Mastodon’s 2nd video from Crack the Skye is the opening track from their new album Oblivion. The video is a crazy space adventure directed by Roboshobo (who also directed the insane video for “Divinations”). For some mysterious reason, Brann leaves the safety of their spaceship. Watch as each member, one by one, attempt to rescue him from the vacuum of space. Amazing effects and a creative storyline make “Oblivion” another visual masterpiece for Mastodon.

“The video for ‘Severed Reality’ got done in the middle of a tour, and it was done mostly live at the venue we were playing at that night in Milwaukee. We did a couple shots on the stage before anyone showed up, and then just shot the whole show for the video. As it turns out the show was fu**ing insane, we couldn’t even fit all the stage divers in the video! David Brodsky (the video’s director) went to put the whole thing together and it came out great, I think it is the strongest video we have had so far.”

Check out “Severed Reality”

What really affected the material on our latest album, Night Electric Night, I think, was the endless touring for a couple of years. The jabbing frustration, utterly depraved nightclubbing, fights, sex with incredible statistics (all genders, pretty much), the raging search for kicks in general and the constant celebration of the dandy deeds of the Devil. I mean, of corpse, we make Hell look like f*cking sex-add. I have grown to understand that. We are Ms Rocktober in Satan’s favourite porno-mag, and if I may say I think Mother Mary get’s off to us as well.. (I guess that’s why girls call us the Backstreet Boys from Hell. Or is it just our perfect features?) This of course results in chaos and drama and infected relations which gives fuel to the material. Our lives are the total opposites to the impression that you get from a normal musician’s life – I believe Hell is the word I’m looking for. Again.

Our personal problems, weaknesses and narcissism combined with our fascination for 80’s pop as well as very dark heavy rock resulted in this little piece of music. As an example: The first song I loved was Kylie Minogue “The Locomotion”, and that in contrast to what I’ve been really into while growing up, which is rock of all kinds and black metal of course, was a pretty good formula for what we call Deathglam. Combine the ivory loins of pop with the metallic ***k of rock. It’s a sensual mixture, somewhat depraved and utterly destructive in its dark aspects – but never the less - sensual. At least I think.

Like in the song “Death Dies Hard”, which ironizes over the loss childhood/innocence in almost religious terms. Mocking the morals of the generations before us, the morals that restrained us, yet taunted as we are by the grasp of this heritage the song describes how your own childhood has become frightening, because you see how ***ed up you have become. Kind of a neonlight lit nihilistic approach to it like Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. Or just a good **ck-song. Or maybe a song suitable to steal a Ferrari to. You’ll be the judge of that.

Easily described: Deathstars is a personal trip and broken mirror reflecting the dark playlands of Europe. I would say that the sixth member on this album was the ”idea” and the aesthetics of Russia, plus the direct vibe of our abode Scandinavia; providing the perfect backdrop to Night Electric Night. For us it will now be interesting to take the darkness of Europe into the land of the free. Begin to unzip your chinos, americanos.

Locust was the our first pick for a music video and as the opening track for the album because it really sets the tempo of the album and is a strong track that shows a great introduction to what Arkaea is all about. We knew that we needed to come out swinging and Locust definitely offers that Punch.

We filmed the video for Locust in downtown Los Angeles, we had a great time making the video and look forward to seeing the response. — Raymond Herrera

As a member of the hardcore/ screamo/ metal with my sister in Eyes Set To Kill, we have long wondered, “Where are all the other girls in hardcore/ screamo/ metal?? It’s always been like that, ever since I started Eyes Set To Kill with my sister. Sure there are some girls, but not enough! Now, I am no feminist but wouldn’t it be nice to see more girls with the guts to play music of genres that are mainly dominated by boys? I don’t mind living in a world of dirty “bros” and endless road trips. BUT ALL I AM SAYING is that some of you female musicians are missing out on all the fun. Stop playing that guitar alone in you room with you door locked shut! Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed. Don’t be shy to the dream that you only pursue when your sleeping! Don’t be afraid of what other girls or guys will think of you. Just make a difference with me and the few out there before its too late!! Your destiny awaits!

New York-based extreme death metal band, Suffocation, shot a for the track “Cataclysmic Purification” on May 31 with director David Brodsky (Arsis, God Forbid, Kataklysm). When asked about the new track and their soon to be released sixth full-length album “Blood Oath,” Suffocation bassist Derek Boyer said, “Cataclysmic Purification audibly portrays a calamitous future approaching. With this song and the rest of the album I think we’ve maintained the musical integrity of the band while still having comprehendible brutality. Blood Oath combines straight forward crushing movements with unsuspecting twists that will certainly entertain everyone from the avid Suffocation listener to the first time innocent bystanders.”

Suffocation recently uploaded “Cataclysmic Purification” to their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/suffocation). Blood Oath is set for release on July 14, and will mark Suffocation’s 20th anniversary as a band. Suffocation entered the studio on January 31 with Joe Cincotta (who worked on the band’s last two releases) to begin recording Blood Oath. The follow-up to 2006’s self-titled record was mixed by Zack Ohren (All Shall Perish, Decrepit Birth).

When I first got started in this business back in 1985, there was considerable value in an album of recorded music, in and of itself. An LP or cassette was, at that time, the primary item a band could offer for sale, and certainly the most important connection they had with their fans. Record companies recognized this value by financing the recording process in legitimate studios, and they would see the project through each creative element until it hit the store shelves. More importantly, the band at hand would be focused primarily, if not entirely, on creating meaningful music.

Perhaps I was naïve then, but things have changed in the last twenty years. Now the recordings a band makes are considered “commercials” for concert ticket sales and merchandising.  Once the primary retail item, now a CD is a soundtrack for the branding of an artist. One could argue that the music business has always been this way, but certainly we live in a unique time when record companies require a percentage of proceeds from ticket sales and merchandising just to survive.

Is this necessarily a bad thing? The demand for music is higher than it has ever been. Ticket sales are up. Rock band t-shirts have become casual fashion for middle-class America in the Walmarts and Targets. But what does it say about our culture when an industry makes more money selling accessory junk than the music itself? When the measure of an artist is more about bounce rates and widget hits than it is about songs?

If the counter-culture in 1999 defied lip-syncing center-fold pin-ups dominating Billboard’s Top 10, in 2009 it has embraced the very same marketing strategies just to be heard. Now, record companies can only afford to be interested in artists that come to the table with their “brand” already put together. Artist development in the A&R departments is a thing of the past. It leaves one to wonder if bands like Judas Priest or Deep Purple could get a foot in the door in today’s climate. And that, I believe, is the tragedy of our time.

We can see the promise of a new era on the horizon - an era in which all artists are independent. Still, commercial success will continue to rely not only on talent and skill, but on visibility; and visibility will continue to rely on the “powers that be” behind an artist – capital, favors, and good ol’ fashioned grass roots campaigning. Kind of like a presidential election. But the paradigm will have shifted, and the new generation will never know or understand what we sacrificed in the process. Goodbye A &R, it was sweet knowing you.

Holy crap! It looks like some gutsy (or foolhardy) soul in the programming department took our tongue-in-cheek recommendation to air this bloodbath of a music video literally, and it is somehow slipped right by the standards department and onto the airwaves on last Saturday’s show. The clip features a man who accidentally runs over a little girl, then buries her to cover-up his heinous deed. But the young-un’s soul doesn’t rest and she lashes out “Evil Dead” style to murder the manslaughterer in a tangle of bloody vines and vomited intestines. If you’ve got a strong stomach click “more” to watch Wretched’s “A Preservation of Immortality.”
]]> http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/2009/06/01/video-premiere-wretcheds-a-preservation-of-immortality/feed/ 6/1/09 4:58pm EST http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/2009/05/29/destroy-destroy-destroys-the-wretched-forest-video/ http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/2009/05/29/destroy-destroy-destroys-the-wretched-forest-video/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 18:16:33 +0000 JonW http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/?p=6689

Having posted the new Attack Attack video, we figured why not also put up the Destroy Destroy Destroy clip for “The Wretched Forest?” Click “more” to check it out.

Destroy Destroy Destroy “The Wretched Forest” video

You like breakdowns, goth, dance-pop and sugary vocals (and don’t we all?)? Then dig your fangs into Attack Attack. Click “more” to watch the band’s video for “Stick Stickly.”
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