LISTEN HERE: Black Mastiff goes to space
Coincidentally, the subject of Black Mastiff’s new video for the song Star Base 77 is a French Mastiff named Babette – who is not black. She’s yellow.
Via “Rotoscope” animation (the technique of tracing over real footage, made famous by Ralph Bakshi in his 1978 version of The Lord of the Rings), the rescue dog belonging to the band’s singer-songwriter-animator Bobby Yiannakoulias is seen piloting a rocket ship to another planet – just so she can take a poop.
“It’s the best place to do her business,” Yiannakoulias says.
OK, so the video doesn’t have much to do with the lyrics of the song. Going nicely with Black Mastiff’s trademark doomy groove metal sound is a surreal tale strewn with fantasy and sci-fi imagery.
“It’s very stream of consciousness, existential,” Yiannakoulias says. “There’s not a lot of sense to it. It touches on obsession, of feeling neurotic and focusing on things that are not really important.”
Star Base 77 is the first single from Black Mastiff’s new album, Loser Delusions, being released worldwide today (Friday, Oct. 18).
The band will play the Starlite Room on Friday, Oct. 25, in a dual album release show with Calgary’s Chron Goblin.
Until then …
LISTEN HERE: A Brave New Stinky World, animation by by Bob Yiannakoulias:
