Quentin Deronzier directs a rousing promo for the return of M.I.A.The video for Marigold opens with the statement, 'Where there is darkness, light will grow', and this encapsulates the themes of the concept. Boasting an arresting montage of cinematic vignettes, we cut between M.I.A's performance and snapshots of an apocalyptic event, with waves of marigolds devastating the city. Jumping between high-octane, sweeping shots of the disaster and intimate moments shared between strangers, it's a brilliant video for an exciting and fresh track. "Marigold reflects the current state of the world, where even the most shocking events are met with indifference, gradually normalizing violence and disasters," explains Deronzier. "Against this backdrop, M.I.A. moves from one scene to the next, like a vessel of hope, carrying a profound message of peace and renewal."

A year after the video for Slow, his extraordinary first visual for Black Midi, Swedish animator Gustaf Holtenäs has collaborated once again with the precocious math-rock outfit, and the result is another jaw-dropping tour de force.For Welcome To Hell, Holtenäs has returned to the Slow universe, with the same visual style, merging both 2D and 3D animation. Ultimately we realise we are witnessing the origin story of the angry blue boy creature from the first video. But there is also a new narrative element here, and a discernable critique of the warped nature of online relationships. Ultimately its an even more developed version of an imagined world that's entirely (or pretty much entirely) derived from the director's imagination.I wanted to portray the main character as this entitled martyr of an Incel."Yes it is a extension of the Slow universe," Holtenäs tells Promonews. "A prequel and also a sequel. I don’t want to get into the details of the narrative too much. Both for its ridiculous complexity, but also because I want the keep the interpretation open. If Slow was an existential/philosophical apocalyptic video this one is more of a social/political apocalyptic video."I got the idea for the thematics after a lot of my female friends have men stalking them on the internet. So I wanted to portray the main character as this entitled martyr of an Incel. But enough of spoiling."Holtenäs has recently moved from Stockholm to Barcelona, and the video, that he has been developing since December last year before moving into production from February, was made in collaboration with the Barcelona animation collective Mitrilo."I was in charge of all the 2D while Sevi Domochevsky directed the 3D-animation," he says, adding that he had free rein once again on making the video. "Although I briefed the band on the narrative with storyboards before starting the work." Mesmerizing, gut-punching, deeply enigmatic - and truly original.

Blinkink director, metalhead and massive Iron Maiden fan Nicos Livesey fulfills a personal dream by directing the video for the legendary heavy metal band's new single. The result is a blockbusting epic six-minute 2D and 3D animated video that imagines Belshazzar's Feast... aka The End of the World.From the moment a mysterious gowned Samaritan tends to the last moments of a dying man in a parched desert, we are unmistakeably placed in a dystopian world ravaged by pollution and drought. Then the elite class begin to arrive for their exclusive party in the desert - including a fat, bloated US President and a bunch of faceless, bowler-hatted British civil servants...But their dastardly rule of the Earth is about to come to an end. The gowned figure is none other than legendary Maiden mascot Eddie, who summons the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse to destroy the vampire who is feeding off the souls of the young, perpetuating the rule of the elite...Derived from an original storyline from Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, and storyboards by veteran Pixar artist Mark Andrews, Livesey and Blinkink then pulled out all the stops to bring the production to life - and this was eight months in the making.The combination of 2D and 3D animation involved around sixty crew members, working across the globe in the UK, France, Spain, Norway, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Germany, Greece, USA, and Canada.It's an epic take on Armageddon - which becomes the basis of a new beginning...