Synthwave Sunday: Volkor X, “This Means War” Retro Pixel Art Music Video

Visuals are as important a part of synthwave as the music itself. Retro-inspired artists such as Forces Creative, Charles Blanchard (who designed the most recent South by South Death poster for MetalSucks) and Valenberg — whose animated NES-style visuals were behind recent music videos for Perturbator, GosT and Victor Love — have all made their presence heavily felt in the scene of late and the entire genre is all the better for it.

Gyhyom, who as far as I can tell is a newer arrival on the scene, directed and animated the new video for “This Means War” by Synthwave Sunday alum Volkor X, and it’s positively fantastic. His pixel art style draws from the later end of the synthwave spectrum — think early 16-bit SNES side-scrollers like Contra III instead of 8-bit point-and-clicks like Shadowgate — but it evokes a sense of nostalgia no less strong. I’m also just LOVING all the subtle references to ’80s/’90s and synthwave culture within the video — Mitch Murder graffiti on the wall, Tower 808, etc.

“This Means War” is the title track from Volkor X’s most recent album; stream the whole thing and/or buy it on Bandcamp.