During our run on the "Hed To Head" tour with Mushroomhead and Hed P.E. we left Pittsburgh, PA and made an 8 hour journey home to Knoxville, TN to film our new video Taste of Ashes featuring Jamey Jasta (from Hatebreed). We had been trying to hook up with Jamey ever since our record came out to shoot a video for TOA. Luckily, Hatebreed was playing in our hometown when we had an opening, we planned so that we'd play their after party and shoot the video there.
The location for the video was The Cider House; a small venue that is connected to The Valarium which Hatebreed was playing that night. We, however arrived earlier in the day to meet the two Director's from our Raging Nation Team (Timur and Tom) who would be directing the video who flew in from New York. After everything was set up, SLS performed numerous times. Timur shot each band member individually capturing single performances while the whole band played together. Later, Jamey came over to the set to shoot his single shots. He was very polite, introducing himself to everyone on set, even our family and friends that were there. When Jamey performed his parts he was very calm and professional knowing exactly what to do, he even came back out during our live set to perform the song live with us and we really got to see him do what he does best - which is OWN the crowd.
To say the least we were exhausted!
What was great about doing this video besides having Jamey actually appear in the video was that we got to invite our families, friends, and fans to come hang out and be apart of the whole production, having them perform in the video also. This video is definitely one our most memorable ones to date because its raw gritty and in your face allowing no apologies. To me it is a very honest video, no glitz and glam to cover up what is really important...THE MUSIC! It's what you'll see when you come out to one of our shows.
I hope all who watch the video will enjoy it as much as we all did making it! -- Alexis Brown/Straight Line Stitch
Jamey Jasta checks in to present the new Hatebreed video, watch the full clip below...
"In Ashes They Shall Reap" is the first song we decided to focus on from our new album. I feel like this song will go on to become a big part of our live show as fans become more and more familiar with it. "Live For This", "I Will Be Heard" and "Destroy Everything" followed a similar type musical structure where the call and response part of the song become mini-anthems onto themselves and the audience responds accordingly and we feed off of that energy.
We shot this video a few weeks back in Hartford, CT with our long-time friend/director Dale "Rage" Resteghini who also shot "Defeatist" and some of our earlier clips as well.
The video captures the essence of the song and all the die-hard fans that came out to be a part of the live video shoot brought it to another level. We owe a lot to our fans for being the most amazing die-hards ever. We can't wait to start playing this song live and re-creating the energy you're about to see…
Our new self-titled studio album will be out on September 29th; we're really proud of it and can't wait to take it on the road. – Jamey Jasta/Hatebreed
Morgan Lander was 14 when she formed Kittie, her all-female metal group. Over ten years and four albums have passed since then, and Kittie are in the process of getting ready to release their fifth album In The Black. Check out below for some insight from Lander into the meaning of "Cut Throat", the first video from Black.
“Cut Throat” is about the harsh nature of humanity and how we can sometimes be so mean and unsympathetic to one another. It’s about not realizing that our selfish actions not only can hurt others, but it ends up coming back around on us if we are not careful. There are no true winners in this game we call life. This existence is one where only the strong survive and we of all people have seemingly become experts on the subject.
Regardless of the heavy nature of the song, we actually had an amazing and fairly relaxed time filming this video. The video was directed by David Brodsky in an old abandoned department store in Brooklyn. No Lights. No air conditioning and no water-- just a kick ass live performance from the band! The atmosphere made for a really intense, gritty, nasty vibe for the video, one that perfectly captures what this band is all about.
The make-up artist didn't really appreciate the fact that our make-up was sliding down our faces from the first note, but this isn't pretty or nice or dainty. This is metal and the “Cut Throat” video perfectly embodies that. – Morgan Lander/Kittie
Pray for Villains, the fourth album from Dez Farfara's DevilDriver wasn't due to come out until July 14, but that didn't stop several tracks from leaking online, creating a buzz for a long anticipated follow up to 2008 EP Head on to Heartache.
The concept for the album, according to the band, comes from the idea of the Villain saving the day. The band's website explains, "When all else fails you turn your eyes towards the badass that gets the job done. Not the clean cut guy -- often big talking, slow acting, lacking in spirit and conviction!"
The album's title track and first single has been out for a while (legally), but now we finally have a video to pair with "Pray for Villains."
The guys just finished a European tour and will start their U.S. and Canadian run July 24 in San Diego. Check the band's website for more dates.
In the meantime, check out the new "Pray for Villans" video below and watch as wolves and ghouls unleash their fury in the forest.
Chi Cheng, bass player for the Deftones, is currently in a coma/semi-conscious state following an automobile accident in Santa Clara, CA. on November 4th, 2008. Chi is slowly making progress but he needs our help.
A website was created to help raise funds for Chi’s medical expenses and personal needs. We care about him dearly and know there are so many others that do as well. Any amount that you can donate is very much appreciated by the Cheng family! All funds raised are sent directly to Chi’s mother, Jeanne Cheng, via http://oneloveforchi.com/
Find out how to donate to Chi Cheng above and then watch the video for My Own
The plan was simple.....
Take a heavy metal band, who because of their brand of music, are immediately associated with things like sex, filth, depression, and gloominess, and blow them out in a super rich, high definition format to show them within a glimpse of the sun, and to silence the stereotype. Director Todd Bell knew all too well that to polish a precious metal, one first must scratch the surface to identify the element. So where did he start?...Right at the very place where the band creates their music- Chimaira HQ.
For Destroy and Dominate, (director) Todd Bell wanted to capture the band as if it were a typical day at the rehearsal space...but with a few lights, a bad-ass camera and crew, and a network of set-cart train tracks running throughout the room, he aimed to not only exploit the video's Hollywood quality look, but to explore the essence of the song itself.
And so this is as real as it gets folks…Proof, that with a killer track, a great eye for the right shot, and a little ingenuity, six metal heads from Cleveland can make a music video that looks like a million bucks.
Enjoy it...Chimaira's Destroy and Dominate!
Clutch followers will be more than a little happy to hear we now have the band's new music video. "50,000 Unstoppable Watts" is the first taste from their latest album, Strange Cousins From the West, which is due out July 14. (You can still pre-order the set, but all of those tasty autographed copies have sold out.)
Anyone who has been following the guys through the almost two decades of their career (or maybe those who jumped onto this bandwagon sometime along the way) will be happy to note the guys have stuck to their roots of hard, riff-heavy prog rock, while still incorporating a more bluesy sound.
The guys haven't strayed from their rigorous touring schedule either. Check the band's Web site for their dates on their summer U.S. tour.
In the meantime, check out Clutch's newest contribution, "50,000 Unstoppable Watts."
(Written by Katie J. Parker)
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.
Warbringer brings you the first video from their second album Walking Into Nightmares. Here is what Guitarist John Laux had to say about making the video:
“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.
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