Much of this six-minute track is relatively restrained, as it sports slow tempos, clean tones, and richly melodic signing from frontman Randy Blythe. The arrangement eventually picks up speed and Blythe unleashes his growling scream over ultra-heavy riffs.
Meanwhile, the accompanying video shows black and white footage of two people whose obsession with their mobile phones results in them becoming detached from their surroundings. The way the story plays out is rather disturbing and slightly gory. It was directed by Jorge Torres-Torres, and based on a concept by Blythe.
Read a statement from Blythe below, and watch the "Overlord" video below that.
For years I've wished that I could have a movie camera directly linked to my brain so that some of the ideas I see in my mind's eye could be translated into film for others to watch," Blythe begins. "Although that is obviously an impossibility (and probably a good thing- I find many things amusing that might not be so funny to everyone else), the video for "Overlord" is the next best thing for me. I came up with the idea and wrote the treatment for this video myself- to see Jorge (the director) take my concept, add his own touches, and use his technical know-how to translate my "mental script" into a suitably dark visual narrative is just an awesome, awesome experience for me.
I wrote the song about the dangers of self-obsession in our distressingly myopic and increasingly entitled "me-now/now-me" culture; just like the couple in the video, many people can't seem to look past their own relatively small problems to see the bigger picture: the world is in serious trouble. Having a bad day at work, or a fight with your significant other, or getting a crappy haircut or table service does not in any way shape or form constitute an emergency. Sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them to- deal with it. People who only see their own problems eventually wind up alone because no one wants to hear their crap anymore- we all know someone like that, always whining and complaining about some inconsequential setback as if it were the apocalypse. This song is for those people.
Oh yeah- if you're out and about, watching the video on your pocket hate machine (mobile phone), try not to wander into traffic. A little situational awareness goes a long way.
VII: Sturm Und Drang sees release July 24 via Nuclear Blast/Sony.
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