In playing a major part of this especially transformative era in entertainments development and innovation, we find ourselves being drawn to not only harmonic excellence but also works of motion picture fascination; it is precisely because of this overt intrigue that we as a team worked tirelessly to highlight the best visual cornucopias which graced our screens throughout 2022.
So please, kick back, grab some popcorn and enjoy our picks for the Top 20 Music Videos of 2022.
20. Scene Queen – Pink Hotel
Production Company – Spaced Visuals
Director(s) – Angelica Valente & Pseudo
Checking in for a vaycay engrossed in empowered slutdom while entangled in the visual equivalent of unadulterated chaos; the Ohioan hyperfemme alternative metalcore singer/songwriter Scene Queen, sought to leave a crushing stamp on sexy surrealism as they strived for Bimbocore perfection with ‘Pink Hotel’.
Visually encapsulating the dichotomous intersection of boutique upper class opulence and the grungy underground rave culture, with a slight tinge of raucous exhilaration harkening back to the late 20th century sex clubs; with no prohibitions, a dominating sense of liberation as well as making us abundantly well acquainted with some major “fuck it” girl power, this transitionary banger to Scene Queen’s ever evolving soundtrack and cinematic universe is a pretty pink treasure which many will yearn to return to in no time! – Bennie Osborne
19. Yours Truly ft. Josh Franceschi – Hallucinate
Director – Zak Pinchin
Conveying the complicated reality of living in an anxiety powder keg, with a optical-scape rife with snippet sensitive dissociative like states of consciousness; the New South Wales native Pop Punk juggernauts Yours Truly sought a cathartic flux of inner-turmoil as they partnered up with Josh Franceschi of the Weybridge Alt-Rockers You Me At Six, for an unrelentingly excursion through the realms of panic disorders with the sophomore single of their Is This What I Look Like? era ‘Hallucinate’.
With performance shots executed in a computer generated prismatic void, psychedelic house party vibes as well as cleverly constructed chaotic light manipulation combined expertly epitomises a visual illusory purgatory, which is both dazzling and disconcerting. – Bennie Osborne
18. Electric Callboy – Hurrikan
Director(s), Producer(s) - Pascal Schillo & Oliver Schillo
Who says metal bands can’t party! If you like your music heavy, German and full of ironic camp get ready to enter the world of Electric Callboy. In the video for ‘HURRIKAN’ Electric Callboy parody Ballermann Schlager, a style of cheesy techno-pop combining upbeat electronic beats with Eurovision style ballads, with the band singing from the deck of a yacht in flowing white shirts with model Mia Julia. This is abruptly interrupted by a brutal deathcore breakdown as the band are torn to pieces by a horde of ravenous zombies. Once again Electric Callboy prove that they’ll spare no expense in the name of a great joke! – Tom Bruce
17. Paramore – The News
Director(s) - Mike Kluge & Matthew DeLisi
2022 marked the grand return of Paramore and following on from the hugely successful comeback single ‘This Is Why’, the excellent ‘The News’ further whets the appetite in anticipation of their upcoming sixth studio album.
Centring around the struggle to break free of the negative modern day news cycle, Hayley & Co. offer up a captivating video that follows the iconic frontwoman’s battles against inner demons as she falls in and out of a trance-like state; the result of being tormented by non-stop news feeds, hauntingly mirroring the songs main refrain of ‘Turn on / Turn off the news’. – Jordan Aldridge
16. A.A. Williams – Evaporate
Director - Fraser West
Visions of a deeply emotive, push – pull relationship flash by as A.A. Williams appears, spectral and in a sort of liminal space between what’s real and what goes on inside our own heads, monochrome visions of an on and off love that burns so strongly yet feels so unsure of itself. The video for ‘Evaporate’ is full of uncertain yet striking scenes that invoke a feeling of sheer overwhelmingness pertaining to the song’s lyricism, the itching desire to just disintegrate away from the pressure of it all. Underwater shots that portray that horrible feeling of just drowning in it all, not knowing what to do except let yourself sink deeper. This dark narrative portrayed by Williams hits a very real place at the core of many of our minds, haunting, formidable and self destructive. – Elliot Grimmie
15. PVRIS – Animal
Director(s) - Jax Anderson & Lyndsey Gunnulfsen
Each time PVRIS releases a music video they aim to further their visual boundaries and the video for ‘Animal’ is no exception. It takes a relatively simple context and simple settings and turns them into a piece of elegant and striking art. The simple muted colour pallet throughout proves that less is more and allows for Lynn Gunn’s erratic movements to stand out in the way they deserve. This video is truly her moment in the spotlight. As the sole member of the band featured, she gets to show off contemporary performance skills that are unseen in so many of PVRIS’ previous releases, making it stand out from the rest. – Megan Jenkins
14. Alice Glass – Everybody Else
Director, Animator, Editor - Dustin Nichollas (Astra Zero)
Perfectly depicting the essence of derealisation with a visual scape reminiscing a waking nightmare; the Torontonian electropunk darling Alice Glass, bravely erected a remedial sanctuary through a sonic re-immersion of trauma informed ruminations with her debut album PREY//IV and the subsequent array of hard-hitting singles, including their dark-pop lullaby ‘Everybody Else’.
In pairing unsettling audible tropes associated with the childlike loss of innocence in modern horror, with a peep box/cabaret vignette infested with Zombies, possessed dolls and a large helping of agile worms; Alice’s disturbing side of Wonderland inspires quite the melancholic commemoration to overarching forlornness, which as startling as it can be to observe is also a profoundly beautiful picture show. – Bennie Osborne
13. Dregg ft. City Morgue – Context
Production Company - The Neck Up Collective
Melbourne based DREGG have never been one to shy away from controversy, combining alt-metal and hip-hop as a vehicle for satirising all aspects of modern culture. Picture the Insane Clown Posse joining forces with System of a Down, with lyrics produced by the creators of South Park, whilst wearing elaborate theatrical masks and you’ve got something close to DREGG. The video for ‘Context’ takes aim at cancel culture and online witch hunts with crude animation and trippy, provocative visuals. Looking like a messed up Wii game that your parents refused to buy you the video for Context matches the track perfectly. – Tom Bruce
12. Zeal & Ardor – Death to the Holy
Production Company - schau. GmbH
Director - Jen Ries
Zeal and Ardor have always been an inflammatory band, the brainchild of Manuel Gagneux combining blues and gospel with blistering black metal as a statement against organised religion. The video for their single ‘Death to the Holy’ takes the band’s message to its logical conclusion, following the narrative of a society dealing with a godless world in a violent yet cathartic way. Visually the video would fit in with the A24 crowd, bringing together hard sci-fi and contemplative shots of religious iconography burning shot in film with an artsy 4:3 aspect ratio. – Tom Bruce
11. Paledusk – Slay
Director - Takasuke Kato (THINGS.)
Paledusk‘s 2022 single ‘SLAY!!’ is an utterly captivating example of what this band is capable of, with their frantic progressive metalcore merging with slick jazzy saxophones hooks and R&B beats to produce something wholly unique, and the accompanying video perfectly encapsulates the sound.
Crafted by Japanese creative team THING., the video blends the urban industrial settings we’ve all come to expect from metalcore outifts with glamorous ballroom dancers layered with an almost 1950’s style of black-and-white cinematography, all the whilst the band showcase their best guitar-wielding acrobatics and suave fashion choices. It really shouldn’t work, but boy, it sure does. – Ryan Ward
10. Willow – Maybe It’s My Fault
Director - Dana Trippe
Proving her dexterity yet again, ‘maybe it’s my fault’ is a spiralling emotional purge that sees Willow dancing with an alt-rock (dare we say, lightly jiving with alt-metal in the impassioned end section) devil. The song, dripping in Deftones and Flyleaf influence, explores the battle between head and heart surrounding decisions made in the downfall of a relationship, and the speculation of ones culpability. The coinciding visuals play with a plethora of trippy effects through duotone colouring, crumpled paper overlays, light trails, close up jagged camera angles and heavy grain all building upon her hysteria surrounding the broken alliance. Willow, clearly in a state of disarray, is both manic and accepting within. From frantically smashing objects, tossing herself around, tormenting herself, to sitting in a defeated, contemplative state, idly smoking, the viewer is left with a sense of disquiet. Not to mention the reoccurring rain-drenched window shot. That pathetic fallacy speaks a thousand words. There’s no room for others in this film – Willow’s power, despair and anger fills every inch of space. Dana Trippe, a creative director and photographer known for their indulgent psychedelic work, was the perfect directing choice for this video. MTV would’ve absolutely lapped this up in it’s heyday. A tender, piqued sonic offering built for those who long for the days of 2000’s alt rock, and a sublime, unnerving video to match. – Katie Ashton
9. Static Dress – flea house
Director(s), Camera Operator(s), Editor(s) - Static Dress
Crafting a concept has been a key element to Static Dress since their inception, weaving a tale that is just vague enough to keep you hooked to the mystery, and one of the most effective elements of this has been the cinematography of the group’s music videos, featuring vocalist Olli Appleyard‘s trademark creative touch. Static Dress remain frustratingly, tantalisingly vague on the true nature of the concept they have weaved through their music and videos, but frankly, that’s part of what makes them so engaging, and the video for the lead track off of their fantastic debut, Rogue Carpet Disaster, is another phenomenal example of this.
‘fleahouse.’ is yet another example of Appleyard as a creative visionary, with the visuals feeling like they are being played from some worn VHS recording of some lost 90’s band, whilst also incorporating a heavy dose of liminality through the background environments that remain unsettlingly imperceptible; washed out streaks of green and cream contrasting the `bold figures that the band members cut, giving an impression that this whole musical affair is taking place somewhere that you might find in a psychological thriller movie, removed from reality just enough to feel just a little unsettling. – Ryan Ward
8. Carpenter Brut – The Widow Maker
Directors - The Deka Brothers
It’s always been the goal of Carpenter Brut to put out songs that sound like soundtrack pieces to 80’s action, thriller and sci-fi flicks, and never has it been more apparent with this high octane cinematic counterpart to ‘The Widow Maker’, which stars Dylan Sprouse as a serial killer moonlighting as a glam-rock star, stalking his prey into isolated locations and charging in for the killing strike. Bubbles and confetti, things you might find typical of a bands on stage performance, are used to convey blood and gore. To our main character, the thrill of the kill is just another spectacle, another explosive performance to celebrate inwardly, though this comes back to haunt him in the end, as he takes to the stage he’s haunted by visions of people from the yearbook he uses to recount his victims, he’s chased down by zombified versions of his old school alumni, the blood and guts this time a scattering of pills, a drug fueled guilty conscience before he snaps back into… reality? It feels like the beginning of a much wider story, and Carpenter Brut have certainly achieved their goal of making this song and video feel like the beginning to a great throwback horror flick. – Elliot Grimmie
7. While She Sleeps – Eye To Eye
DOP, Director & Camera Operator - Aaran McKenzie
2022 saw While She Sleeps release the deluxe version of their incredibly well revered record Sleeps Society and, as usual, the band pushed boundaries in what they aimed to achieve. The lead single from this release came in the form of ‘Eye To Eye’ which was dropped with an accompanying cinematic mini movie. The 7-minute opus is a spectacle filmed in brilliant quality and aims to present someone amid a form of mind attack. The video is made to feel purposefully disturbing to highlight the torment one’s mind can go through. Vocalist Loz Taylor plays the protagonist facing off against himself whilst battling through this episode. Scenes include Taylor getting suffocated on a bus, getting his throat cut in the bath and finally beating his mental doppelganger in a coffee shop showdown which would make Tarantino shed a tear of happiness given its brutal nature. The video portrays this incredibly viscerally and highlights, poignantly, the importance and awareness of addressing mental health and being compassionate to others. What makes ‘Eye To Eye’ even more remarkable is that the band directed and filmed the entire thing which included set building, choreography, concept and writing a score. It was the bands biggest visual project to date and the result is truly magnificent. – Jac Holloway
6. You Me At Six – Mixed Emotions
Director - Olli Appleyard
Returning to the scene with a particularly poignant message, vibe and presence which feels especially noteworthy considering the ongoing struggles in restructuring our complex and traumatised social climate; the Weybridge Pop Punk veterans You Me At Six, display the extent of their ever potent magnetism with their rousing expedition through the drudges of intense retrospection on ‘Mixed Emotions (I Didn’t Know How To Tell You What I Was Going Through)’.
In just over a six minute runtime a visual narrative conveying the yearnings of a fathers familiarity being tested, which unknowingly birthed an inner-battle between the attainment of authenticity and the pressures attached to toxic heteronormativity. With such a well established story, which upon rewatching multiple times makes this viewer feel especially lucky to be in therapy; multiple key areas of intrigue feel almost magnified to an uncomfortable level, due to just how emotionally charged both soundtrack and motion picture are when combined into a rare glimpse of explorative atonement. The unearthing of such discussion points as spouts of overt queerphobia, healing the inner-child, breaking the bounds of inter-generational trauma, the embracement of empathy, acknowledgement of destructive behaviours, plus so much more makes this entry one of the most cathartically heavy music videos to be released in 2022. – Bennie Osborne
5. Rina Sawayama – This Hell
Director - Ali Kurr
If there is anyone out there that hasn’t heard of Rina Sawayama yet, you’re quite simply doing something wrong. ‘This Hell’ is a video that encompasses the entire mood and vibe of a song all about sexuality, set to the backdrop of a country synthpop number. Released during pride month, the video sees her throwing an elaborate wedding in which she marries two different people. The track itself combines elements of country and synthpop to create something unique that only Sawayama could pull off and the video does the same. It mixes the best visual parts of these genres together to get a distinctive imagery – its only her that could line dance down the aisle at her own wedding and get away with it – and throws in an extensive range of pop culture references and elegant outfit changes for good measure. The video carries the same extremely clear message as the song; be yourself and don’t let anyone change you because “this hell is better with you”. – Megan Jenkins
4. Muse – You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween
Production Company - Frame48
Director - Tom Teller
Muse’s ninth album, Will Of The People, was, to put things mildly, received poorly on release. A messy, overblown, and undercooked album that even I, once former avid super fan of the Teignmouth Trio, struggled to defend.
However, that’s not to say it was all bad, and in the midst of the track list was a little gem entitled ‘You Make Me Feel Like Halloween’, which felt like Muse truly leaning into their theatrical side to give us a damn good, self aware, pop rock banger, packed with over the top organ leads, bombastic percussion, and Matt Bellamy’s trademark haunting falsetto. And the video they released for the track only serves to double down on all of this.
A CGI masterpiece crafted by creative studio Frame48 that truly exemplifies the sheer melodrama of the track, what is presented is a slick and fantastical take on the world building Muse undertook for this album, featuring the trademark reflective masks and WOTP symbolism. On top of that, the video is absolutely crammed with fun references to your favourite horror related franchises; from the infamous corridor of The Shining, to otherworldly hands reaching out from TV static like in Poltergeist, to even a brief cameo from Corey Taylor’s original Slipknot mask. How’s that for a cinematic universe? – Ryan Ward
3. Kim Dracula – Drown
Director - James Chappell
Descending the masses consciousness into the deepest depths of contemporary doom with the second motion picture instalment to their uniquely told tale of choreographed chaos; the Tasmanian Trap Metal/Hardcore artist and TikTok personality Kim Dracula, paved a solo road to engaging bewilderment with the release of their helter-skelter-like soundtrack to rampant lawlessness on ‘Drown’.
‘Drown’ begins in the aisles of a quickly commandeered aircraft with Dracula being quickly dragged from their seat and thrown from a service door; picking up the madness as Dracula’s bandaged body is lifted out of an ambulance with a group of coppers disrobing to reveal bondage style leather briefs and harnesses, the energy shifts into touches of the bizarre as they’re walked like canines across an airport tarmac, before transitioning to a warehouse rave where Dracula and company are abruptly arrested after performing to a particularly feral crowd.
With a specific focus on high-concept production value, which was also magnificently displayed on their explosive debut single ‘MakeMeFamous’; ‘Drown’ stands as a sort of modern take on early 2000’s disillusioned emo culture as Dracula bends the ideals of beauty standards, takes aim at the true intentions of the icons of the consumerist generation, all the while macrodosing us with staple facets of the Shock Rock wonder years. What more could you ask for out of one of the most impressively batshit music videos of the year. – Bennie Osborne
2. Ithaca – They Fear Us
Director - Paul Cooke
Kicking their way onto the scene in a bright orange dress come rising British metalcore stars Ithaca. Accompanying the title single for their second full length album They Fear Us comes a video drenched with energy and interesting art direction. Jumping between a masked man holding a crown and being chased by the camera, mirroring the track’s lyrical themes of female empowerment, and footage of the band tearing through the song in a tastefully decorated stately home, the video for ‘They Fear Us’ is a masterclass in music video storytelling. Shots of singer Djamila Azzouz in glamorous outfits help to break up the longer shots, with a highlight of the video being where, during the song’s brutal breakdown, Azzouz’s mouth fills with blood and these elegant shots become steadily more disturbing. Another high point of the video is the repeated shot with Azzouz sitting in a throne wearing a crown surrounded by the other band members wearing nothing but red balaclavas, dominant over them. ‘They Fear Us’ is a potent argument against the hundreds of male power fantasies pervasive in media, instead portraying the band’s female vocalist as a divine symbol of empowerment. – Tom Bruce
The Top Music Video Of The Year: Nova Twins – Choose Your Fighter
Director & VFX - Harry Lindley
Blazing a trail for generations of heavy music fanatics to come who shall surely gawk in awe when reminiscing their cosmic rise to stardom; the big smoke post-modern genre-demolishing disruptors Nova Twins, are no strangers to producing works of intense sensory intrigue, one of which perfectly epitomises their undeniable sonic force of nature with the concluding single to their triumphant Supernova era with ‘Choose Your Fighter’.
Following on from the hype created by the previous four singles in their sophomore album cycle, ‘Choose Your Fighter’ burst on the scene with a particular flair for the sci-if world immersion; kicking things off with the character select screen reminiscent of 90’s Tekken, a slue of combat scenes ensues which epitomises the overt intoxicating dynamism radiating off of Amy Love and Georgia South.
Besides obviously striving to in keep with the kickass theme of this magnificent banger, the duo commit to a collective referential spree of iconic proportions; imputing such pop culture imagery as the side-scrolling-shooter games of the 1980’s, performance shots emulating touches of Dead Rising and old school Slenderman vibes, The Matrix Reloaded Merovingian Mansion inspired combat scenes intertwined with I, Robot inspired foes, as well as Spy Kids 3D transitions mixed with Potter-esque Guitar Hero battle stances harkening back to the motion picture depiction of Voldermort’s Last Stand.
Yet, the impressiveness of weaving so many connections ascends to new heights when realising the presence of symbols to their previous additions to their discography; when looking closely you notice the inclusion of the iconic Pink 1960’s Cadillac Chevrolet Cab that stole the show in their pull up to the bumper banger ‘Taxi’, the name adorned on the gates of the graveyard they walked through during their zombie shoot spelled out the name of their previous slay-tastic masterpiece ‘K.M.B’ and the double-bitted axe Amy wields is eerily similar to the swinging axe booby traps from ‘Play Fair’.
For all it’s intriguing sonic elements all interlaced to produce such a bewitching visual cornucopia, it’s no wonder why ‘Choose Your Fighter’ snags the top spot of the best music videos of 2022. – Bennie Osborne