The Violent Hour‘s latest single “Hell Or Hollywood” has newly been accompanied by a music video directed by Vicente Cordero (Black Veil Brides, Ministry). That project is fronted by ex-Butcher Babies vocalist Carla Harvey, who also recently took up the vocal duties for Lords Of Acid.
Her significant other, Charlie Benante (Anthrax, Pantera, etc.) joins her in this outfit, handling the bulk of the instrumental duties while assisting with songwriting. Modern day guitar hero Zakk Wylde guests on this new cut, with the video being shot at the Rainbow Bar and Grill in West Hollywood, CA. Harvey stated of the treatment for the video:
“Shooting the ‘Hell Or Hollywood’ video at the Rainbow was a full-circle moment for me. As a kid growing up in the Midwest, I saw the Rainbow in rock mags and iconic Guns N’ Roses videos…it exuded that gritty, dangerous, rock ’n’ roll lifestyle I craved. When I moved to LA, I practically lived there. I made my first friends at the Rainbow, found my first bandmates there, and got into plenty of trouble. The Rainbow is more than a backdrop; it’s a living, breathing piece of rock history.
This video tells the story of chasing a dream to LA (both the pleasures and the pitfalls) and toys with the question: do you have to sell your soul for rock ’n’ roll? Is this Hell or Hollywood? The answer reveals itself at the end of the video. It was important for me to have Lemmy (played by Luke Edwards of Killed by Death) in the video as one of my ‘tempters’ because of his iconic presence at the Rainbow.
You’ll spot a Janis Joplin too (actress Shannon Corbett) and I had to throw in a little tongue in cheek humor as well with a Kurt Cobain lookalike (Gabe Maska) because let’s be real, if Kurt showed up at the Rainbow, you’d definitely be in hell.”
Benante previously stated of this song:
“Carla grew up loving Guns N’ Roses, and since they were so heavily influenced by Aerosmith, I wanted to write something that paid tribute to both. The riff on ‘Hell or Hollywood’ is the kind that stands on its own — even without vocals, it’s got a swagger to it. And having Zakk Wylde on the solo? He brought this raw, six string grit that rips through the track. You hear it and instantly know—it’s him.”
A debut EP from the outfit is currently in the works with more details still pending.
