Every day, it seems more and more like the results of climate change will result in something out of a horror or dystopian movie. Hellhorse hold a similar belief, expressing it in artistic fashion with the video for “The Long Drought,” a new song from their appropriately-titled Paradise Lost EP.
Instrumentally, Hellhorse have a lot in common with the metalcore kings of the early 2000s: Converge, Botch, Poison the Well, et al. Singer Joe Feeley helps differentiate Hellhorse with a vocal style that sounds equally inspired by post-metal and melodic hardcore.
“‘The Long Drought’ sets the tone for the rest of the record,” Feeley explains. “Lyrically, this record focuses on climate change. Climate change is happening and it’s perilous to ignore it. This song focuses on effects we are already seeing, specifically drought, more extreme storms and warmer global temperatures. ‘The Long Drought’ also examines the denial of climate change which relates to the human impulse to destroy and collapse in on oneself. If this continues, we will be going down a path that will lead to suffering on a global scale.”
If that wasn’t enough to unsettle you, the video for “The Long Drought” might just do the trick. The artsy video looks like an iTunes commercial from Hell, complete with silhouettes, rope and a masked figure.
“We didn’t want to create a video with a straightforward narrative or just jam the song in a room,” guitarist Brian O’Rourke tells Decibel. “The idea to use silhouettes came up early on. From there we used concepts from the songs and album artwork for what would be shown. Taking it a step further, we thought it might be interesting if the imagery was being used for brainwashing, in a very Clockwork Orange type of way.”
Speak of mutually assured destruction and watch “The Long Drought” below. Paradise Lost is out October 4.