It's Halloween season and you know what that means: yes, disturbing music videos. And who better to kick off the creep-fest than Tool? Any one of their early videos will creep even the most desensitized soul out.
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Now, back to our catalog of creep...
Bauhaus went full Nosferatu in this amazing creepfest. It helps that the song is even creepier than the visuals. And that Peter Murphy has always been out of his gourd.
This is one of the sickest and most disturbing videos you'll ever see, even though nothing much seems to happen in it. But it feels like a document, rather than a work of art. You get the feeling that the really horrific things will kick off once the cameras stop rolling. And probably actually did.
Do I even need to preface this one? It's pure disturbance, beginning to end. Don't watch it alone.
The really creepy thing about this video is that it's meant to be funny. Still, Crispin Glover is a national treasure.
Again, the horror here is implied. Especially when you consider it's not really about birds.
I hate the remix of this particular tune, but this is typical of the creep factor early Peter Gabriel music videos were renowned for.
This zesty little dance tune doesn't seem to match the abject creepiness of the video. But in many ways, that makes all the more creepy. It's a paradox.
Early SPK is as sick, evil, and insane as Industrial ever got. Perhaps even more so. They went more 'mersh in the Eighties with this kind of thing, but could never shake their essential creepiness.
I never cared much for this song - it's Our Kate following the trends, rather than leading them - but you can't deny the delicious creepiness of the video.
Killing Joke never really made a video as creepy as their records, but this is a good one. If nothing else than for the fact that it had a major influence on Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. And we all know how that turned out.
Everything about Skinny Puppy is creepy to the core, so any one of their videos will suffice.
This is a creepy video, but it's not nearly as creepy as the song itself. This was our first real indication that Uncle Alien was frying the frick out of every last braincell inside his skull with the worst gutter drugs you could possibly imagine. As you can see these days, it took the most cringe of tolls.
I remember seeing this video back when it was released. I was stoned out of my gourd and it freaked the absolute hell out of me. I was shook up for the rest of the night. You'll see why.
What are YOUR favorite video nasties, Pilgrim?
Enter your picks for the next installment.
Prison Sex is their best track---if also most disturbing. Can't blame them for never playing it live. Shame though, because it has such an uncommonly unique sound. That low-buzzsaw drone guitar tone (I think the tuning has something to do with it too), and those unconventional sort of syncopated drums, esp for a "heavy" band. They were a revelation to me as a 10-year old when this came out. (No shade on them, but I just sort of lost interest after the second album.)
ReplyDeleteNow I'm a long time reader, but for no good reason this is the first time I clicked on one of the Killing Joke videos. Man, where were these guys back in my 20s and 30s. My old metal/punk buds would have flipped for this. I don't think I recall anyone ever bringing them up. Love the goth touches. For all the harshness, it's still really a nice balance. He uses his voice well; he blends the gravel into the clear tones very smoothly.
And for my money, the still most disturbing video is Einsturzende Neubauten's "Halber Mensch". Even more so the song itself than the video. Something about the production of those choral vocals singing that composition is just so completely unnerving to me.