NIGHTFALL: 'Ambassador Of Mass' Video Released

"Ambassador Of Mass", the new video from Greek metallers NIGHTFALL, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's new album, "Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants", which is scheduled for release on August 31 (one day earlier internationally) via Metal Blade Records. The cover artwork was created by Travis Smith (OPETH, DEATH, NEVERMORE, KATATONIA).

NIGHTFALL singer Efthimis Karadimas comments on the clip: "The story depicted is inspired by the Greco-Persian wars in the 5th century BC. The video is purely based on the ancient technique of Shadow Puppet Theatre evolved and widely used in different areas of the world eons ago. Every character, ship, map, etc you see in it has been built from scratch especially for that motion clip. The video has been directed by Achilleas Gatsopoulos, a prominent master of visual arts, based in the city of Berlin. I am sure you haven't seen anything similar around!"

Adds director Achilleas Gatsopoulos: "After our initial talks and meetings with Efthimis, we decided to approach the video in a challenging and unconventional way. We chose to use shadow puppetry and push its boundaries through modern technology in order to create something really unique; something that could best convey the epic scale of our story. Considerable research ensued, and the storyline was constructed according to the structure and lyrics of the song, sprinkled with a touch of mythology, while staying true to the actual historical facts. The design and construction of the puppets were done in collaboration with fine artist Hara Kolaiti, referencing on the one hand the Ancient Greek vases' depictions of greek warriors of the time, and on the other, the numerous detailed reliefs of Xerxes and his warriors in Persepolis. In total, more than thirty meticulously detailed puppets and backgrounds were created for the video. These were shot one by one and then composited into scenes digitally. The aim was to take Shadow Puppetry as a traditional medium, and explore its cinematic potential. Thus, scenes were created both in two-dimensional space, as well as in three-dimensional epic camera shots. The result is a truly original and unconventional music video that best complements Efthimis' musical vision."

NIGHTFALL's current lineup features frontman and lyricist Efthimis Karadimas alongside Evan Hensley on guitar, Stathis Kassios on keyboards and Jörg Uken on drums.

"Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants" track listing:

01. Intro
02. Astron Black
03. Astronomica / Saturnian Moon
04. Astra Planeta / We Chose The Sun
05. Ambassador Of Mass
06. The Criterion
07. Asebeia
08. I-I
09. Archon Basileus
10. Proxima Centauri / Dead Bodies
11. The Thirty Tyrants
12. Epsilon Lyrae

"Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants" was recorded at various places, including Soundlodge in Germany, where the bulk of the sessions took place. It was produced by Karadimas and Uken (who has previously worked with GOD DETHRONED, DEW-SCENTED and SINISTER). According to a press release, Jörg's "experience behind the recording desk and his soul in recording both as the new drummer of the band is a great plus for the whole production and for everybody truly into metal drumming the… old classic metal way!"

Regarding the new CD title, the group previously stated, "Tyrants represent the punishment accrued from our own actions, the allegoric way. But what about the first part of the title, Astron Black?

"The Astron refers to the bearer of light, the sun, life itself and phos that allows no secret to remain hidden for ever, the hope, the hunter, the ray slashing the monotony of nothing, the effort to breathe to cry to understand to communicate and ultimately to create, the god, the gods, the man!

"The Black refers to the endless, the eternal warm nest either within us or far above, the mystery, the epitome of arcane that asks to be conquered and the challenge that cannot be regretted, the deep, the soul attractor and fears the force’s being made of, the vessel of creation, the goddess, the womb, the woman!

"Astron Black is a fiction persona in human like body shape. Moving throughout centuries, being inspired and eventually driven by its needs and wills, this beast-cum-beauty and vice versa creature moves violently in harmonious circles known as Time. That Aenaon creature symbolises the opposite natures in universe, the duality that characterises every form of life and action whose motion generates aural waves, inking the pages of collective subconscious chronicles."

NIGHTFALL's seventh full-length album, "Lyssa: Rural Gods and Astonishing Punishments" was released in 2005 through Black Lotus Records.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/nightfallgr.

Left to right in photo below: Jorg Uken, Stathis Kassios, Efthimis Karadimas, Evan Hensley