Whitechapel have released a new video that features more of a story connected to their song “Let Me Burn.” It’s the first time that Whitechapel has done a video that wasn’t strictly performance-based, and this video stands out from anything else that Whitechapel has produced with regards to music videos.

The video that Whitechapel released for “Let Me Burn” is definitely not for the faint of heart or for someone with a weak stomach, yet it’s perhaps the greatest video that Whitechapel’s produced thus far and may go down as one of the best moves of the career. The video for “Let Me Burn” contains really intense images of self-mutilation, agony, and even death, and, when paired with Whitechapel’s music, makes a surprising statement about the frailties of the human mind. In essence, through the video, we are taken through the degradation of a man as he loses his grip on reality. Although the man appears to have it all (a wife, a daughter, a nice house, etc.), his mental state reaches a point of no return and he lashes out in a frightening fashion. Picture a more jarring version of Saw interlaced with heavy metal music and you just may start to see the video before even watching it.

Yes, the video’s intense. Yes, there’s a ton of graphic mutilation. Yes, blood is prevalent. Yet, in spite of all that, one cannot help but applaud Whitechapel for their efforts on this video. It is, after all, the first time that the band has released a video that is less about showing the band performing on some nondescript stage playing their song. Instead, the video makes an attempt at establishing a narrative framework that one may not have culled from the song otherwise. The intensity of the video plays to the lyrics, and brings a new visual style to Whitechapel that hasn’t really been there before.

“Let Me Burn” is a single off of Whitechapel’s sixth record, Our Endless War. Band member Phil Bozeman recently sat down with MXDWN for a revealing interview about his native Tennessee and the band’s plans for the future. The video for “Let Me Burn” was directed by Mitch Massie.