VIDEO OF THE WEEK – ALESTORM

Chosen by DJ Monk

Despite the current lockdown, we are still receiving a healthy bundle of submissions for our coveted ‘Video Of The Week’ title. While some artists are trying to find new ways of visually interpreting their songs, others obviously have had the guts of their filming completed in advance of the global quarantine, with the finishing touches being added in isolated post-production. This week’s selection once again sees a balance of these two approaches… although, to be honest, we are starting to run out of the latter, with videos filmed against the backdrop of isolation and social distancing becoming more and more the “new normal”…

Our lead offering this week once again, for the second time in as many months, comes from those loveable loons Alestorm, who don’t really need to prove that they are the ultimate ‘Pirate Metal Drinking Crew’, but couldn’t resist the temptation to emphasize the point with this, their latest clip, which was released on the same day (i.e. this past Friday) as their new album, the brilliantly titled ‘Curse Of The Crystal Coconut’. The video takes us behind the scenes on some of their in-studio and on location antics, and is the usual dose of lunacy you would expect from Cap’n Bowes and his motley crüe of reprobates and ruffians:

Next up, we have a dose of garage punk for y’all, thanks to Vancouver’s The Vicious Cycles, who bring us yet more hilarity with ‘Sandpaper’, a cautionary tale about the dangers of washing your hands too much in these quarantined times! The video is another of those featuring the band members, their family, friends and fans (and dogs!) interpreting the song – and, if you like what you hear, the Cycles also have a split 7” out with Pirates Press labelmates Territories for you further aural delectation:

Next up, we have French-American power duo Tarah Who?, who evoke the spirit of the Alanis Morrissette jamming with The Distillers with their new single, the cryptically-titled ‘Pantomath’, which comes complete with a video that continues our motorcycling theme, as it could well serve as a trailer for the news ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ spin-off, ‘Daughters Of SAMCRO’! And. It’s a pretty tasty wee tune to boot, with an acidic vocal and biting guitar line:

The lockdown has undoubtedly been doing strange things to people – not least of them the Northern Ireland alt-rock band Backwash, who contacted ÜRHQ during the week to tell us that they had got back together (well, in a socially-distanced manner of course) after an 11-year hiatus and recorded a new version, complete with new lyrics, of one of their old songs… well, we had a listen, and a gander at the accompanying video, and decided it was worthy of inclusion purely and simply because of the wonderful cameos by the band members’ kids:

Our penultimate clip features yet more cameos – 38 of them in fact! British death metallers Ingested roped in a load of their buddies to help with the video for ‘Dead Seraphic Forms’, the second single to be lifted from their forthcoming new album, ‘Where Only Gods May Tread’, which is due to be released in August. Not only that, but they are running a competition challenging fans to identify all 38 of the contributors, with the chance of winning a special-pre-order bundle. Of course, we know all of ‘em… but we ain’t telling (unless you fancy breaking into Alestorm’s secret rum stash and sending it our way), so you’ll just have to figure them out for yourselves:

Our final selection fitted one basic criteria – we love the band name: Hookers & Blow. We quite like their music as well – but then the band line-up does include Guns ‘N Roses keyboard player Dizzy Reed and Quiet Riot guitarist Alex Grossi, so you more or less know what to expect. Their next project is a covers album, which will be released later this year and features some of the duo’s favourite songs, including this version of the Rolling Stones classic, ‘Rocks Off’:

That’s your lot for this week. Hope you have enjoyed the new sights and sounds we have brought to you this week. Until next time, keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and #StaySafe…