“The upstart rockers have a promising future and they are delivering one of the more intense and emotionally raw videos you’ll see this year…”– Loudwire
So Cal rockers The Black Hand have just dropped another emotionally charged video for the song “Where Are You Now?” the second to be taken from their debut ‘Self-titled’ album which is out now and available across all platforms. The Rick Gomez directed video features Michael Cudlitz, best known for his role as ‘Abraham’ in the hit television series The Walking Dead. Lead vocalist Chris Hughes describes, “Working on this video was heavy. Everyone involved left it all on the set. As soon as you walked in the room you felt it. Cudlitz is as real as it gets, a true artist who goes all in every time.” Watch the full video below.
Cudlitz, also known for his parts in Southland (2009) and The Negotiator (1998) delivers an intensely evocative performance playing the part of a man who is tortured by past trauma, reliving it over and over again. Deeply shaken, he desperately cradles an image of his younger self; like he is shielding him from the unfathomable pain he is experiencing or longing back to a time of youthful innocence and hope. This imagery combined with the bands pummelling sound fusing electro, hip-hop and hardcore/metalcore with haunting background vocals, creates an uneasy tension with an aggressive rawness that will grip you from beginning to end. Hughes delivers an emotive adrenaline-inducing performance with a brooding anger, passionately screaming out angst-ridden lyrics with an ever-building intensity that accentuates the songs powerful message. Hughes explains “the songs contain a mix of autobiographical and fictional topics, with a central fixation on the darker aspects of life.”
Huges was a pro-BMX rider in the midst of an eight-year career with Dave Mirra’s namesake Mirraco team, when a devastating accident ended his BMX career and almost his life. Out of this darkness came a new beginning when Hughes decided to pursue his passion for music, enlisting guitarist Mayauel Garavito, drummer Rob McDonald, bassist Allix Johnson and keyboardist/supporting vocalist Jeremy Grasso. The group released a six-song EP ‘Grateful’ under their original name For The Old-Fashioned that is now being re-released under The Black Hand moniker. Paramount to the evolution of the band was from forging a fruitful alliance with esteemed engineer and producer Chris Rakestraw (Megadeth, Danzig, Motörhead) who contributed to the overall production and engineering of their ‘Self-titled’ debut, adding a noticeable professionalism to it’s the output.
Catch The Black Hand on tour at the following live shows (Tickets available here):
- Oct 28 – Paramount Ranch, Agoura Hills, CA
- Nov 16 – Ventura Beach Club, Ventura, CA
