This year, we’ve been spoilt for choice with hilarious, terrifying and just plain awesome rock videos. After hours of sitting in front of YouTube, we’ve whittled it down to ten of the best. It was tough, but what’s not to like about fearsome gladiators, lupine exorcisms, slo-mo fruit explosions and battles with bears?
**10. New Found Glory – Ready and Willing **
This year, New Found Glory came out swinging with the their new album Resurrection, taking pot-shots at pretty much anyone and everyone who’d irked them in the past. It would be manufactured pop bands who would bear the brunt of their ire in the video for Ready And Willing. And while many people believed that they were extracting the urine out of 5 Seconds Of Summer, guitarist Chad Gilbert said, “It was more making fun of a lot of people who think if something isn’t packaged in a certain way younger fans may not react to it as well.”
9. Beartooth – The Lines
Technology allows us to do incredible things. We can contact friends across the world in an instant, make artificial limbs that can be controlled with the mind and we can even land on asteroids that are really far away. Thanks Dr. Matt. However, sometimes it’s just best to use these staggering technological advances to film five dudes wallop the shit out of watermelons with sledgehammers. Beartooth took note of this and made this smashing video for our viewing pleasure.
8. Fall Out Boy – Centuries
Fall Out Boy’s sound has changed dramatically during their career. In recent years, they’ve gone from angst-ridden pop-punk to stadium rock and they’ve taken that to the Nth degree on Centuries. A taster from their forthcoming album, American Beauty/American Psycho, this epic video sees the Chicago quartet stuck in a Coliseum with a huge guy that doesn’t look best pleased. A true David and Goliath tale with an interesting cameo for those who stick it out until the end.
7. Mastodon – The Motherload
This video polarised opinions across the internet and brought the keyboard warriors out in force. Is it sexist or an interesting social commentary on the current trend in pop videos? Whatever your stance, Mastodon’s twerk-filled creation certainly caused a stir this year. Drummer Brann Dailor was upset by the accusations of sexism and said he just wanted “to make something that was bizarre, [something] that would confuse people.” Well Brann, you certainly did that.
6. Amon Amarth – Father Of The Wolf
There’s music videos, and then there’s Amon Amarth music videos. More Lord of the Rings style epic fantasy tale than mere music clip, the Father Of The Wolf video is nothing short of astounding. Clocking in at just over ten minutes, it’s interspersed with Norse Gods battling as a huge war breaks out. If you just want to hear the song you’ll have to skip to around the 4:50 mark, but the entire thing is worth watching just for the sheer scale of the production. Ambitious and as grandiose as the metal they create, this is next level video making from the Swedes.
5. Bring Me the Horizon – Drown
Bring Me The Horizon aren’t known for doing things by halves. As anticipation grew for their mammoth Wembley show, the band released a new single and video. Drown itself is a bold excursion from the band’s heavy side, treading dangerously close to festival-headlining alt-rock territory, and it’s backed up by a sinister video that sees drummer Matt Nicholls looking slightly worse for wear by the end. We expect he’s alright nooooooo-ow-oooo, though. Ahem.
4. Enter Shikari – Slipshod
A late entry from Enter Shikari, but one that should certainly be noted purely for how absurdly brilliant it is. Slipshod is a iTunes bonus track from their forthcoming highly anticipated album The Mindsweep and the accompanying video sees the band getting just a tad irate at a restaurant’s terrible service. Created by former Ren And Stimpy animator Peter MacAdams, the video is as mental as the song itself. We’re not quite sure what the hell goes inside the collective mind of the Shikari boys, but we’re pretty sure we like it.
3. Every Time I Die – Decayin’ with the Boys
Following on from the raucous video for Thirst, the Decayin’ With The Boys clip sees our two drunk heroes turn up to one hell of a party. There’s riffs, puking, making out, more puking and… you get the picture. Oh, and did somebody say chokeslam?
2. Off! – Over Our Heads/Meet Your God
If you ever wondered what Jack Black would look like wrestling a bear, Off!’s video for Over Our Heads/Meet Your God has everything you need and more. Surely a contender for an Academy Award come February…
1. Slipknot – The Devil In I
Following the tragic death of bassist Paul Gray and departure of drummer Joey Jordison, the new Slipknot album was always going be a dark affair. The video for The Negative One was haunting enough, but The Devil In I seriously takes things to the next level. It’s not an easy watch, but one that proves that Slipknot are still very much at the top of their game.
