LA’s In Covert create a fascinating blend of schlocky horror-punk and genuinely frightening industrial doom-metal, all led by vocals from Kris Balocca that sound equally indebted to the erratic ’00s sasscore movement and the more contemplative bellow of Chino Moreno. All of these influences came to a point on the group’s single “Death Embers” from earlier this month, which, as guitarist Wes Lopez notes, began coming together nearly two years ago after a screening of the 1994 short film My Sweet Satan—although it was Balocca’s vocals and lyrics about personal loss that provided the finishing touches. ”He sent me his vocal takes and I was blown away,” Lopez shares. “He is just amazing.”
Matching the sweet, Satanic energy of the single, Lopez and Balocca put together a video for “Death Embers” that’s full of dark imagery, eerie figures, and gnarly pyrotechnics which all helped fortify their vision for the track. “I wanted to create scenery similar to The Crow—a dark, trashy alley that’s dangerous, but low-budget and shot on video,” Lopez shares before introducing the clip’s central figure. “Since this song is about Kris losing someone, I got the idea of creating a weird character that’s similar to the Grim Reaper—like he’s filling out his book to collect souls, but with this cool mask I have that looks like The Crow/Joey from Slipknot’s mask with a black velvet blazer I had, and [video assistant Cynthia Herrera] provided the bondage leather hat and the belt.
“It was a lot of fun shooting that night,” he adds. “Kris and I’s hair almost caught fire from all of the headbanging!”
Check out the video below.
