Page - 74 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/02

74 | Lavinia Pflugfelder www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/2, 65–85 temporary examples are the music video for Schammasch’s “Metanoia”,39 where nature becomes almost an abstract entity in which one loses one- self, or the music videos for Uada’s “Devoid of Light”40 and “Cult of a Dying Sun”.41 In the latter two, a ritual motif is embedded in the nature scenery. The landscape and ruins in the video for Eluveitie’s “A Rose for Epona”,42 by contrast, evoke more references to the past, which fits the folk elements of the band. Many bands, productions and music videos refer intertextually to fantasy and horror genres (film and books). An early example is Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast,43 in which horror film material is interspersed as set pieces between scenes of the band performing.44 Even if no film material from existing horror films is used, the genre is often referred to through composi- tional and production aesthetics. Rob Zombie’s Living Dead Girl45 and Ghost’s Square Hammer46 make strong visual references to the cinema of German Expressionism. Some bands from the occult rock genre extend their musical references to the occult-flavoured bluesy psychedelic rock of the Sixties and Seventies. For example, the video for Blood Ceremony’s “Goodbye Gemini”47 imitates the visuals of this period through its use of colours and blurring. The music video for Jess and the Ancient One’s “Astral Sabbath”48 illustrates how modern image technology is used to create similar psychedelic music videos. More obvious references to the band’s location in the occult milieu as well as the musical orientation of the band and the contents of the specific song are indicated in this music video through the fade-in and fade-out of alchemical symbols.49 39 Metanoia (Schammasch, Patrick Häberli, CH 2016). 40 Devoid of Light (Uada, Tim Keenan Burgess, US 2016). 41 Cult of a Dying Sun (Uada, Jake Superchi, Occultus Visum, US 2018). 42 A Rose for Epona (Eluveitie, Grupa 13, PL 2012). 43 The Number of the Beast (Iron Maiden, David Mallet, UK 1982). 44 King Diamond’s Sleepless Nights (King Diamond, US 1989) also contains short scenes from old horror movies in addition to the band’s performance at a cemetery. 45 Living Dead Girl (Rob Zombie, Joseph Kahn and Rob Zombie, US 1999). 46 Square Hammer (Ghost, Zev Deans, US 2016). 47 Goodbye Gemini (Blood Ceremony, Rouzbeh Heydari, CA 2013). 48 Astral Sabbat (Jess and the Ancient Ones, unknown, 2013). 49 Granholm explains the band’s place in the occult milieu at the end of his article on ritual black metal; see Granholm 2013, 27.