Iguana Death Cult Premiere Their Valiant Music Video for “Oh No”

Iguana Death Cult have successfully tapped into the “old school” with the music video for their latest single, “Oh No.” If you’re old enough to remember early-day music videos from the ’80s, with their far-out storylines, absurd settings, and low-budget production quality, then they may remind you of the video for “Oh No,” with its vintage colouring and special effects, do-it-yourself direction and camera work, and pretty far-out concept. It’s a nice reminder of simpler times when not everything was a competition to see who could spend the most money and who could boast about having the flashiest production.

The song comes from the quintet’s brand new record Echo Palace, the most well-rounded Iguana Death Cult release yet. Interestingly enough, the album is a look into the strange and uncertain cause and effect of groupthink. Groupthink has certainly been in focus since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, which helped inspire them to make this a central theme to their album. With paranoia related to the pandemic and conspiracy theories forming, frontman Jeroen Reek wrote lyrics reflecting what he was observing and the damaging effects it was having on society.

Discussing the writing of “Oh No,” and its associated video, Reek tells us:

“Inspired by Dutch writer Jan Cremer, I decided to write a song about how incredibly amazing I am. This sort of self-mythification seemed funny to me since I spend most of my days wallowing in doubt and worry. In the end it became a metaphor for how we polish up our lives to near perfection on our social media accounts, while mental health problems are becoming more norm rather than an exception.

He continues: “One night, I played the new record for our good friend Max. When ‘Oh No’ came on and I heard myself sing the first line, I knew it; We have to get this guy in a knight costume. Max is a 6 foot 5 berserker but also one of the sweetest guys I know. We had so much fun making this video even though it was freezing and we had to hide from the rain every ten minutes. The banter you can have with this guy is unprecedented. One of the sharpest tongues in the game. Everything was filmed in Rotterdam again. Can’t represent this beautiful city enough! Because this song has a bit of an old school Iguana feel to it, Hache wanted to use a lot of video distortion like he did back in the day when he made the videos for our first record.”

Reek has had a long-time fascination with cults in general, which is partially the explanation for the name of the band. The Iguana part is a tribute to Iggy Pop, whose first-ever band was named The Iguanas. Echo Palace is a more worldly album, which makes sense given the band’s current position, an ensemble that is still morphing and changing and ready to emerge beyond the borders of their home country of The Netherlands. They are building a steady following outside of their home country, and the demand exists for the group to expand their fanbase throughout Europe. It’s a sure sign of a band that is ready to be embraced by so many more looking to be new members of the “cult.”

Echo Palace Track Listing:

1. Paper Straws
2. Echo Palace
3. Pushermen
4. Sunny Side Up
5. Sensory Overload
6. Conference to Conference
7. I Just Want a House
8. Oh No
9. Rope a Dope
10. Heaven in Disorder
11. Radio Brainwave

Iguana Death Cult ‘Echo Palace’ album artwork