Singer-songwriter and producer Grimes, popular for her science fiction and feminist themes, has shared her new single “Shinigami Eyes” accompanied by a music video. The singer teased the song “Shinigami Eyes” in June 2021. The single is a reference to Death Note, an anime comic and series. Based on reports from Stereogum, the song is finally here and it will be a part of her upcoming EP Fairies Cum First, which is supposed to be released before the upcoming album Book1.

Despite her social anxiety and “severe PTSD from public life”, which influenced her decision to take a break from social media, Grimes has returned to “make a bunch more stuff”, according to an interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe about her song “Shinigami Eyes.” Also, on the topic of her new single, she called it “the label executive decision song” and explained, “Basically, I wrote the whole space opera thing and this is the only song that wasn’t this big narrative plot.”

In true Grimes fashion, the video is very futuristic and full of cool, colorful visual effects. While the video is cool and the song is upbeat, the actual lyrics are dark. She sings, “Are you ready to die?/ Got my shinigami eyes on/ Everything is fine/ Got my shinigami eyes.” As seen in Death Note, a person with “Shinigami eyes” can see people’s names and their remaining lifespan just by looking at them through the red eyes. Scary, right? This may also be her reference to her experimental eye surgery that supposedly removed blue light from her vision. Whether she was trolling or not, it certainly ties into the song well.

Photo Credit: Owen Ela