Here are my 14 favorite videos released in 2013. It was hard culling a great list down to a single, essential hour of videos because there were at least two hours worth of memorable ones. These are the ones I like best. I've run them down in chronological order of release and I'll give my reasons for liking each one as we go here ...
- Frankenstein Pays The Rent (The Mangled Dead / Hate Humans) - Just a fun, campy, no budget video. The best moment is when the monster rides by the bus stop on a skateboard and takes the guy's obviously fake hand off as he goes.
- U Turn (The Quartet of Woah! / Ultrabomb) - There's nothing flashy about this video, just four guys jamming on a sound stage. What makes this video stick out for me is the rambunctious energy of the guys in the band. Impressive performance.
- Bruce Lee (Indian Handcrafts / Civil Disobedience For Losers) - There's no disliking this video, that's just all there is to it. A good retro feel here for this faux chop sockey flick. The Canadian duo actually make a good job of it acting the parts too.
- Torn Apart (Valient Thorr / Our Own Masters) - This video puts a smile on my face. Valient Thorr sit in cubicles, long hair, beards and tattoos in button up shirts and ties acting freaked out by the office worker whose decided he's had enough. Guys quietly peaking over a sea of cubicles makes me LOL as the kids say (Lucas laughs). Good conclusion to the storyline too.
- Dune (Beastwars / Blood Becomes Fire) - This was just an amazing animated video. Visual stunner here, Beastwars are quickly developing a reputation as having excellent visual representation of their work to go along with the amazing music. Astronauts and dinosaurs, what more needs be said?
- Sons of the Soil (C.F.A. / Managed By The Devil, Brought To You By The Grace Of God) - This was another fun, silly video. The Tacoma trio do the Dorf thing here and hilarity ensues. Good energy and a lot of good fun.
- Waiting for Saturn (Bison, Bison / ST) - It's kind of a toss up between this and "Bruce Lee" for my favorite clip of the year. This video is a tribute to John Carpenter's They Live complete with alien masks and extended fight scene.
- Goodbye Gemini (Blood Ceremony / The Eldritch Dark) - This one gets the nod for the nice retro flavor here. It really feels like an obscure occult horror film from the seventies with the poor image quality and vintage clothing.
- Shrouded (The Body / Christs, Redeemers) - This was one of the most enigmatic videos I've ever seen, if for no other reason than the song this video supports isn't really all that musical. It's just a whole lot of static, but it creates an incredibly intense atmosphere and it all builds to the stunning conclusion. Feels like a found footage snuff film.
- The Bearded Fool (Old Man Wizard / Unfavorable) - Here we go with another fun one. The guys in Old Man Wizard have shot (or are shooting?) a video for every song on their six track debut album and they're all different. In this one OMW get their medieval thing on meeting the dastardly challenges of dread witches and piss poor video editing. It's mad, brilliant stuff.
- Branch Davidian Compound (Cold Blue Mountain / ST) - This one I just liked the concept. The band gets together and jams in a house. The camera voyeuristically watches from outside the window in moments here and there creating a cool perspective. What seems normal from the inside, seems strange from the outside.
- Slave the Hive (High on Fire / digital single) - This was a strange one indeed, just a strange concept. A Jacob's Ladder feel to this one with anthropomorphic bunny's etc. substituting for the demons in the psych ward. Cute when animated, the stuff of nightmares in live action.
- Palm Reader (Castles / Fiction or Truth?) - Nothing too flashy in this one, yet again. What I like about this video is the energy and enthusiasm of the band. Walking down a Belgian back alley in business suits, the band headbangs, air guitars and air drums to their own song which may seem egotistical to some, but I like the idea that the band isn't too cool to totally geek out about their own creation. It makes me enthusiastic about their music, because they are.
- Wasted Wails (Hydromedusa / digital single) - This was just brilliant. VHS shot for that genuine retro feel, the concept is nothing special, just the band jamming in a green room with psychedelic images projected behind them, but the video has two thing going for it: it's got a great soundtrack and a good vibe.
