See Brendon Small's Sci-Fi Universe Comes to Life in Epic "Nightmare" Video | Revolver

See Brendon Small's Sci-Fi Universe Comes to Life in Epic "Nightmare" Video

Dethklok mastermind's stunning clip features space queens, flying whales and killer robots

Back in August, Dethklok mastermind Brendon Small released Galaktikon II: Become the Storm, his sophomore solo LP, as well as the second chapter in an ongoing intergalactic metal epic starring superheroes, soothsayers and space pirates. Now, the rocker has linked up with Funny or Die to unveil his stunning, self-directed music video for "Nightmare," one of the album's standouts.

The live-action clip, which took nearly a year to complete, stars David Dastmalchian (Blade Runner 2049, Ant-Man) as Triton, an astral voyager who must do battle against a fearsome space queen, played by Huntress frontwoman Jill Janus. (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 actor Steve Agee makes an appearance, too, as one of the villainess' "demon guards.") Aided by a trusty robot and a six-eyed flying whale that shoots lasers out of its mouth, our hero takes the fight to the baddies before making a triumphant escape into the cosmos. The galaxy can rest in peace ... for now.

Small pulled back the curtain on the special-effects trickery that went into the "Nightmare" video in a recent interview with Nerdist. Rather than rely on fancy CGI renders to deliver the sci-fi goodness, he opted for so-called "practical effects," like lighting, smoke and savvy camera angles. That eye-catching scene with the giant alien whale, for instance, was filmed from within an everyday fish tank, containing a hand-crafted, silicone whale model. "CGI looks very real, but it feels fake," he told Nerdist. "Practical effects may look fake, but they feel very real. That's been something that drove us."