Earlier this year, Billy Morrison — the longtime rhythm guitarist in Billy Idol’s band, a former bassist for the Cult, and Ozzy Osbourne’s The Madhouse Chronicles co-host — released his hard-rocking The Morrison Project album, which surrounded him with a superheroic set of guest musicians. Fittingly, a new animated video for the record’s “Incite the Watch” now finds Morrison teaming up with Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and shred god Steve Vai Avengers-style to defeat some ghoulish, capitalistic hordes.
The video, which you can see up above, was directed by Brett Boggs, an effects animator with a slew of Disney projects (Encanto, Frozen) on his resume. His visual for “Incite the Watch” is a little less kid-friendly than his work at the House of Mouse, presenting a dystopian future where red-skulled record execs are rounding citizens up in the streets and destroying their vintage clickwheel iPods (freeze-frame it and you’ll find one captive blasting Morrison’s “Crack Cocaine” collab with Ozzy).
That’s when Morrison and Taylor spring into action for the fans, literally flying through the air Superman-style on their way to the famed Capitol Records building in Los Angeles, and then breaking out the big guns to take out some baddies. A shamanic Steve Vai also flies in from some remote mountain location to save the day with a kickass, lightning-bolt-launching guitar solo.
“‘Incite’ really feels like an opus — a journey,” Morrison commented. “It twists and turns, hits some unexpected changes and sections and resolves into modern rock heaviness, and I am extremely proud that the end result appears on The Morrison Project. The animated video furthers that journey with flying superhero rock stars fighting against the corporate hordes and freeing music, creativity and the enslaved masses!”
Taylor added of the IRL team-up: “Billy and I have known each other for so many years and we’ve done many performances together — it was only a matter of time before we put together something original and fascinating. Alternatively, I’ve been a Steve Vai fan since I was 15, and never thought I’d ever get the chance to do something amazing with him… I’m so stoked to be a part of this album with so many great artists and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
The Morrison Project has been streaming since the spring, but receives its physical release September 10th. You can pick it up on classic black vinyl at Revolver’s shop, where you’ll also find a limited-edition, etched “purple blue recycle mix” 12-inch of the single “Crack Cocaine,” featuring Ozzy and Steve Stevens. Order yours.
