Single/Video Review: Rattlesnake

DRXNES have caused quite a stir since forming a few years ago and for good reason. They have worked bloody hard and released some great music accompanied by well-produced videos. 

Their latest release Rattlesnake is a heavy blast of melodic metal tinged angst with more than a nod to bands like P.O.D. or even NZ’s Blindspott. Their visual style also reinforces this, Rob with his long dreads the rest of the band facing inwards with an intense, and I don’t mean this in a derogatory way, nu metal bounce. There is far more to DRXNES than rehashing their influences. Just check out their back catalogue and you will see the variation. 

Most of the video is set in a forest (nice scenic shots as per nearly every NZ music video) but interspersed with some great camera work, editing and lighting. The forest scenes merge with footage of the band in a rehearsal space, all moody lighting which adds an intensity to the overall feel. It is very slick as is the production of the song itself.

This video works well as an accompaniment to the song but like most videos that focus on a band playing live I don’t think it adds anything to it. To be honest the song is so strong it instantly hooks you in so that actually all you want to do is leap around and not watch anything!

The video ends with a homage to Jake Mitchell Alabaster who sadly passed away far too young in Whanganui in 2017.

Much Kudos and another step forward for a band who clearly want to go places.