Greta Van Fleet Release Transcendent “Heat Above” Music Video
Fans, including myself, are OBSESSED with Greta Van Fleet’s newest single “Heat Above”, which debuted on February 10th, 2021. Following with a new & extremely beautiful music video for the single, we break it down & dive deep into what’s going on between these videos & songs.
Photos by Paige Sara
White Heaven Aesthetic
The video starts off with recycled footage from the band’s last video “Age Of Machine”, showing the boys being locked up in a building with the door opening, showing off a bright light, and we see the boys, in all white. “The moment of inspiration came over the first minute of the song, hearing Sam’s intro – the drums, and explosive entry. It all felt like white light heaven. White chalky smoke. That’s what I saw in my brain.”, Director Matthew Daniel Siskin says. And that’s exactly what we see all throughout this video. Something that fans have really been paying attention to is the band’s outfit choices. They are all seen to be wearing different outfits at different points, due to different takes and days, but what they are wearing is simply fabulous. Danny is seen to be banging drums with white roses, an ode to the band’s former album, Anthem Of The Peaceful Army. Sam is to be seen in lots of sequins and sparkles, while playing the most beautiful keys I have ever heard in my life, swaying back and forth to the music. Jake is to be seen in a white long-sleeved shirt, with what seems to be some kind of sequined bottoms, along with his white acoustic guitar, still rocking out to a softer song. And last, but never least, Josh is to be seen holding a white rose, sporting unique makeup across his face, and in all white as well. For a quick moment, not many shots, Jake is to be seen playing a white violin, that Siskin spray painted in the parking lot. Siskin also mentions that using recycled footage for different videos is “very much a group decision. They are always shooting with Super 8, we have a lot of good footage to play with.”
Photo by Paige Sara
Photo by Paige Sara
AOTPA & TBAGG
There’s a lot to think about with this video. We’ll get to the comparisons between all three music videos later, but something that I noticed when I rewatched this video and started truly breaking it down was how much the white roses were shown throughout it. It’s almost as if, possibly, Anthem Of The Peaceful Army is connected to The Battle At Garden’s Gate? Maybe Anthem tells a story with each song and possibly they’re all connected to the new album. Fans have stated that they feel AOTPA is a light album, versus TBAGG could be a darker album, once we receive it. One fan even tweeted “In an age of darkness, light appears” (lyrics from "Age Of Man"), showing a picture of the band during the AOTPA era compared to “Heat Above”, aka TBAGG era.
Tears Of Rain?
In the middle of the song, Jake is shown to have an upside down triangle on his forehead, which is something I didn’t notice before. The only thing I could make sense of was that the “Tears Of Rain” symbol was shown on the band’s Instagram, and it is in the shape of a triangle. So what could that mean?
Josh & His Eye Roll
Josh is also to be seen rolling his eyes in the video, as if he is drugged? Is he having an episode? Is he having a vision? Does he have mind powers like Eleven from Stranger Things because he was locked up in a building in Age Of Machine? Is it because of having something dropped into his eyes in the Age Of Machine video?
The Ending
The thing that probably made me smile and excited the most was the ending. The ending shows Super 8 film of humanity, shot by the band themselves, and it gives me “My Way, Soon” vibes. There is a triangle shown at the end, almost like a prism. Which I thought was symbolizing what was on Jake’s forehead, which I think is the “Tears Of Rain” symbol.
Music Video Parallels
I know I’m not the only one who thinks all three of these GVF music videos are connected. With My Way, Soon, we saw footage of the band hanging out, drinking, having fun, playing music, etc. and everything was wonderful. During Age Of Machine, we see them locked up. It’s as if their “freedom” from My Way, Soon was taken from them. Freedom. Touring. Living life as they pleased. They are to be seen to be having flashbacks of how the free world was. What they got to do. How they got to live. And now they can’t live the way they once did, much like the world with the pandemic. With Heat Above, especially with the Age Of Machine nod at the beginning, this could be the boys dreaming, imagining, or maybe actually playing music and being creative. And if they are actually playing music and being creative – that could be an ode to real life. How creative they’ve gotten to be over the last year in the career and lives. Feeling that they have more control of their careers and lives, all of these music videos could be reflecting their lives. I did mention to Siskin that these videos could be connected and asked if that was the case or if it’s just a coincidence and his response was “Nothing is coincidence :)”, which almost confirms that everything happens for a reason – even with this band. We’re on to you, Greta Van Fleet.
Photo by Paige Sara
Photo by Paige Sara
Photo by Paige Sara
Photo by Paige Sara
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