Check Out Rivers of Nihil’s Psychedelic, ’70s-Inspired Acid Trip of a New Video for “Where Owls Know My Name”

Rivers of Nihil are proggy, sure… but they’re not that kind of proggy. Come to think of it, with all the experimentation on their latest wet dream album Where Owls Know My Name — the complex arrangements, extensive use of keyboards, clean vocals, sparing but pointed use of saxophone, etc. — would we really be all that surprised if Rivers of Nihil pulled an Opeth next time around and went full bore into King Crimson / Yes / Emerson, Lake & Palmer territory?? I certainly wouldn’t.

Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, though, because the band’s not there yet… they’re still a cruising, rolling, punishing death metal machine. But that didn’t stop them from playing up the prog elements on their latest effort in the David Brodsky and Allie Woest-directed new clip for the album’s title track, which sees the band dressed in pscyhedelic ’70s costumes performing in front of a screen projecting trippy, lava lamp-like effects. And the dance moves… oh my, vocalist Jake Dieffenbach’s dance moves! Cannot unsee! So good. Black Crown Initiate’s Andy Thomas and saxophone player Zach Strause, both of whom performed on the track, appear in the clip.

The video for “Where Owls Know My Name” is only available on Apple Music for the time being (it’ll be released on other platforms on September 7th), so Apple Music subscribers can watch it right here. For the rest of you, or those considering signing up for the service, here’s a tasty preview of what’s in store: