Shining has been pushing its International Blackjazz Society album with an actual society concept and it's pretty cool. The band lets you in on the society a little more with its new video for "The Last Stand," which I'll let the band talk about more in-depth below.
We witness the ritualistic fight of a society member, attempting to advance to the highest rank within the organisation.
Symbols of their respective membership levels are painted in blood on the backs of each contender. Our hero, belonging to the level 5 “Cikada” part of the Middle Echelon, needs to defeat his opponent belonging to “1:4:9” level 9 and therefore part of the Upper Echelon of the IBS, in order to achieve the highest rank of the Society.
The video concludes by demonstrating how the legendary and honourable “1375” rank is attained; our hero faces and fulfils the virtuous deed of sacrificing one’s own life… under the axe.
Kudos to the band for continuing on with this concept beyond promotional material leading up to the record! Plus, the video is sweet.
