Justice enlist full marching band for new ‘Heavy Metal’ visual
Justice are closing out 2018 on a considerable hot streak. The French luminaries recently capped off a momentous world tour, they are hot off the heels of a Grammy nomination for Woman Worldwide, and now they’ve dropped off a brilliantly concepted new video by director Filip Nilsson for “Heavy Metal” — a standout from 2016’s Woman, and an ensuing staple in their live sets since.
The new feature is a fittingly complementary visual accent to “Heavy Metal’s” suspenseful, winding build. Enlisting Norfolk State University’s Spartan Legion marching band, one of the premier college marching bands in the country, Justice sonics can be experienced unlike they’ve ever been before, performed in a choreographed march routine. The video intersperses Justice’s version and the Spartans’ live version into one syncopated hybrid. Justice already makes music fit for arenas, but performed by a marching band takes the duo to a new space entirely, and the result is captivating. Says Nilsson,
“I came across a clip of this marching band from Norfolk in Virgina over a year ago. I immediately knew that these guys had something special and that wanted to make a music video with them one day. Months passed and then suddenly the Heavy Metal track by Justice came my way. We contacted the the marching band leader, William Beathea, and it felt like we all knew at that point that we had to make this work. I wanted his marching band of 220 people to play the track as well as create a customized choreography. We knew it would be far from easy to pull it off. It was a very strong and emotional experience working with these musicians and dancers.”