Pillars of a Twisted City Premiere Picturesque “False Prophet” Music Video

For Pillars of a Twisted City, the process is everything. It’s the process and how it comes together which make the finished product what it is. Today, frontman and primary songwriter Johnny Stewart and his bandmates debut the music video for “False Prophet.” The song is off of the band’s latest EP, Brimstone Prophecies, due out on July 11th. It features a classic alternative sound, crossing post-punk, gothic textures, and ’90s rock.

It’s accompanied by an impressive visual component in the music video. It plays like a film, with astonishing sites, backdrops, and camera work. It comes courtesy of director Mitchell Baxter and Jon Joffin, an acclaimed cinematographer who has won an Emmy, an American Society of Cinematographers award, and an American Music Video award. Stewart wanted to have an equally impressive visual companion to the song and the record that would be apocalyptic in tone and rich in atmosphere.

Discussing the song, the band states:

“The song ‘False Prophet,’ at its core, is about the uncorrupted, freedom and enjoyment of being part of the natural world as a young person. And the loss of that connection to the natural world when becoming an adult. The indoctrination into systems that negate creativity or the essential connection between humans and the natural world. As adults, having to come to terms with morality and values often leads us back to this natural world. It’s always there; we just need to be willing to accept it. To let go of the status quo, ego, physical, and psychological toxic environment.

“The experience of working with Jon Joffin, Mitchell Baxter, and Nathan Young was such a privilege and honour as an artist. These individuals have fierce creative energy and a love of poetic metaphor, cinematography. Jon Joffin was able to understand that poetic connection of loss of a connection to the natural world. And the images and video capture these moments perfectly.”

The video for “False Prophet” also taps into the general approach that Stewart employs when he is writing and recording music. It’s a process that is unique and immersive, drawing from his roots in remote, ritualistic music making. To record a record, Stewart will often set up shop in a remote atmospheric location. The debut Pillars of a Twisted City album, Sentinel, was composed in Tofino, British Columbia, a town with wondrous sites and mountainous views. Recording in these atmospheric locations brings out the best in Stewart and really gets at the type of feelings and emotions that he is trying to convey with his art. Again, the results with Brimstone Prophecies are haunting, layered, and very personal. Being in these settings helps Stewart bring a certain thematic depth to his music that would not be present holed up in some recording studio in the middle of a city.

Artistic expression is the whole ballgame for Stewart, and he’s driven that home again with Brimstone Prophecies. He’s a true visionary intent on celebrating the freedom of pure artistic expression, freed from the shackles of the commercialism of the music industry.

Pillars of a Twisted City ‘Brimstone Prophecies’ EP album artwork