Watch Mark Stoermer’s weird and wonderful video for Muju's Revenge

Mark Stoermer

Mark Stoermer has released an animated video for his new track Muju’s Revenge exclusively with Prog.

The song has been taken from his prog solo project’s album Filthy Apes And Lions, which arrived in November last year via St. August Records.

The Killers’ bassist tells Prog: “When I was growing up, I listened to Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and Live Evil a lot, and while my instrumental abilities never got to the level of jazz virtuosity, I still had fantasies of making this kind of music one day.

“When making my album Filthy Apes And Lions, this earlier inspiration came back to me one day and I had an idea to make an improvised song based around a melodic motif, in ⁵⁄₈ time signature.

“Part of me thought it’d be too ambitious to pull off, but one late night in the studio, me and the boys decided to give it a shot.

“What later became Muju’s Revenge is an amalgamation of about three or four live takes in the studio that occurred that late night/early morning. It was later that Robert Root and I scattered the internet for animal sounds to inject into the track for atmosphere. The result may not have been exactly Miles Davis’ level, but for a few rock guys, we thought it wasn’t so bad.”

The video was directed by Rafael Bonilla, who Stoermer says “took this animal theme to another dimension.”

He adds: “It’s an adventure story about an explorer searching for a golden skull within an other worldly jungle that is lost in time. Night and day occurs at the same time, animals from all different eras of the earth exist at once.

“The explorer recalls how he was lured into a cave by a monster who placed a curse on him by turning him into an old man before he can get the skull. He continues searching for it and eventually the skull reappears only to take him to the underworld.”

An exclusive interview with Stoermer features in the new issue of Prog magazine, which is on sale now.

Anathema are the cover stars, while artists including Genesis, Alan Parsons Project, Geoff Downes and Enslaved also feature, along with the results of the 2017 Readers’ Poll.

Mark Stoermer Filthy Apes And Lions tracklist

Filthy Apes And Lions
Beautiful Deformities
Racing In The Rain
Dwarfish Trumpet Blues
The Perennial Legend Of Dr Mabuse
Mica Rae
Nosferatu Blues
Muju’s Revenge
People Take Pictures Of Each Other

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.