Behind the Video: NITE’s Van Labrakis Dives into “Cult of the Serpent Sun”

Locked and loaded, NITE is ready to bring light to your day with some darkness. The band is set to release their latest studio record, Cult of the Serpent Sun, on March 14th via Season of Mist. Their third proper studio offering, Cult of the Serpent Sun, provides more of the precision, top-notch songwriting, and superior instrumentation that you are coming to expect from this Bay Area black metal quartet. NITE brings a contemporary approach to a very well-articulated appreciation for traditional heavy metal. Within the darkness comes the light, with many songs on the album fast and upbeat, meant to, dare we say, lift your spirits. It’s like a classic attack with a modern approach. In describing the album, the band says it best when they state, “Cult of the Serpent Sun is about how we persevere in times of immense darkness.”

Part of the songwriting approach for NITE with this new album was based on what they learned from touring. They’ve been out on the road extensively, playing Northwest Terror Fest and touring with Persekutor and Haunt. They found that fans really responded to older songs that were more fast-paced and uplifting. This helped dictate the songwriting approach for Cult of the Serpent Sun and they feel confident that their fanbase is going to respond as positively as ever to this latest effort.

NITE recently released the music video for “Crow (Fear the Night).” Lead singer and guitarist Van Labrakis joins us for a Behind the Video interview to discuss the song’s accompanying video and who they collaborated with for the visuals. We also touched on his views on music videos in general.

Who directed the video?

Van Labrakis: “The video was directed by Marcelle Marais of TriTonia Films.”

Did the band have a concept in mind based on the song, or was Marcelle given full reign to come up with a suitable visual companion?

“Having seen Marcelle’s previous work, we trusted her vision and gave her full reign to do whatever she wanted with this one. That said, we had a lengthy discussion about what the song means to us and what the lyrical themes are about. Marcelle took those concepts and made them her own.”

Where was it made?

“The video was shot at and around the First Church of the Buzzard in Oakland, California.”

What was your favourite part behind the creation of the video?

“Watching the filming of the ‘Crow Cult’ with the amazing Dave Swafford bringing that character to life under Marcelle’s extraordinary direction. Watching the takes on that little director screen was such a treat. We were anxious as we were cutting it close with our deadlines. Seeing those takes made it obvious that Marcelle had knocked it out of the park.”

Based on how this one was made, are you looking forward to doing another?

“Most definitely. It’s just a matter of budgeting. We already have many ideas about which song we could do next.”

Which band or artist do you think had the greatest music videos?

“I think Peter Gabriel is the no-brainer answer here. But based on how much Scott and I like Nine Inch Nails, I’d say Trent (Reznor) comes a close second.”

What should a music video set out to accomplish? Do you feel like yours did that?

“The visual side of our music, be it the artworks, videos, even the merchandise, completes the picture of what we set out to do with each album cycle. All those things complete our statement. We feel that Marcelle brought the whole world of that song, and the whole album really, to life. We couldn’t be happier.”

If you could have any guest appear in your video, who would you have?

“Bill Murray. I don’t think we need to elaborate on why!”

How important are music videos in terms of increased exposure?

“We live in a society that is dominated by audio-visual stimuli. Getting anyone to pay attention to what you are doing as an artist requires audio-visual material. Most of us in the band grew up at a time when a record and a record player were all you needed to let your mind’s eye make up the rest. Not so much anymore. If you look at the numbers of the first few weeks that the single has been out, ‘Crow’ got something like 25,000 plays on Spotify and 160,000 views on YouTube! These are 135,000 people who wouldn’t have heard the song if it wasn’t packaged in an easy-to-take format.”

Can you talk a little bit more about the crew for the video and how the team was put together?

“Marcelle and her company TriTonia Films organized the whole production. She brought together an excellent crew that made the shoot feel so easy for us. Not very common for music videos as they tend to be grueling. Jerome Stolly was the director of photography and also took care of grip and lighting. Chris Martin was the colourist. Elijah Post was the production assistant, Kent Cates and Miles Miller were the property assistants. Finally, the Crow figure was performed by Dave Swafford.”

NITE in 2024 bts, photo by Tash (@newpleasure.photos)