Who is Gojira? What to know about metal band at Olympics opening ceremony

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Athletes will be vying for gold over the next two weeks, but a different kind of metal stole the show on Friday.

Sandwiched between showtunes from "Les Miserables" and "Carmen," the French heavy-metal band Gojira made a head-banging appearance during the Olympics opening ceremony, giving viewers a certain level of culture shock.

First greeted by a headless Marie Antoinette, Gojira performed at the Conciergerie along the River Seine.

Here's what to know.

Who is Gojira, metal band at opening ceremony?

Gojira is made up of Joe Duplantier, Mario Duplantier, Christian Andreu and Jean-Michel La- badie. They performed at the Conciergerie, which was the residence of French kings in medieval times.

It became a prison during the French Revolution, and Marie Antoinette was one of its most famous prisoners. Gojira performed alongside singer Marina Viotti.

The name of the band is inspired by the legendary kaiju Godzilla, and they were originally named Godzilla until 2001. They are three-time Grammy Award nominees and most recently released their album "Fortitude" in 2021.

Gojira performs metal and different subgenres, including progressive metal and groove metal.

Marie Antoinette may have lost her head, but if she still had one, she'd be banging it in 2024 thanks to Gojira.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Gojira? What to know about metal band at Olympics opening ceremony