On Monday, December 8, the people of Nice were lucky enough to witness the Gojira meteor streak across their beautiful Mediterranean sky, somewhere between Mars(eille) and Sirius. For one unforgettable night, it tore through the walls of the Palais Nikaïa, delivering a thunderous spectacle to the 5,000 fortunate fans in attendance — a show they will not soon forget. A look back at a memorable concert, marking a French tour destined to leave its mark. Gojira at the Nikaïa — Ah! Ça ira!!!
Paris 2024 Olympics: A Turning Point for the Band
Fresh from their unforgettable performance at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the quartet from Bayonne — temporarily turned into a quintet due to frontman Joe Duplantier’s hand surgery — embarked on this landmark French tour with confidence and pride.
Riding the wave of unprecedented exposure brought by the Olympics, Gojira decided it was time to pay tribute to their French fanbase. A rare treat, considering the band usually spends most of its time touring abroad, headlining the world’s biggest metal festivals or opening for legends such as Metallica — no small feat.
In front of a crowd fully won over and electrified from the first note, the band delivered nearly two hours of sheer intensity, offering an exceptional performance. The show was monumental, built not only on the group’s extraordinary technical mastery — special mention to drummer Mario Duplantier, unquestionably one of the finest metal drummers on the planet — but also on a spectacular stage design that elevated every song with precision and power.
Thinking back to the first time I saw them at the Bataclan on April 10, 2013, armed with little more than band backdrops and standard venue lighting, the contrast is striking. With this post-Olympics tour, Gojira have clearly entered a new dimension and now stand firmly among the very elite of the global metal scene.
When Polyrhythms Meet Pyrotechnics
The setlist was packed with crushing highlights, giving pride of place to their latest and highly acclaimed album “Fortitude”, while also revisiting two cornerstones of their discography: “L’Enfant Sauvage” and, above all, the legendary “From Mars to Sirius” — the album that propelled them to international stardom.
That record, of course, includes the cult classic “Flying Whales”, during which a massive inflatable whale soared above the heated Nikaïa crowd. A fun fact for the record: this track happens to be James Hetfield’s favourite Gojira song — yes, that James Hetfield.
It’s worth noting that this spectacular staging briefly sparked a playful online spat with Julien Doré (yes, December — not April), who apparently didn’t appreciate seeing a whale from his show drifting into Gojira’s. He even posted a sarcastic Instagram comment: “Don’t worry guys, I’ll find other ideas.”
To their credit, Gojira chose not to fuel the controversy and responded with silence — a classy move. And really, coming from someone whose latest “new album” consists of covers, lecturing actual musicians on creativity does feel rather ironic. But let’s leave digital gossip aside — the Southwest metal powerhouse is well above such distractions, and rightly so.
A Moment of Grace and Power
One of the evening’s most powerful moments came with the live performance of “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)”, the track written especially for the Paris 2024 Olympic opening ceremony. For the occasion, it was once again performed alongside opera singer Marina Viotti, who had taken part in the ceremony itself.
An exceptional moment indeed, as her appearances with the band are rare. The Nice audience was doubly privileged, as she also joined the band on “The Chant”, from Fortitude. What followed was a beautiful moment of communion: the entire crowd standing, singing the hypnotic chorus in unison, punctuated by Marina Viotti’s soaring vocals — majestic, generous, and joyfully abandoning operatic restraint for some enthusiastic headbanging that even metal divas would approve of.
A Performance Truly From Mars
In the end, it was a flawless night for Gojira. Precise, powerful, unifying and fully inhabited, enhanced by a stunning visual production, the Bayonne natives have more than fulfilled their promise: becoming, over nearly 30 years, a true giant of the global metal scene.
And you know what? After witnessing this show, it’s hard to argue they don’t deserve it.
From their beginnings in 1996, playing pubs around Bordeaux under the name Godzilla, to the Paris 2024 Olympics, passing through a Grammy Award win in 2025, Gojira have forged far more than a name through hard work and talent — they have built a legacy.
From Godzilla to Gojira — 30 years already… Ah! Ça ira!
Aurélien Maccarelli
