Masters of metallic hardcore Vatican have unleashed yet another vile ripper, "Beneath One," and their latest gets pretty deep when digested in tandem with its disturbing but touching video. The clip represents a spiritual realm just under our own reality where the living and the dead co-mingle before self-realization sets in.
"The band wearing all white represents 'the light,' whereas when the kid crosses over, he notices that he is not alone in a dark place," explains singer Jonathan Whittle. Vatican's explosive performance takes place in a room of sheer blackness, the camera focusing tightly on their expression as musicians while the narrative sees the main character examine a large body bag dripping blood, eventually leading him to look inside and find himself staring back.
Whittle outlines the ideas behind the clip: "From a spiritual standpoint, if we look at the earth being zero and the sun being one, we view our physical selves beneath the sun, knowing every morning the sun will rise, regardless of the state of the world or our hardships. From this thought, we are given the option every new day to have our spiritual bodies remain at zero or rise above our physical selves by taking the initiative to work towards bettering ourselves. We must keep our spiritual bodies beneath one, but above self."
Eventually the main character examines himself and the cause of death that led him to his current experience — a hole where his heart has been ripped out while a cleansing fire burns nearby symbolizing a purge and the movement of the soul from one plane to another. By the end, he, too, is wearing white, fully accepting his fate and crossing over into his new plane of existence.
"Beneath One" is taken from Vatican's upcoming record Sole Impulse, due out November 15th via 1126 Records and available for pre-order here. See below for the band's upcoming live dates with Sanction.
Vatican tour dates:
11/10 Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Park Brewery
11/11 Chesapeake, VA @ Riff House Pub
11/12 Winston Salem, NC @ Break Time
11/13 Augusta, GA @ The Epicenter
11/14 Nashville, TN @ The End
11/15 St Louis, MO @ The End
11/16 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
11/17 Burnsville, MN @ The Garage
11/18 Milwaukee, WI @ The X Ray Arcade
11/20 Indianapolis, IN @ Hoosier Dome
11/21 Saginaw, MI @ Counter Culture
11/22 Pittsburgh, PA @ Preserving Hardcore
11/23 Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
11/24 Baltimore, MD @ The Sparta Inn
