‘…Like Clockwork’ – New Queens of the Stone Age Music Videos by Liam Brazier
The internationally acclaimed metal band Queens of the Stone Age released their 6th studio album …Like Clockwork today (3rd of June 2013).
In the run-up to the launch, five fully animated videos were created along with an associated viral animations and a 15-minute short film that joined together the series of album cuts. These dark and mostly bloody animations were created by London based animator Liam Brazier and illustrator Boneface.
The duo worked together over four months to create these epic short music videos that have been described by Brazier as “somewhere between a motion comic and an abattoir run by Tarantino.”
The initial video received well over a million views on YouTube in two days, and was re-tweeted worldwide.
A staggering amount of bizarre and incredible facts accompany the production of these short animation sequences, such as the first couple of videos being made solely on Brazier’s 2010 MacBook Pro and the clip for I Appear Missing taking sixty-eight hours to render. In fact much of the animation was created in a very unconventional manner – most of the footage was created to unfinished music, some scenes were animated whilst flying between meetings and the videos If I Had a Tail and My God is the Sun were created in only two weeks.
Another wonderfully disturbing addition leading up to the album’s release was Lee Martin’s idea to create a website that enables the creepy figure from Kalopsia to send a call drop directly to your phone. The voice is actually that of Brazier himself, the receiver is welcomed by a disjointed and Hannibal Lector-esque voice – it’s all part of the service with this breed of band.
The dark and sinister artwork is superbly paired with the unnatural and jarring movements of the puppet-jointed animation. As a long time QOTSA fan these animations suit the heavy, moody, darkly erotic and ambient sounds that the band is renowned for. Their music has always struck me as deeply narrative-driven and their videos often have dark and gruesome plots.
Listen to the album, watch the animation and call the creep. Live in the darkness for a little while and let the music in.
Follow the links below to see each of the short videos: