The music video for Slipknots song Psychosocial reflects the bands theme to satisfy their fan base. It follows their usual theme of darkness with some disturbing fragmented images included. The more prominent aspects of the video that can be seen convey the meaning of the lyrics and link to them- using Goodwin's theory of the lyrics linking to what is seen. The colour scheme of the video is predominantly black with colours of fire and blood to convey their dark theme. They are emphasised by being very blurry close ups and shaky tracking mid shots such as the one in the field (16 seconds in). This shows the strong, almost scary nature of metal music that has strong belief and undertones of the meaning of the lyrics. As what is shown cannot be clearly seen, each time someone watches it they may pick out something newt. This makes it watchable over and over again. The location is important as it sets the Mise en scène. The eerie farm like field at night is often depicted in Slipknot videos so audiences can link this image with the band. There is intertextual references with horror films as these locations as used in films such as Texas chainsaw massacre (farmhouse) and Jeepers Creepers (fields). This use of horror references may interest people that like those films, drawing them in and relating to things that they enjoy watching. The fast cuts give a feeling of chaos and confusion coupled with the unclear images. The video remains performance based which is a key convention of metal music. The artists do not let their image overrule the music and lyrics. It keeps the audience interested as they do not reveal too much about themselves. Slipknot use masks to create interesting visuals and to create a mystery to their identities. This again keeps the focus on the music whilst feeding the audience more information on the band themselves. They keep coming back for more and watching the videos the gain an insight to the band that they like. In the middle of the music video, what looks like a pentagon is actually a symbol from Hindu religion. This religious intertextualisation conveys their beliefs and maybe interests in other religions. Also, some aspects of religion are related with the occult and dark things such as sacrifices. Some words in the song such as 'martyr' and 'devil' link to religion in a darker sense, This reference conveys the dark theme even further. The lyrics seem to be about death and sacrifice, however, may have hidden meanings concerning the state of society and how the government are unfair on certain groups. The lead singer of Slipknot Corey Taylor was once homeless as a result of drug use. I believe some lyrics concern the treatment of him at the time as he was condemned by society as a bad person. He managed to rise from the dark time and be able to express himself through music. Metal music lyrics tend to have hidden meanings rather than be literal. Rap and pop music seem to tell stories clearly. The semantics within the songs include themes of death and despair. Words such as 'emptiness' and 'kill' show this.
This is the cover for the Psychosocial single. It follows the dark theme with the lack of colour. However, the stark contrast between the lights and darks of the image convey bold meanings of emptiness and despair. The house links with the video as we see empty rooms within it and images of broken things. It is very simple and doesn't feature the band itself. This stays true to the mental genre as it focuses on the music and doesn't rely on star power. The small logo is still present to tell audiences who the band is. The image doesn't reveal too much and keeps the audience interested and wanting to find out more.
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