Video of Gojira playing their Grammy-winning single Ah! Ça Ira! (Mea Culpa) live with a ton of fire has been uploaded to YouTube.
On Monday (December 22), the official channel for Bloodstock Open Air published the pyro-loaded video, which depicted the French heavy metal titans playing the track at this year’s edition of the festival back in August. Watch below.
Gojira originally performed Ah! Ça Ira!, a twist on an 18th-century French revolutionary song, at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris last year. The performance was themed around the French Revolution of the 1790s and saw the band play on the side of La Conciergerie, the prison-turned-museum where Marie Antoinette was held before her beheading. They were joined by opera singer Marina Viotti, as well as a number of actors portraying royal guards and decapitated aristocrats.
The Opening Ceremony performance was seen by more than a billion people around the world, and Gojira’s segment was met with widespread acclaim. The Independent reported that some viewers had deemed it “the only good thing” about the ceremony, while we at Hammer called it “the most important moment for metal this century”. In February, the song won the Grammy Award For Best Metal Performance.
Gojira were approached to perform at the Olympics by Victor Le Masne, the composer and musical director of the Paris Olympics. Le Masne told Hammer last December that he chose the band because he thought their powerful music would fit a segment about the Revolution.
“Metal, for me, is a revolutionary music,” he explained. “And Gojira were an obvious choice – I wanted to have a French act, and in 2024 they are one of the most brilliant acts in the genre.”
Gojira headlined Bloodstock on Sunday, August 11, topping the main stage alongside Trivium on the Friday and Machine Head on the Saturday. Their show there was once again lauded, with Hammer awarding it a perfect five stars in our review.
Gojira recently wrapped up an arena tour of their native France, supported by Comeback Kid and Neckbreakker. They’ll tour Europe from May to July as a support act for Metallica. See the list of upcoming dates below.
Bloodstock are releasing a number of videos from Gojira’s set across the festive period. Footage of Stranded was put out over the weekend, with Only Pain, their cover of Black Sabbath’s Under The Sun, and The Gift Of Guilt still to come.
Metallica 2026 European tour dates:
May 09: Athens Olympic Stadium, Greece*
May 13: Bucharest Arena Națională, Romania
May 19: Chorzów Stadion Śląski, Poland
May 22: Frankfurt Deutsche Bank Park, Germany*
May 24: Frankfurt Deutsche Bank Park, Germany+
May 27: Zurich Stadion Letzigrund, Switzerland*
May 30: Berlin Olympiastadion, Germany*
Jun 03: Bologna Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Italy*
Jun 11: Budapest Puskas Arena, Hungary+
Jun 13: Budapest Puskas Arena, Hungary*
Jun 19: Dublin Aviva Stadium, Ireland+
Jun 21: Dublin Aviva Stadium, Ireland*
Jun 25: Glasgow Hampden Park, UK*
Jun 28: Cardiff Principality Stadium, UK*
Jul 03: London Stadium, UK*
Jul 05: London Stadium, UK+
* Gojira and Knocked Loose support
+ Pantera and Avatar support
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