Johnnie Guilbert’s song, Angel of Death, is beautifully chilling to the bone. Both the visuals in the music video and the song itself will have you captivated from the very first minute. It opens with the footsteps of a girl, with demonic wings coming out of her back, this girl is the angel of death. The visuals from the forest setting to other visual details felt like they took inspiration from Type O Negative’s music video for Love You to Death and their style in general. The lyrics hauntingly tell the story of what it's like being trauma-bonded in a toxic relationship. The eyes of the girl playing the angel of death were soul-piercing to look at and it was cool how they looked both young and old throughout the song. I really liked the glow on Johnnie as well, it gave a very ethereal feel.
The music video was definitely very well produced. It felt like being sent into a story in a dark fantasy novel. The line “You gave me heaven, and took it too” captures what it feels like to have someone in your life who makes you happy but later ends up being someone who makes you cry and feel like you're going through hell. I also really loved the horror movie like running sequences and the close-up guitar shots. Johnnie has a beautiful voice that even older generations notice and his own unique sound. There's also a cool contrast between Johnnie wearing a white shirt and the angel of death in dark clothing, which feels like a way of expressing light and darkness. The video ends with the powerful line “I'll die before I live” and the whole song itself also has a poetic feel to it.
Overall, if you're looking for a sad but beautiful and relatable song, along with a music video that'll give you chills, I recommend checking out Johnnie Guilbert’s song Angel of Death. It's simply fantastic!
- Toren