Black metal turned synth-pop outfit Ulver have issued a new music video for their track “Hollywood Babylon“. This somewhat unconventional decision to revisit their previous album, 2024’s “Liminal Animals“, to serve up a new music video comes with a lengthy explanation from the band. Speaking on their social media today, July 17th, they stated:
“New video for ‘old’ song: “Hollywood Babylon”.
Our dearest @sara_khorami_official stars in this retro-futuristic gem, initiated, curated, and created by @johnsen_and_mona
2025 marked 20 years since ULVER made the animated music video ‘It is Not Sound‘ in cooperation with AKFF! A hypnotic journey through the Sea of Sorrows all the way to the Pinnacle of Truth. Thinking back on what an incredible experience it was to visualise and expand on Ulver’s universe, we started wondering why AKFF! hadn’t made more videos with them. As it turns out, Ulver had been thinking along the same lines. And so it began.
The video is set in a sleek, neon-drenched futuristic world that blends the gothic dread of Nosferatu (1922), the towering megalopolis of Metropolis (1927), and the glowing cyber-grid of Tron (1982).
The result? A dazzling, hyper-stylized satire of our own era: a shallow, selfie-obsessed society where image is everything, substance is optional, and your reflection might be plotting against you.
At the heart of the story is our heroine, desperately trying to cling to her fading beauty. She steps into a retro-futuristic arcade machine called the ‘Better Face Remodeller’ — an arcade machine that promises a convenient way to mould yourself a new face. What could possibly go wrong?
Spoiler: it goes spectacularly wrong. Instead of perfection, the machine spits out a grotesque yet strangely charismatic doppelgänger — a monstrous mirror of her own insecurities, now fully autonomous and very interested in taking over her life. Because nothing says ‘self-improvement’ like being replaced by your own upgraded nightmare.
After a year of ever-expanding ambitions, endless tweaks, and several ‘wait… what if we make it just a bit weirder?’ moments, Ulver’s ‘Hollywood Babylon‘ music video is finally R.E.A.D.Y!
Ulver adds: “Working with our wonderfully mad old friend Christian (Mona) from the Bogus Blimp days never disappoints. ‘Hollywood Babylon’ has never looked better! It’s a distorted mirror of our times. Please feel free to stare into it a little too long.” x”
Ulver previously revisited this track earlier this year, releasing the Gazelle Twin remix of it in March.
