Prayers have been on something of a hot streak over the course of the last year. Back in 2016, they released the powerful “Mexica” video for Indigenous Peoples Day, and this past October they released a mini-documentary about their collaboration with legendary deathrock act Christian Death, the band that also happens to be a major inspiration for the group’s frontman, Leafar Seyer.
Right after the mini-doc came out, the group also surprised released their latest album, Baptism Of Thieves, their first with the major label support of BMG behind them. Today, they continue burning it all to the ground with the surreal, black and white video for a brand new track off that record, “Edge Of The Blade.” In the video, Seyer paces through an old abandoned church, populated with slithering serpents, stark crosses, and even a couple shots of his partner in Prayers, Dave Parley, dressed up in full regalia as Christ with the crown of thorns.
The juxtaposition of punk, goth, and religious symbols is at the heart of what Prayers do, combining their anger with the current American system that so frequently marginalizes Mexican and South American people with rebellion against the Judeo Christian philosophy. “I’m on the edge of the blade / Carving 66 on my flesh,” Seyer chants, all but invoking the “number of the beast” on the song’s aggressive, silvery-synth chorus.
Watch the Patrick Wilcox-directed clip above, and keep an eye out for more from Prayers — they’re always on the brink of something.
