Avenged Sevenfold - Bat Country

"He who makes a beast out of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man."

This is the quote that forms the basis of this music video, because the video depicts a very surreal world. It pays homage to the book/film "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" and the name comes from a quote in the book. The book is about people on drugs, which Avenged Sevenfold's video conveys very well. The special effects make this work, and the randomness of what is shown makes the video funny at the same time, which makes the video better on another level.

The video was the first track used of their new album, which meant the main aim of the video was to make the band look good and 'cool'. So, they key ingredients that they included were the attractive women, partying and looking like the kind of band that live by Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll. This gives the audience escapism appeal because the video can't help but make people wonder how amazing it would be to be them. The Car that is used in the video gives a of a "live life in the fast land' vibe which is appealing and vital for a rock band to have.

The dark clothing and tattoos appeal to the audience by signifying the darkness of the genre. For the audience, this provides the identification gratification because its usual for the audience to have the same fashion sense so they can relate to the band. The place where they are preforming is somewhere like a squalid house. This signifies that they are from the street and not many people admire bands that are from high places in society because not many people can relate to that, so this is important and works well.

One of the reasons the band is famous is because of the recognition of how impressive the musicians are. This is why a lot of the video is spent on the solo and dedicates that part to the lead guitarist. This part appeals to the audience that admire the band for this.

The mise-en-scene is probably the most important aspect of any music video, and this video is no exception. One item that stands out enormously is the car that they are driving in and how they drive. It looks like an old Cadillac model. This gives the effect that the band have wealth, style and are able to get their hands on rare cars, which is impressive. Also, their reckless driving represents the bands 'middle finger' to society. Their tattoos, symbolise a number of things. For example, tattoo's are quite painful to get, and the number that they have suggest that they are tough which adds to their persona. Finally, the amount of black coloured items represent darkness and evil which appeals to a large audience that follow that genre of music and dress the same way.