Japanese Metal Band Esprit D’Air Seek Resilience Through Connection in ‘Leviathan’ Video

The pandemic has proved difficult for many, but Japanese metallers Esprit D'Air have channeled their longing for connection into an intriguing new video that soundtracks the epic and atmospheric new song "Leviathan." The clip is exclusively debuting here at Loudwire and can be viewed in the player at the bottom of this post.

Singer / producer Kai tells Loudwire, “We interpreted 'Leviathan' as a huge power or impact beyond human power or knowledge. When we wrote this, we were thinking about how significantly our world has changed with the pandemic and how we can think positively and have hopes in tough times. Through our composition and songwriting, we tried to express lights of despair, human weakness and stupidity, and human wisdom to build a new world.”

The song has already garnered some praise from peers with Sisters of Mercy's Ben Christo stating of the song,"It's a really unique blend of djent, industrial, electro, goth, emo, metal and much more. I love the dramatics and cinematic quality it has, with haunting, melancholy colors swooping betwixt the cruel, relentless jaws of the machine.”

Ex-Vallenfyre bassist/guitarist Sam Kelly-Wallace calls it "a master of euphoric heavy rock," while Black Orchid Empire's Paul Visser (who also mixed and mastered the track) adds, “The song is WICKED, love the vibe. Heavy and epic, makes me feel like Nobuo Uematsu made a metal track. I'm IN.”

As for the futuristic looking clip, director Andy Mihov states, ""I love the work of Hideaki Anno and Masamune Shirow and really wanted to pay homage to them with this. I loved the song's theme of ‘hope in spite of overwhelming odds’ and we sought to express that both in the movement direction and the cinematography. Athena (played by Caterina Danzico) was the embodiment of human wisdom and courage necessary to overcome the odds."

Esprit D'Air's "Leviathan" will hit digital service providers Dec. 4, but for now you can watch the video right here at Loudwire. You can add it to your library here. There will also be remixes of the track coming from Heavygrinder and electronic producer Shirobon.

Having reformed in London in 2016, Esprit D'Air won Best Metal Album honors at the Independent Music Awards in 2018 and earned a Best Musical Act nomination at the 2019 NEO Awards sponsored by SEGA. At present, Kai is working on a new album, Oceans, which will arrive in 2021.

Esprit D'Air, "Leviathan"

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