and thusly I wish you peace and prosperity for you and all those you hold dear. Thank you for the time and dedication you both show in presenting thoughtful and insightful commentaries on just about every topic. Words beyond this fail me. Thank you.

[@forgemastermetal]

Thanks so much for your kindness, Steven! These kinds of messages remind us that we're doing something right.

[@icomefromthemountain291]

Great job on the research and content. You’ve added a lot to the understanding of this performance.

[@forgemastermetal]

Much appreciated! I still gotta work on my French, apparently.

[@LurchyScott]

A co-worker of mine and myself were talking about this the other day. He had no idea who Gojira was (He's 60 and believes music died in 1982. This gives you an idea into how he thinks) and gave me an opinion on the performance which was and I quote "Metallica wannabes playing in a castle". You can only imagine how hard I face palmed at that comment.

[@forgemastermetal]

Lmaoooooo

[@strikedn]

Too bad for him. There's a lot of great music out there. By the way, I'm 65.

[@potato4534]

I can’t wait for your guy’s opeth ranking in October!!

[@forgemastermetal]

Guess we need to do that, huh?

[@billwill7383]

Gojira for the super bowl 🔥💀🔥

[@forgemastermetal]

Only if they actually get to play

[@frankf684]

Jay-z is in charge of planning the Super Bowl,I wouldn’t plan on it happening

[@ThessaJean]

Metal at the opening of the Olympics with Gojira who means no at the moment.I like the idea that we don't include the historical and bloody history of a country.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@janep.2214]

So, Marie Antoinette died for us to have this epic moment. Thank you, Marie, you did not lose your head for nothing. Gojira (and Marina) made it worthy.

[@forgemastermetal]

Hahaha so good.

[@jenniferkilkenny791]

History fact check. The king was beheaded before the queen was. She wasn't beheaded by the king.

[@forgemastermetal]

Checked!

[@russellpeters451]

Maybe they will play at halftime for a Superbowl in the future 🤘🤘🤘

[@forgemastermetal]

That'd be insane.

[@frankf684]

Don’t hold your breath on that one.Jay-Z is the coordinator of that show now.

[@ethanhitchcock5431]

Twas ignoring the olympics as usual , didnt even know Gojira were involved , a friend informed me , kudos to one of my fave metal bands , love Joe's offset guitar !

[@starkiller1158]

For me it was a mixture of music from friends, hard rock and visits to Festivals 🤘🏻

[@forgemastermetal]

Awesome!

[@lbourrou]

That was awesome and I'm not even a metal fan. Best act ever.

[@forgemastermetal]

Yep!!

[@mightykelu]

Hey Benfo, the building is called "La Conciergerie". You were calling it "Concierge" which means "janitor" 😅.. see you in the next one Forge brother! 🙂🤘

[@forgemastermetal]

Woops! I bet there's a "Concierge" inside "La Conciergerie." French isn't my first language. It's not even my 2nd. lol

[@miketaylor4162]

Anyone know if Sweden has an up coming games? If so, Ghost would send people into a frenzy.

[@forgemastermetal]

haha we should propose that to the IOC.

[@maureenwagg5305]

The best three minutes of any Olympics period. Celine was also a highlight and I cried. She was perfect (and when is she not). Maria Viotti is awesome. Check out Igorr (another wild French band. I adore Igorr).

[@forgemastermetal]

Igorr is definitely wild haha.

[@blackwaterrust476]

Gojira deserved it. This was huge for Metal and they absolutely killed it. Anddddd I’m laughing at how stupid/pointless this “Controversy” is lmao. I agree that mixing classical with metal goes sooo welll together even for the mainstream. Then the history involved with this song and the French Revolution is so fascinating. You’re lucky France.

[@forgemastermetal]

Hahah that last sentence sounded like a threat even though I know it wasn't.

[@enferex]

Gojira delivered and kept it true to the culture. I'm sure this opened the minds/ears for a lot of new metalheads. (Wednesday is excellent).

[@forgemastermetal]

Definitely dude

[@chilledburrito]

I don't know many metal bands (basically none) But this is so omega based.

[@CraigMader]

Thanks for the background story of the song GOJIRA played. I had no idea. Also LOUIS ARMSTRONGS' history as a notorious beheader. Who knew?

[@forgemastermetal]

Hahahah hope you pressed F to pay respects.

[@Ibu812]

Gojira déchire ❤

[@FuriousMetal1968]

Hail France for embracing not only their own historical culture but Gojira as a nation treasure! It just goes to show everyone else that Metal lives and is stronger than ever 💪🤘If this would have been in the USA , we all know that it would be Taylor Swift or some other overrated Pop star!

[@forgemastermetal]

Viva la France!

[@strikedn]

Metal is still HUGE here in Europe...and not just here. Don't know what went wrong with you in the US.

[@FuriousMetal1968]

@@strikedn What went wrong is that teenage girls make things popular like Taylor Swift and everyone follows! Pop culture absolutely sucks but we are such a weak minded country these days we embrace it instead of having any original thoughts in our heads!

[@Hellenicheavymetal]

yes! Next year MARDUK!

[@forgemastermetal]

Hahahahah YES

[@brandonthomsen8929]

I see what you did there, nice pun 😂

[@forgemastermetal]

We are punny.

[@brandonthomsen8929]

@@forgemastermetal heaviest matter of the universe! 😆

[@skylerkoch4814]

So if I’m slinging lead down range sending souls upstairs or downstairs for that matter I want this specific song playing in the background

[@forgemastermetal]

Keep your booger picker off the bang switch until you're ready to stack 'em.

[@ReverendWerewolf-gt6ni]

Historical

[@forgemastermetal]

Easily!

[@NoOneYaKnow666]

That Gojira performance was incredible. Sucks that they are being associated with the controversy that came after, but sometimes any PR is good PR.

[@forgemastermetal]

Definitely. Metal was built on said controversy.

[@donniedollarhidejr.2766]

Pues menos mal que fué Gojira y no Slayer, que entonces si que flipaban.

[@NicolasAristizabal-rb3ju]

Gojira should play for Wednesday

[@forgemastermetal]

Private show at my house.

[@КаЩеЙ-ш3с]

the world is going down the drain, but if it happens to the sounds of metal then OK

[@forgemastermetal]

What?

[@lwahl8719]

Hi Wednesday 🩶🕸️🖤

[@forgemastermetal]

She says hiiiii

[@nickisme]

Dog!

[@Altair-wq7fg]

A growing sickness in the dark😮‍💨

[@vollhov2370]

I don't know what to be happy about, especially when you know what Marie Antoinette had to endure. Humiliation, insults and not a drop of respect even now. The trial that was held over her is not an asset, but a disgrace for France, not a single accusation was proven. So the way she was shown is another mockery of her grief. This show also praises the Terror of 1793, where many innocent ordinary people died. I also love rock and metal, but I can't accept the way it was shown. If it was a concert of a band for fans, there would be no question. All this can only be liked by those who do not know the sad story of Marie Antoinette and her children.

[@forgemastermetal]

I understand what you mean and it’s a good point. Regardless, metal has been making art about tragedies in history since it was first invented. For Gojira to be asked to perform this piece during an event that clearly showcases a dark and horrific part of France’s history would be on brand.

[@yannigBrezh]

I don't really know what to answer. Marie Antoinette is not a saint and far from it, how many people died of hunger while the nobles ate the best food and dressed in the most beautiful clothes. France at this period had a huge deficit so they added more taxes on the poorest. Marie Antoinette is not responsible for everyone but the nobles continued their lifestyle without worrying about the people. Did she deserve to die, I don't think so. one of the children die because of the révolution and yes it's horrible for him. It's the history of France, not yours, and as a Frenchman, I wasn't shocked. this show dot not praise the terror which was an ignominy but tell yes it is part of our history even if it is bloody.

[@vollhov2370]

@yannigBrezh Marie Antoinette is considered a martyr in the circle of the Roman Catholic Church, since she did not accept the apostate bishop and remained faithful to the true church until her execution. “I die in the Catholic, apostolic and Roman religion, in that in which I was raised, and which I have always professed, having no spiritual consolation to expect, not knowing if there still exist here priests of this religion, and even the place where I am, would expose them too much if they entered it once. Farewell, farewell! I will no longer concern myself with anything other than my spiritual duties. As I am not free in my actions, perhaps a priest will be brought to me, but I protest here that I will not say a word to him, and that I will treat him as an absolutely foreign being." 10/16/2023 The Royal Abbey and Basilica of Saint-Denis was filled with faithful today for the Traditional Mass of Requiem for the soul of Queen Marie Antoinette, martyr, murdered by the French Republic on this day exactly 230 years ago. A faithful wife. A loving mother. A devout and pious Catholic. Destroyed by the satanic revolution: but her soul was God's and His alone. In France there are a large number of people who hold services on October 16th every year in memory of Marie Antoinette and consider her a martyr. That is, whoever came up with this show desecrated the believers? Please watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYurZo2bfKeieK8 There you can enable French subtitles.

[@yannigBrezh]

@@vollhov2370 I'm not a religious person. perhaps for the church she is a martyr but not for the people during the revolution. The church and the nobles are responsible for the state of the country before the revolution. the third estate was the only one to pay taxes at a time of debt and extreme poverty. she certainly did not deserve to die like her son, but she was not innocent of the deplorable state of the country. This ceremony, as I have already said, is not to praise terror but to say it is part of our history even if it is not beautiful.

[@vollhov2370]

@@yannigBrezh This is the problem, that respect for believers is no longer respected in your country, but respect for LGBT people is now valued more highly than respect for believers. Do you know that King Louis 16 and Queen Marie Antoinette were the most economical kings of France in the entire history of the kings of France? If you know this, then why are you trying to accuse it of expenses like the Aristocracy and putting it on the same level as them?

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

As a Christian I didn't hate it for being 'satanic'. I hated it for being generic, badly composed Groove Metal with no thematic development.

[@arthurballs7083]

Pretty sure they're almost exclusively claiming the Last Supper parody was disrespectful. But go ahead and straw man. So cool pretending Trump was talking about Gojira instead of what he was really talking about (Last Supper parody)

[@forgemastermetal]

I’m talking about the whole event together just overall being metal due to the response. I don’t think you even watched the video. It wasn’t a parody of the last supper. It was an interpretation of Dionysus to raise awareness about the absurdity of violence between people.

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

The fat lady at the center of the image posted it on her social media saying "The New Gay Testament". It was 100% meant as a mockery of Christ.