Chosen by Monk
As the rays of light at the end of the dark tunnel that has been the past 14 months of isolation and generally being shit upon from great heights grow brighter day by day, the rock ‘n’ roll year that is 2021 has somehow crept, crawled and sneaked closer to its halfway point, with its DMs firmly planted in the mire and muck of the chaos around it, with a healthy slew of new music pinging itself our way, and especially the continuing tsunami of submissions we receive for our coveted ‘Video Of The Week’ award… Yes, as we’ve said on multiple occasions, one constant throughout the vagaries of inconsistent and often hard to stomach lockdowns is the amazing level of adaptive creativity that bands and video directors the length and breadth of the Überverse have continued to show, often in the most adverse of circumstances.
After viewing all of the entries – and, yes, we did watch each and every one of the more than 150 submissions we received this past week alone – at the end of the day (or night, depending on where you are in the Überverse), there could be only one winner… And this week’s champion of champions, fighting off some extremely competition, takes us deep into ‘The Dark’ world of Jason Payne & The Black Leather Riders, and the clip for the second single from the former Louzada frontman’s new project.
Payne told us about the song, which is taken from the band’s forthcoming debut EP, ‘The Abyss’:
“Starting this new chapter of my artistic life is a dream come true for me. “The Dark” is a perfect starter to showcase the artistic direction of this project, and it’s a pleasure to finally release this track. I couldn’t be happier with the result – I believe this EP and this specific track is one of our best works so far. I’ve always been interested in philosophy, and this song really showcases my interest in that field, our cohesion and friendship as a band, our image and our sound. I feel good about our chances of building a long-lasting career with Jason Payne & The Black Leather Riders, and I know that this is the beginning of our long journey in the music industry.”
The video comes with a suitably macabre back story, showcasing the song’s underlying message that we all have a darker side and the deceptiveness of outward appearances… and, without giving too much away, the scene with the serial killer using an amputated limb is a moment of pure maniacal genius:
Jason Payne & The Black Leather Riders are due to play the Camden Rocks all-dayer at the Black Heart, alongside Reverted, Rival Karma, Janus Stark, Bleeding Antlers, Star Circus, Thousand Thoughts, Season of Ghosts, The Blood Republic, Tales of Perdition and Red Light Acid Test, on Saturday 10 July.
- All written content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.