Behemoth "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" Official Video (NSFW)

There’s really no such thing as a “big” black metal band, but Poland’s Behemoth are probably as big as they come. The band has charted a fascinating arc since forming in 1991. Along with Vader, they more or less gave birth to Poland’s extreme metal scene, and they’ve produced a deep catalog of ambitious and audacious records that have also sold well enough to make them actual legitimate stars at home — frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski was at one point engaged to the singer Doda, aka the “queen of Polish music,” aka Poland’s Britney Spears. In August 2010, Nergal was diagnosed with advanced-stage leukemia — reportedly too advanced to be treatable with chemo — which more or less shut down the band entirely. But Nergal fought the disease and, with the help of a bone marrow transplant, beat it. Last year, with Nergal fully recuperated, the band headlined a massive North American tour also featuring the Devil’s Blood, In Solitude, and Watain. Those are three very good bands. But from every account I’ve heard (and based on the one show I witnessed), Behemoth absolutely blew them all off the stage, putting on one of the most transcendent and transformative shows I’ve ever seen. Anyway, Nergal and Behemoth are back for real next year, with the scheduled release of their 10th album (and first since 2009), The Satanist. It’s probably as much an “event” as any metal album will be in 2014, and based on the outstanding first single (and video), “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel,” it’s going to be an event worth attending. Check out the track and its accompanying video (which is truly a thing to behold but absolutely NSFW).

A$AP Mob – “Trillmatic” (Feat. Method Man) Video

A$AP Rocky is already a star, A$AP Ferg is already a cult hero, and next year, we’ll hear from the rest of the A$AP Mob. The crew’s as-yet-untitled compilation album will be out in a few months, and first single “Trillmatic” is almost entirely a solo showcase for crew member A$AP Nast. But the ’90s-style boom-bap track also has a verse from Method Man, and Meth sounds nasty on this thing. The video sticks with the Timberlands-era aesthetic, going hard on the dudes-rapping-in-project-hallways style that used to dominate the Box and Rap City.

Lorde - “Team” (Official Video)

To close out the year of our Lorde, the newest superstar on the block has released a video for the followup single to the massive “Royals.” If you haven’t picked up Pure Heroine yet, “Team” is a worthy successor and will put to bed anyone doubting Lorde’s success beyond a one hit wonder. The video (which actually broke Vevo for a while — kudos) sees the popstress surrounded by water-guzzling acolytes, singing from a throne of sorts in the middle of an overgrown and abandoned ruin. Watch the video and read some words from the Kiwi star below.

From Facebook:

WE’RE ON EACH OTHER’S TEAM

this video was borne from a dream i had a few months ago about teenagers in their own world, a world with hierarchies and initiations, where the boy who was second in command had acne on his face, and so did the girl who was queen. i dreamt about this world being so different to anything anyone had ever seen, a dark world full of tropical plants and ruins and sweat. and of this world, i dreamt about tests that didn’t need to be passed in order to be allowed in: sometimes the person who loses is stronger. enjoy xx

Young Galaxy - “Hard To Tell” (Official Video)

Back in October, Young Galaxy released a video for their single “Privileged Poor” off of the this year’s Ultramarine. The Canadian band has a solid track record of making quirky animated videos to accompany their sonic melancholia, and this is the second time that Young Galaxy have worked with painter/illustrator Carine Khalifé. “Hard To Tell” is a pretty charming cut-and-paste illustrated animation featuring a lot of different animals walking through the woods wearing cerulean suits. The song was re-released today on the group’s Hard To Tell EP.

Linda Perhacs - “Freely” (Official Video)

Linda Perhacs hasn’t released an album in 44 years, but her one record, Parralellograms, is an outright classic. When I saw her play her first New York show a few months ago at the Mexican Summer Anniversary it was absolutely breathtaking. Perhacs talked about how she was finishing her long awaited sophomore album at the show, and now it finally has a release date. The Soul Of All Natural Things will come out March 4th on Sufjan Steven’s label Asthmatic Kitty. The album features contributions from Julia Holter and Ramona Gonzalez, artists on whom Perhacs has had a massive influence. One of the songs Perhacs played that night was the lovely “Freely,” the studio version of which you can hear in this new video.

Justin Bieber - "All That Matters" (Official Video)

Music video by Justin Bieber performing All That Matters. ©: The Island Def Jam Music Group

Vic Mensa & Clams Casino - “Egyptian Cotton” Official Video

As part of a recent promotional push, HP Computers hired the Chicago rap youngster Vic Mensa and visionary producer Clams Casino to head into the studio together and make a song. They had two days to make a song and a video and to decorate the studio, and they streamed the entire process on YouTube, taking notes from YouTube commenters, who are known to be endless spouts of wisdom. The end result is “Egyptian Cotton.” The video looks like money being piled on your computer screen, and the song sounds pretty good, with Mensa nonchalantly riding a quasi-Middle Eastern Clams beat. But really, all you needed to know was “Clams beat,” right?

Devendra Banhart - “Mondo Taurobolium” Official Video (Feat. Rose McGowan)

Devendra Banhart: Mondo Taurobolium on Nowness.com

Devendra Banhart’s deeply strange, oddly compelling video for “Mondo Taurobolium,” a song from his 2013 album Mala, is a trippy animation that takes place entirely in a world of cartoon ducks and wolves. Banhart voice-acts the main role, as a disaffected movie-star duck, while actual movie star Rose McGowan plays his girlfriend, and both get the opportunity to do drugged-out, hard-boiled voice-overs. Galen Pehrson directs, taking inspiration from the ’60s exploitation-animation genre known as Mondo.

Forest Fire – “Passengers” Video

New York City’s Forest Fire released their third album Screens back in September. Now released a video for poppy track “Passengers.” It features black and white footage of artist Maurice Thomassen working on a large painting, as well as brief scenes where he appears to be painting the band members individually. “Passengers” kind of feels like summer; as vocalist Mark Thresher harmonizes with bandmate Natalie Stormann in the chorus, her cheerful flute playing and surf rock guitar riffs give the song the easy-going vibes of warmer seasons

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - “Belong” Official Video (Previously Unreleased)

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart released their shimmering sophomore set Belong more than two years ago, but directors Brad and Brian Palmer’s video for the title track hadn’t surfaced until frontman Kip Berman posted it on his Tumblr this morning. The stark black and white cinematography has little in common with producers Flood and Alan Moulder’s colorfully gleaming Siamese Dream swoon, but on balance it’s a suitable reminder that a new album from this band would hit the spot right about now.

Holograms - “Luminous” Official Video

Swedish punk band Holograms put out their sophomore album a few months back and now have a video for “Luminous.” The video is as stark as the band’s music pairing shots of buildings and intense live shows with sweeter images like the one above. The song meanwhile shows off exactly where these guys’ strengths are: blunt drums, searing guitar, and ice cold synths. Though Iceage may be the kings of the Scandanvian punk scene, these guys are just as much worth your time.

Lee Bannon – “VALUE 10″

You may have heard Lee Bannon this year making beats for Joey Bada$$, but early next year the producer will be putting out a solo album. Below is the video for “VALUE 10,” which sprints at you with its wonky, lightning fast beats and pitch shifted vocals, leaving you breathless as it cuts off at the two minute mark.

The Hidden Cameras – “Gay Goth Scene” Video

Canadian band the Hidden Cameras have just announced the impending release of Age, their sixth album but their first since 2009. Lead single “Gay Goth Scene” has been a staple of the band’s live shows for more than a decade, but this version, which has backing vocals from singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O’Hara, is the first that they’ve released. The song deals with teenage bullying, and its video, from director Kai Stänicke, is a tough and intense and artfully rendered narrative about same. It will make you feel bad, but you should watch it anyway below.

Primal Scream - “Goodbye Johnny” Official Video

In May the Primal Scream released More Light, a groovy, hypnotic album reminiscent of their music from the late ’80s. They’ve already released videos for “2013” and “It’s Alright, It’s OK,” and now there’s a clip for “Goodbye Johnny” designed and directed by creative director of Another Man magazine, Alister Mackie. The video resembles the Warhol Screen Tests, with frontman Bobby Gillespie lookalikes lip-syncing while the “Loaded” music video, off of their hit 1991 album Screamadelica, is projected over them. Despite shooting the video in the Backstreet Club, London’s original gay sex club, the video’s oozing sexiness wouldn’t be complete without two over-the-top glamorous drag queens, seducing the camera with big feathered fans. The video suits the sounds; with an eerie circus-like melody and bluesy sax solos, the lookalikes and drag queens move their heads and hips as if to a salsa.

The Killers - “Christmas In L.A.” Video (Feat. Owen Wilson)

“Christmas In L.A.” finds Brandon Flowers in full on Springsteen mode making a sad, grandly orchestrated Christmas tune following a disillusioned actor stuck in the sunny city for the holiday. The actor in the video is Owen Wilson, joined here by a hard drinking Harry Dean Stanton. Switching between live action and animation the Kelly Loosi-directed clip even manages to slip in an animated cameo by Warren Zevon as he looks on his self-titled album. The single, which also features Dawes, will be used to raise money for Red Project in what has become a tradition for the Killers, who have released a charity Christmas song every year since 2006.

Tinariwen – “Toumast Tincha (The People Have Been Sold Out)” Video

The eternally badass Toureg desert-blues band Tinariwen is set to follow up their 2011 album Tassili early next year with the just-announced new album Emmaar. To escape the political chaos of their native Mali, the nomadic members of the band recorded the album in Joshua Tree National Park, possibly the best possible non-African location for a band like this to operate. The video for first single “Toumast Tincha (The People Have Been Sold Out)” is full of dunes and desert shrubs zipping past car windows, presumably a familiar sight for these guys.

Mogwai – “The Lord Is Out Of Control” Video

Scottish post-rock bosses Mogwai come bounding back early next year with their new album Rave Tapes, and first single “Remurdered” was a Goblin-esque horror-movie pulse. They’ve followed that one up with “The Lord Is Out Of Control,” a searingly beautiful vocodered space-twinkle. Its new video, from director Antony Crook, works as a dark tone poem about black coastal clouds and hard faces and shiny metallic raincoats and spinning gymnastic bodies.

Yo La Tengo, Ira Glass, & Eugene Mirman – “Toymageddon” Video

Toymageddon is the first single off the upcoming album 2776, which brings comedians and musicians together on a journey through the first millennium of American history.

Enslaved Humanoid Band - Yo La Tengo
Santa - Ira Glass
Deadly Robot - Eugene Mirman

Lyrics by Stephen Levinson, Joel Moss Levinson, Rob Kutner
Music by Yo La Tengo
Illustration by Juliana Brafa
Animation by Ed Mundy
Directed by Ed Mundy and Todd Bieber
Video Produced by Julie Gomez
Production Assistants: Clark Frankle, Patrick Robinson, Pavel Ezrohi