Back once again for the renegade master… Oops, wrong meeting. Yes, it is time for my round up of the smartest music videos I’ve seen this month. Whether it’s sleek and shiny or gruesome and garish, I’ll watch it with both eyes peeled and all of my senses involved. This time around it’s the turn of the full band performance video. Stipulations of entry into this list include all members of band accounted for on film and at least five close up shots of instruments being played. These are great tracks this time around too whereas last month I chose a great video for an awful track. Yes. It was Babymetal. I digress, away we go!
From Sorrow To Serenity – “Illusive”
Yes! Local boys done good! With meaty riffs and all! I’m a bit biased because I’ve been on these guys for a few years now and certain members of From Sorrow To Serenity and their management are probably sick of the sight of me. Don’t worry, I’m maintaining a distance of 500 feet. Anyway, this video is fucking sweet. Shot in halls I have paced myself and also a fantastic looking warehouse (in terms of the varying degrees of warehouse quality in metal videos), “Illusive” spins a tale of dystopian office work and part time military escapades. The smoking man gives off a sinister X-Files vibe and the violence on screen works charmingly with the bellows and stomps of these angry Scots. Grand.
Aborted – “Divine Impediment”
If you don’t watch this video, you’re gonna wish you were fucking Aborted. Belgium’s premier death export do the business again with a performance based video that even contains the disembodied head of one Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation). Spooky, I know. Considering “Divine Impediment” sounds like Aborted taking on Behemoth in a battle to fiery death, the candles, religious iconography and general vibe makes sense; it’s Aborted doing a Behemoth performance video. It’s simple with no faff or fuss and is still better than 99% of performance videos out there (other than the others in this list… duh). I just hope nobody was burnt by the ridiculous number of candles involved.
Deftones – “Prayers/Triangles”
The music on Gore is basically what Deftones would sound like if they were trapped in a lava lamp, hence the video for “Prayers/Triangles” is another appropriate fit. The band perform as usual with that familiar restrained energy, but with a Willy Wonka like aesthetic that spirals in and out of colours and shapes. Mainly triangles. Though it’s nowhere near as entertaining or as visually pleasing as “You’ve Seen The Butcher”, it’s still a fun video. Shout out to the shot of Chino running down a street straight at the camera like some sort of early 00’s nu metal kid or something…
Nails – “You Will Never Be One Of Us”
Finally. New fucking Nails. The California hate trio leveled a good portion of the Internet when they snuck out the video for “You Will Never Be One Of Us”. The feedback and who’s who of extreme music celebrity at the start barely subsides before the familiar “fuck your ears, mouth, eyes and face” routine of Nails kicks in. Monochromatic and as bleak as ever. The camera whips around the members of the band, focusing on the low end riff register of Todd Jones for just long enough for you to work out he is playing riffs and not just playing diabolical feedback straight into your worthless little heart. Nothing quite compares to catching this band live, but this video does a good job at emulating the ferocity and unbridled attitude of these gentlemen.