The Devin Townsend Project- "Juular" music video

There really isn't a musician in the world right now, metal or otherwise, that can match Devin Townsend's vision. He has a peculiar sensibility that has made his mark on a project instantly recognizable, from Strapping Young Lad to the Devin Townsend Project. Even through the four albums in four different genres that make up the Project, each song is so specifically his. It should come as no surprise, then, that he has given us this video for “Juular,” the first single off of Deconstruction.

The video, which was animated, edited, shot, and co-directed by David Brodsky, looks like the twisted nightmare version of Modest Mouse's “Float On” video. The pop-up book appearance only adds to the unsettling nature of the video, which matches perfectly with the frantic and haunting song. This is one of the few music videos that actually fits with the song it was created for, and is likely to have at least a couple images that will stick around in your head through future listens to the album.

Most likely, it will be the super-creepy old man screaming into the camera. It's not obvious on first glance, but that's Devin under some pretty impressive make-up, and it's an effective solution to those lines, which are delivered by former Emperor front man Ihsahn. Fans will also be happy to see the Ziltoid puppet, which Townsend has used as an alter ego of sorts since 2007's Ziltoid the Omniscient.

The video also wisely forgoes the standard performance video, with no shots of the actual band anywhere in sight. Since it always looks a bit silly to watch people pretend to play to their own song, the video avoids one of the main reasons MTV's airwaves are dominated by dating shows. It is actually an interesting video to watch, at least once or twice. Like most music videos, “Juular” does lean pretty heavily on a one-note concept, but at least here it's a good one. This is the sort of video that made Headbanger's Ball something I would stay up for, then be immediately terrified by, when I was 13. With the music video rapidly going the way of the CD single, that is nice to see every once in a while.