Type O Negative are widely considered the definitive goth metal band, so it’s only appropriate that on World Goth Day (May 22nd), a new AI-generated video for the group’s song “Halloween in Heaven” has been unveiled.
The late Peter Steele originally penned the track as a tribute to Dimebag Darrell, and it was included on what would be Type O’s final album Dead Again in 2007. Dimebag even appears in the new video, alongside the many rock heroes Steele mentions in the song’s lyrics: “Bonham on drums, Entwistle on bass, as guest morticians / Bon Scott on vox, Rhoads just for kicks, on guitar Hendrix / Lennon sits in with his friend George but where is Morrison?”
“An artificial intelligence video for an artificially intelligent band!” remarked Type O Negative’s Johnny Kenny, invoking the band’s signature self-deprecating sarcasm.
Corinne Larre of Twisted Hooves Studio made the clip using a combination of AI software, one creating images and another turning them into a video sequence. In Larre’s estimation, the results seen in the final clip took thousands of renderings to achieve.
“The lyrics left the field open to a lot of experimentation,” Larre said, “leading to this universe both eerie and kitsch, which I hope pays homage to the band. The real challenge was the integration of legendary artists into this imagery. It’s hard to explain to the A.I. the small details that make them unique as humans. In the end, hundreds, even thousands of iterations must have been made for this video!
Larre continued: “As an artist, I think it is necessary to remain humble when using artificial intelligence as the topic has quite rightly caused some ethical debate in the creative world. In my opinion, these creations should not be seen as artistic works in their own right, but as the first steps of a technology that will revolutionize audiovisual creation in the coming years.”
Nuclear Blast Records recently reissued Dead Again on vinyl, CD, and cassette to celebrate the album’s 15th anniversary. You can pick up a copy here.
Below you can watch the AI-generated video for Type O Negative’s “Halloween in Heaven.”