Swarm of Eyes Release Dark Christmas Carol, ‘Santa Claus is Coming’
“Santa Claus is Coming,” so you better beware. Don’t put out the cheap cookies and hang your stockings with care.
In what’s becoming a holiday tradition, Swarm of Eyes has released a dark, minor chord-laden cover of the classic Christmas carol, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” — the perfect, ominous accompaniment to power-elbowing your way through crowds this Black Friday. (Go ahead. You deserve that $20 toaster oven!)
The song, available on Bandcamp is a taste of things to come on the band’s upcoming EP, We Go to War with the Weapons We Have, which is scheduled for an early 2017 release. The band also put together a video for the single, featuring the work of 18 different artists — spanning the gamut from seasoned veterans to up-and-comers, each serving up a creepy Kris Kringle of their own demented imaginings.
Recording the song came together quickly. “A massive amount of credit goes to Derrik [Albertelli] for making a one-off comment I said into a reality,” said George O’Connor of his fellow Swarm of Eyes guitarist. “I floated the idea of doing a dark, minor-key version of ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ to him. He took the idea and came back with the chord structures and progressions. We got together and started messing around with the parts and arranging them together.”
The concept for the video matches the ominous tone of Swarm of Eyes’ rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Strapped for time and rather than throwing together a humdrum “video” with just the band’s logo and lyrics, the band enlisted the aid of 18 talented artists to offer their own renderings of sinister Santas. A mix of working professional comic and industrial artists alongside talented up-and-comers, the diverse range of contributors complement Swarm of Eyes’ creepy Christmas card to the metal world.
“After years of creating comics and going to conventions, I now know several talented artists. So, I threw it out to them and my other friends to draw their version of what a creepy Santa would look like,” said O’Connor, the author of several indie comic titles himself. “There were no rules, so they were all free to put their spin on the idea. What we got back was incredible. When someone watches the video, they’ll be able to see some fantastic art that fits the vibe of the song. And I’m thrilled to introduce these artists to everyone.”
A Holiday Letter From Swarm of Eyes
In the spirit of the season — and those awful family newsletters of yore that people you only heard from once a year sent to humblebrag to everyone in their Rolodex — Swarm of Eyes would like to share a year-end wrap up with our fans, family, and friends. Gather ’round the Yule log and allow us to regale you with tales of our triumphs from the year that has passed. Sit back, grab some eggnog, and enjoy our gift to you. (Hey, it beats the Belly Button Lint of the Month Club!)
Dear Swarmies,
Ah, yes! There is a touch of magic in the air and all the mice are in baggies! (I have no idea what that means, but it’s something dear old Great Uncle Cyril used to say after he got into the holiday bottle of Rock n’ Rye.) While rodents may or may not be nestled all snug in their plastic Ziplock enclosures, there truly is a glimmer of metal magic in the air and 2013 was full of many memorable moments for Swarm of Eyes.
For starters, Swarm of Eyes played lots and lots of live gigs. (Shame on you if you weren’t able to make it out to one!) The band even managed to traipse along part of the East coast on a jaunty little mini-tour. (Let us know in the comments where you live and if you’d like Swarm of Eyes to come visit you … like Krampus times five!)
Swarm of Eyes had the privilege of sharing the stage with some of the best dag-nabbit bands on the scene today, including Acaro and Death Ray Vision, to name just a few. One of the gigs the band was most proud to play was a benefit show alongside a reunited Austen’s Dead in which all proceeds went to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. (more…)