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Twisted Music Video of the Week Vol. 250: My Favorite Twisted Videos

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Today marks the end of an era. After 250+ editions of Twisted Music Video of the Week, I’m bringing the series to an end. If you think about it, I’ve been running this series for about five years, bringing all of you music videos that are gruesome, violent, harrowing, and connected to horror in some way, shape, or form. It was my mission to connect music and horror using the medium of music videos and I hope I succeeded. However, all good things must come to an end and I feel like this series has run its natural course.

So, rather than end the series with one music video, I thought I’d share some of my absolute favorite twisted videos, ones that have stuck with me over the years.

Thank you all for being part of this experiment and I hope you enjoyed watching these as much as I enjoyed bringing them to you.

I remember the first time I watched Jeff Ray’s video for Sigur Rós’ “Varúð”, which was created as part of their Valtari Mystery Film Experiment. I remember immediately being taken in by the beauty of the visuals and how wonderfully the story was being constructed. Then the climax came and I remember sitting on my couch, holding back tears. Never have I been so moved by a music video, which is probably all the more surprising considering the horror foundation upon which it was built.

If you haven’t seen this video, I recommend grabbing a box of tissues, just in case.

After that last video, I figured we’d need something a bit more lighthearted. That’s just what Big Data’s “Dangerous” offers as it’s a catchy tune with a toe-tapping beat and an exploding head. Yeah, I’m not joking. That’s not even bringing up the amputated leg that was severed using only the power of a couple of foreheads. Honestly, if this isn’t making sense to you, it might be worth watching the video.

Man, I can’t tell you how much I love this video. It’s got great visuals, a wonderful atmosphere, and the music is just badass! I was never a car person but this video makes me want to get in something fast and just floor it, pulling some GTA evasions and launching myself into the air only to land perfectly and hightail it away.

Sure, I’d probably be dead within two minutes but don’t ruin this dream for me, okay?!

I saw this video several times when I was young and every time it scared me to the point that I thought I was going to have nightmares. The texture and design of this video is magnificent, every frame oozing a surreal nightmare that feels dirty and impure. If ever there was a video that embodied “Twisted Music Video of the Week”, this is probably it.

I love Behemoth, so it’s probably not a surprise that one of their videos showed up on this list. The thing about this video is the beauty in its terror. Some of these images are pure blasphemy, almost a direct insult levied against God. No matter your beliefs, I think we can all agree that this video pushes boundaries that make some people feel distinctly uncomfortable.

This one might seem like it came out of nowhere and that’s kinda because it did. I’d never heard of Asian She before seeing this clip but it blew me away. I even wrote in my piece, “…the video is a throwback mixture of giallo and 70’s horror but with a slasher character that is as terrifying and as vicious as any we’ve seen up to this point.” I’m still waiting on a feature-length movie with this villain as I’d be 100% into that!

Want to piss off people? Show a bunch of kids “killing” each other while acting out their imaginative playdate of being drug dealers. No, I’m not joking. This video is a pure rollercoaster of exciting visuals, animated deaths, and outrageous elements that will make your parents’ eyes bulge. Personally, I say death to more kids.

I’m a big fan of stop-motion videos, mainly because I recognize the sheer amount of work that goes into creating something so intensive and detailed. “I Am Colossus” uses this technique to craft a terrifying story of nuns summoning a gigantic beast that is bent on destroying the world. The video is the build up and the arrival of the monstrosity, leaving our imagination to determine what path it will take next. Just think The Cabin in the Woods and you’re golden.

I have literally no shame in admitting that I absolutely love this song and this video. The first time I saw it, I was simply blown away. It’s not too often that we get videos that push boundaries like this. After all, many of the themes in this video are rather taboo (prostitution, deformities), so I guess it makes sense that Limp Bizkit are the ones to tackle them. Visually, I’m telling you that it’s worth the watch. And when it comes to the music? Fuck the haters, I say bring it on.

Mastodon are known for their wild and inventive videos, most of which have a rather comical twist to them. Drummer Brann Dailor told me in the past that the reason they do this is because the music is very serious but the videos are their way of having fun. No matter what the reasoning is, “Curl of the Burl” is a wild, psychedelic trip into the woods, one that ends in a rather heated fashion…


Once again, thank you all for supporting 250+ editions of Twisted Music Video of the Week. You can see all of them right here and I hope enjoyed these weekly videos over the past five years!

Music

‘Lost Themes IV: Noir’ – John Carpenter Announces New Album & Releases New Music Video!

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Lost Themes IV
(l-r) Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, Daniel Davies - Photo Credit: Sophie Gransard

John Carpenter has been teasing big news for a couple weeks now and all has been revealed this morning. Carpenter is back with Lost Themes IV: Noir from Sacred Bones Records!

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

John Carpenter called the first Lost Themes album “a soundtrack for the movies in your mind.”

From John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, Lost Themes IV: Noir is set for release on May 3 via Sacred Bones Records. The album pays tribute to Noir cinema!

In conjunction with the announcement, they’ve shared a music video for the album’s first single, “My Name Is Death”, a miniature noir film directed by Ambar Navarro, starring Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood), Staz Lindes (The Paranoyds) and Misha Lindes (SadGirl). “Noir is a uniquely American genre born in post-war cinema,” states Carpenter. “ We grew up loving Noir and were influenced by it for this new album. The video celebrates this style and our new song, My Name is Death.”

Sacred Bones previews, “The scene-setting new single marks new territory for Carpenter and his cohorts, propelled by a driving post-punk bassline that is embellished by washes of atmospheric synth, pulsing drum machine, and, at the song’s climax, a smoldering guitar solo.”

“Sandy [King, John’s wife and producer] had given John a book for Christmas, of pictures from noir films, all stills from that era,” Davies says of the lightbulb moment for Lost Themes IV. “I was looking through it, and I thought, ‘I like that imagery, and what those titles make me think of. What if we loosely based it around that? What if the titles were of some of John’s favorite noir films?’ Some of the music is heavy guitar riffs, which is not in old noir films. But somehow, it’s connected in an emotional way.”

Sacred Bones notes, “Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes the songs on Lost Themes IV ‘noirish’ is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone. The noir quality, then, is something you understand instinctively when you hear it.”

“It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that became the initial Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts,” the label explains. “Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. In the years since, Carpenter, Carpenter, and Davies have released close to a dozen musical projects, including a growing library of studio albums and the scores for David Gordon Green’s trilogy of Halloween reboots. It helped that they grew up in a musical environment. Daniel’s dad is The Kinks’ Dave Davies, and he would pop by the L.A. studio – the same one the Lost Themes records are made in today – to jam, or to perform at wrap parties for John’s films. That innate free-flowing chemistry helps Lost Themes IV: Noir run like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

Here’s the full Lost Themes IV: Noir track list:

1. My Name is Death
2. Machine Fear
3. Last Rites
4. The Burning Door
5. He Walks By Night
6. Beyond The Gallows
7. Kiss The Blood Off My Fingers
8. Guillotine
9. The Demon’s Shadow
10. Shadows Have A Thousand Eyes

The following physical variants will be available:

  • Sacred Bones Exclusive Red on Clear Splatter vinyl w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Sacred Bones Society Exclusive on Black and White Splatter on Clear w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • All retail Transparent Red, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Indie Exclusive Tan and Black Marble, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Rough Trade Exclusive Oxblood Red and Black Splatter, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Shout Exclusive Black and Clear cloudy, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Black LP, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • CD
  • Tape

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now!

Lost Themes IV Noir

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