Recently, a growing number of metal bands are choosing to release animated videos instead of the normal performance or vaguely concept-oriented clips. The latest to cross over to the art side is Gojira, who hired Spanish artist Jossie Malis to render abstract and psychedelic images for their "All the Tears" video.

Late last year, Metallica released the animated "All Nightmare Long," which was created by Roboshobo (a.k.a. Robert Schober), who also directed Mastodon's excellent "Sleeping Giant." And Japanese eccentrics Dir En Grey have become well known for combining weird animation, surreal, unsettling live footage and performance shots, as they did on the new, trippy "Dozing Green," which was created with their longtime director Hiroyuki Kondo. Read more...

Japanese art-metal band Dir En Grey have already proven their immense visual creativity with striking videos for "Saku," "The Final" and "Agitated Screams of Maggots." The band's new clip for "Dozing Green" continues the tradition with footage from Kazuo Umezu's horror manga "The Drifting Classroom."

"Being one of the most renown in its genre, the manga depicts cruel imagery of a battle for survival by a group of elementary school children," says guitarist Kaoru. "The story was also adopted into a Japanese drama series with a more modern twist. We are actually fans of Mr. Umezu’s works and simply wanted to use his manga in our video. The play in the video shows puppets in an imaginary world created using 'fumie,' or the 'step-on stone.' 'Fumie' are originally stones with carvings of Christ or the Virgin Mary used in the Edo period by officials of the Japanese government to reveal practicing Catholics and sympathizers." Click "more" for additionally commentary and the video, which will debut on air on Saturday's "Headbangers Ball," which airs from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. on MTV2. Read more...