Shriekback - Nemesis (Official Music Video)

[@krasblak]

One of the greatest overlooked songs of the 1980's. Period

[@mitchellbaker9434]

And bands.

[@christopherleveck6835]

You mean the 1980's period?

[@christopherleveck6835]

@@mitchellbaker9434 what about the Leather Nuns or The Beat Farmers?

[@robdyson4990]

Was massive airplay where I live in 85 was it?

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Their lyrics are surrealist & came out of punk, it’s not surprising everyone knows “Always something there to remind me” and not a song called “Nemesis.”

[@PaulAGangi]

Anyone watching this in 2024!? I graduated HS in 1987...KROQ played this often, but I never saw video until now. A gem! Hairstyle and lyrics ahead of its time. "God knows our business/ karma could take us at any moment" So goooood!

[@nheald8502]

Getting an early Danny Elfman vibe from the singer.

[@DarkFire1536]

Definitely a great one!

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

'83, boss. 97X-BAMMMMMM...the future of rock and roll...

[@DarkFire1536]

@@SlapthePissouttayew 🤣🤣🤣

[@shandi4114]

I also graduated HS in 87. I've never heard of this song until today. And I listened to the radio all the time!

[@nhf7170]

Oil and Gold is one of the greatest albums of the '80s.

[@huahin6149]

Yes brother

[@jeffcook6446]

the only thing that shines goes right to my soul

[@strongbird3499]

When I was a kid, when the atmospheric conditions were right, I could sometimes pick up a radio station from Canada, about 3 hours from where I lived, that played "alternative" music several years before Ten and Nevermind. I got obsessed with this station, because they played this incredible music I couldn't hear anywhere else. I'd sometimes tune in and listen to static, in hopes the station would break through . This was one of the songs I heard on that station a couple of times. I loved it. I wanted to own it on cassette, but I was never able to catch the name of the song or the band before the station fuzzed out, and Google didn't exist in those days, so I was out of luck. I never heard it again anywhere else. Tonight, for some reason, the line, "big black nemesis, parthenogensis" popped into my brain, and I remembered that song from a long time ago, and I thought surely I must have misheard those lyrics . . .

[@greg1563]

Was it CFNY 102.1 from Toronto?

[@Alphaghetti71]

That's funny. I didn't see your comment when I wrote mine.

[@nocturnalmix]

Thats an awesome story!

[@19DARKNIGT69]

CFNY The Spirit of Radio

[@zeromt3577]

I am humbly jealous of your excellent story! I was too far away to hear it, but I did see Shriekback on a WaxTrax compilation and I did listen to everything they've done and... they rhymed "Nemesis" (a Greek goddess) with "Parthenogenesis" (the asexual birth of another (fully armored) Greek goddess). No one move a muscle! That is perfect lyricism!

[@jasonpace4891]

I've been obsessed with this song for almost 40 years. Never, ever gets old.

[@graf666orlok]

Same. This and sexbeat were always guaranteed at every 80's goth/deathrock club in Los Angeles :)

[@pryingeyes1551]

​@@graf666orlok Recent '80s goth nights or goth nights during the actual '80s?

[@graf666orlok]

@@pryingeyes1551 Actual 80's. los angeles death rock 80's... I've been around so long that I am no longer a goth... I am a moth. If they were to remake the lost boys, I could play Max... But all cranky and telling the young vampires to keep the noise down because me and thorn were trying to sleep after a long night at the video store. lousy kids.

[@graf666orlok]

@@pryingeyes1551 actual 80's my friend. Like, when Goth was called Death rock 80's. Batcave and Helter skelter 80's. I'm so old that I am no longer a Goth.... I am a moth.

[@graf666orlok]

@@pryingeyes1551 sorry for replying twice.... I was reeeeeal drunk the first time and forgot. either that or I am senile.

[@willeastcott]

Any song that works parthenogenesis into the lyrics is a winner in my book. This always filled the dancefloor at London's Slimelight back in the mid-90s!

[@frankcairney5523]

Indeed it did. I remember going there in 97 and this came on and thinking I'd found ma peeps!

[@overlorddante]

Only time I heard this song before was at a club a few months ago. Glad it's still making the rounds

[@IlaughedIcried]

Exactly!! Shriekback's vocabulary and subject matter is the stuff of PhD programs!

[@kori_snw]

Trocadero in SF, my home in the 80's!

[@ChadTheImpailer]

agreed

[@Jscreven]

I actually worked with these guys a few times on live shows around 1986. They were really super nice people and very approachable unlike others I had worked with. You can hear where bands like NIN got there influence.

[@2mifune]

@Lisa Surlie yes.

[@biodot88]

Not disagreeing but NIN got their influence from Skinny Puppy.

[@nemesisurvivorleon]

@@biodot88 why not both? Musicians listen to many sources.

[@biodot88]

@@nemesisurvivorleon My dude I just checked out your slow industrial mix. Awesome. Never knew this stuff existed.

[@heidismutti]

I'm sure Trent listened to more than one band in his life. I'd it was only one, it we def Puppy, though.

[@boondock54x4]

So much great music on this album. OIL AND GOLD!

[@Moved2NewPh0ne]

For sure

[@lorliec2004]

Agreed! Some of the quieter songs are just beautiful!

[@zastavabruva]

All these clueless people talking about memories and how they love this song. It is filled with esoteric and occult symbolism and references. This is a very satanic and disgusting song. Even child abuse is being mockingly shown. If you watch this video and hear the lyrics yet see nothing you are truly asleep

[@rturobhutan2766]

I'm Arthur Bhutic! I was 9 1/2 seeing this in January 1985, living of the North Carolina Border in North Chestnut Springs, South Carolina! More than a few years after I moved to Houston!

[@Rxz5526]

I found this song from going thru my moms cassettes and finding Oil & Gold after her passing last year. Rest In Peace Mom and thanks for having cool music taste, now I know where I get it from

[@patricknoland7402]

Your Mom must have been one cool bad-ass to have appreciated this kind of music. :)

[@dragonsteve69]

this song is 29 years old now and i still love it!

[@johanvajse8410]

AND NOW IT IS 35 YEARS OLD AND I STILL LOVE IT!

[@quasarsphere]

@@johanvajse8410 Good man yerself :)

[@ahjoostdedahbehigpu6749]

It’s now 35 years old and it still cuts it.

[@tearsforthedying]

36 years old, song still slaps

[@steviewondek]

@@johanvajse8410 36 years good music doesn't die, just generations taste changes.

[@dbruskin1431]

In the summer of 1985, I was bummed because we didn't have cable. But there was a UHF channel (U68) that gave me my first exposure to a lot of music, including this. This song is still great.

[@mikieschwartz]

Best 80's dance song ever... The dance floor was packed when it played! No one move a muscle was sometimes a really difficult thing to do back in the day! There was lots & lots of X-tra adrenaline going thru the clubs back then, when it was F U N

[@RoySATX]

I was much better at thrashing back and forth, tossing myself to and fro, and skipping round and round. if my limbs weren't in motion I felt like I would misplace them. The best I could manage was to stand there quivering. I don't think anyone ever noticed, though, pupils were all so blown out the entire world appeared to vibrate.

[@mikieschwartz]

@FlyingMonkies325 great times, shows my age but damn we had a blast!!!

[@globaldj719]

Still playing today at Independent Bar Downtown Orlando!

[@mikieschwartz]

@@globaldj719 groovy! hope the peeps dance to it as it's intended to be danced to, 😄 🤣 😂, I know the ones from my day did and loved every second!

[@globaldj719]

@@mikieschwartz They do Mikie! I have had to request it but they play it still. Best 80s alternative club I know.

[@roberthendrickson6505]

2022 this is still outstanding! 🥰

[@maxshea1829]

God isn't mocked. He's knows our business.

[@shanemitchell477]

Can satan be mocked?

[@airforcemajorusaf4402]

@@shanemitchell477 Yes! I have done it!

[@shanemitchell477]

@@airforcemajorusaf4402 DAMN! A Major!

[@shanemitchell477]

I don't know what kind of evil God you have. I can mock your God and my GOD, and satan, and any other being I feel like. What will happen? Nothing. I follow LOVE, your book, your God is EVIL! Same as satan, EVIL. Same as Humans, EVIL. You say well you'll die and go to hell, it's meaningless to me. Just like you, this body, this world, and this universe are MEANINGLESS to me. Why? Because it's all Temporary. There will be a new HEAVEN (universe), and a New Earth, you will also have different bodies. That GOD that does this is Love and it's all done by Grace...and it's not done by YOUR God who is imprisoned in the Ark.

[@jakkijimms3413]

This lead singer is amazing. He really acts it out! Love it!

[@rturobhutan2766]

I'm Arthur Bhutic! I was 9 1/2 seeing this in January 1985 living of the North Carolina Border in North Chestnut Springs, South Carolina! More than a few years after I moved to Houston!

[@garywoodard6004]

​@@rturobhutan2766 you can still hear this song on friday nights inHOUSTON. #'S

[@vectorhold6489]

That chorus is catchy as hell

[@personzorz]

been running in my head for 2 days.

[@moridin812]

Known in these parts as the "Goth Macerana."

[@Albrecht777]

Funnily enough, my first encounter with Shriekback was in goth clubs, too. And, yes, I'm also a fan of "2000 AD" with interests in history, philosophy etc.

[@xhozt]

We kneecap baby bat's for that round here.

[@christopherleveck6835]

Doesn't this pre date goth and the macarena?

[@twistedviewlabs]

@@christopherleveck6835 Macarena, definitely...goth, ooh child no

[@Rain3417]

I thought Personal Jesus was the goth Macarena?

[@john-r-edge]

There was a great music show on New Zealand TV in the 1970s and 80s called "Radio with Pictures". The show host until 1986 was Karyn Hay - who was great. She said she got to choose one piece of music to include for her final show - and it was this Shriekback track with the awesome video. I don't think I have heard it since, but it was pretty memorable - from about 35 years ago.

[@donaldcampbell3043]

She was all class back in the Radio with Pictures days, and she married Andrew Fagan from The Mockers...

[@erinwalker711]

This song is one of the most underrated from the 1980s. I love it.

[@dlmiller7873]

This song is so steeped in esoteric material, I can't believe it isn't illegal. It's a masterclass in under four minutes.

[@juvenalherrera3577]

I saw them play at cabaret metro in Chicago. They ended with this song. I’ve been to countless shows over 40 years. This night still stands out. It was so fucking cool!

[@jasperlevinstein8210]

How, HOW, have I NEVER HEARD THIS??????!!!! THIS IS AMAZING!

[@MikeChristy-cg5eo]

In retrospect, perhaps the best music video of all time?

[@KevinGeaslin]

I was a little kid and my brother's friend from college brought me a copy of this tape and was like "dude check this out". He introduced me to cool stuff like Siouxsie, Peter Schilling, Peter Murphy, The Bolshoi, etc.

[@KutsaiChan]

Shout-out to people like that who are cool to little/young kids! I'm assuming by little kid you nl meant grade school? When I was that age, I was so zoned into music and discovering new stuff all the time! Dance/electronic, Linkin Park, Enya,80s, video game music, and an obscure local artist Barbara Payton are among the things I'd always be listening to! I think that was when I first started to get into 80s stuff, haha. The older I get, the more I love the music from then~ Goodness, that was what, 21 years ago for me already? That's hard to believe, haha!

[@DarkFire1536]

That's so awesome! Those are all amazing bands. My sister always found the best music.

[@ArnoldLlamas-jw6lk]

Love this shriekback pieces 1980s finest and great

[@Kitsune-kb8zc]

My mom randomly played this song once and I couldn't help but search it up afterwards. It's so damn catchy and has been stuck in my head for days.

[@jewellerato8996]

Your mom sounds awesome!

[@zastavabruva]

All these clueless people talking about memories and how they love this song. It is filled with esoteric and occult symbolism and references. This is a very satanic and disgusting song. Even child abuse is being mockingly shown. If you watch this video and hear the lyrics yet see nothing you are truly asleep

[@TheTygre]

This is, far and away, my favorite New Wave song. I am so glad this was my introduction to Shriekback!

[@rturobhutan2766]

I'm Arthur Bhutic! I was 9 1/2 seeing this in January 1985 living of the North Carolina Border in North Chestnut Springs, South Carolina! More than few years after I moved to Houston!

[@misanthrope2112]

Eminently underrated.

[@jeffcook6446]

caught in the airstrike with a poisoned kiss......one of the best lines captured in song.

[@zzGRENDELzz]

So friggin' Lovecraftian - love this video, masks, props and Barry's evil looking enthusiasm! I've never seen anyone do "righteously wicked" as well as he does here.

[@Frankcastlepunisher74]

Exactly!!!!

[@lyreamoonchild2024]

And nemesis the warlock

[@grailchaser]

I've always loved this song - mostly because it put me in mind of Nemesis the Warlock. But I never knew there was a video clip till today. I'm actually surprised to discover that Nemesis is in the clip!

[@uhtred7860]

Scrolled through the comments to see if anyone mentioned Nemesis the Warlock or even Torquemada :-)) Found only yours, from 9 years ago. Guess no one reads 2000AD anymore :-(

[@greva2904]

@@uhtred7860 That’s because 2000AD lost its mojo a couple of decades ago. It had its time in the sun, though somehow it’s still going. I’ve still got most of the early issues but even though I’ve got a soft spot for it, the calibre of writing has been slowly sliding downhill for decades

[@uhtred7860]

@@greva2904 Yeah, I fully agree, The old progs from the 70s and 80s are the only ones i'm interested in, great stories, like The Ballad of Halo Jones, Slaine, The Horned God, Flesh. Ive got most progs from 1 to about 580 or so, when the style changed from newsprint to a more glossy look. I stopped buying it around every week around 89. I did buy the Judge Dredd hardback collection a couple of years ago, and also the Slaine hardback collection. Ive still got most of my Action comics from the 70s, the progenitor of 2000AD. Remember those comics??

[@greva2904]

@@uhtred7860 Action was just before my time. Though I still had the free space spinner from 2000ad prog 1 till the late 80's when I accidentally threw it over a wall!

[@jakedee4117]

@@uhtred7860 I loved it back in the day. Some movie studio should buy up the rights. Plenty of material for the new generation. Nemesis the Warlock, Johnny Alpha and the Strontium dogs, Rogue Trooper could all have kick ass series now that the technology is available. There was a little look at what the ABC warriors could look like in the second Judge Dredd movie.

[@danpastirik3682]

After The first time I heard this on the University radio station, I went out and bought Oil and Gold. What an album!

[@Litarider]

Tuning in because I’m visiting Greece and this seems like such an appropriate song for early Greek history.

[@screenPhiles]

"Big black nemesis, parthenogenesis. No one moves a muscle when the dead comes home." I barely remember the band but I can't get that line out of my head.

[@williambartow5234]

i so miss the80s

[@BlueArcStreaming]

This has gotten better & better as the decades pass. Weird & Spooky & Profound & Absurd

[@paigeherrmann6332]

This song never gets old

[@phallusbravo]

They used to play this at clubs when I first went out to such, in the DFW area, in Texas, Around 1990 or so. I was just old enough to drive, and there were few places to go. I'd drive a carload of punkish kids in shades of black to a place called "Level 5," in Dallas at the top of the West End, then out where Monopoly's Park Place used to be, off of NW HWY, and a couple of other places, like "Club Alternative," in Arlington, which didn't last but a couple of months, it seems. They had a tire swing, and cans of spray paint on pedestals, where you could paint the walls. The front door had a broken pane of glass on the bottom that you would duck through to be admitted. It was the first place I was physically patted down to enter, and this was in 1991. NO ONE had a metal detector, or patted you down at that time, except the airport. Heck, the airport didn't even pat you down- they wouldn't physically touch anyone back then! Anyway, there was a dance that those who knew would all break into, to this song. I didn't have cable, so I had never seen this video- there was no internet, no youtube, no VH1, no way to look up a video- but it was obviously based on this video, seeing it since those days. The dance started out with the dancers doing whatever (arms waving, hips gyrating, feet dipping and shuffling), then they would all raise their right arms (just as in the video, at only those moments when they do in the video), facing one way, then (I suppose when the camera would move to the next person in the video) drop that arm and turn 90 degrees to their left and repeat... if I recall correctly. It would make a "clap" sound as they would drop their arms and turn etc. It was something quite random seeming, because otherwise, they would all dance normally (random new wave/alternative dancing) except for these sections in the song where they would all stick out their arms to the side. Quite disarming for someone who had not seen the video, and impossible to pick up from hearing the song, at most, one time per visit to the club. It was just another part of how more compartmentalized secret knowledge used to be, before the internet. Now, everyone can look everything up, and watch it all over and over again. It used to be different.

[@phallusbravo]

+OranT And there was another club called Metropolis, but I think it was the same place as one of the "Level V" locations, but that was a long time back. Any DFW peeps recall this?

[@NeonC0wboy]

+OranT thanks for sharing this. I imagine a club full of people doing that dance every time I hear this song now :P

[@Bubba_Fett_]

+OranT ...Dallas area, 1996-1997 era, the Red Jacket, kind of a dive...but good times.

[@JediColt]

Yeah the place off of Northwest highway was Metropolis, then later Metro, that was after Level 5 closed down. Then the Lizard Lounge on Sunday nights became "The Church" I don't remember the dance the same way you do. I remember during the chorus everyone would stand perfectly still, facing the same direction, arm straight up shooting the finger for the entire chorus. No turning or clapping. At least that's what we did.

[@stevemccomas5032]

Find the Shark ,,and park .

[@walterguidi5055]

Mamma miaaaaaaaaaa...la avevo in testa ma non mi ricordavo piu chi erano ..thank youuuuuuuuu❤

[@brianartillery]

The only song I have on record to feature the word 'Parthenogenesis'. And why not? A masterpiece of wordplay from the one time 'Unacceptable Face Of XTC', Barry Andrews. Love it!

[@PANGEAEAST]

That high vocal part layered in the chorus gets me everytime

[@melissasites1044]

Wendy and Sarah Partridge

[@QueenMAB418]

We are not monsters, we're moral people!!

[@Frankcastlepunisher74]

The best line ever....and we have the strength to do this.....

[@jussikankinen9409]

Slaughterhouse

[@smugsheep3307]

We should find that strength again.

[@zastavabruva]

All these clueless people talking about memories and how they love this song. It is filled with esoteric and occult symbolism and references. This is a very satanic and disgusting song. Even child abuse is being mockingly shown. If you watch this video and hear the lyrics yet see nothing you are truly asleep

[@suprsparky77]

Timeless and a classic! Such a gem of a chooooon! This is music at its finest 🎉

[@neinlives9424]

The symbolism in this video is still relevant, maybe more than ever.

[@aquablue02]

I’m trying to understand what the song and video are really about. I’ve always loved this song.

[@neinlives9424]

@@aquablue02 Decadence of the elite and/or ruler class. Serving the appetites of those with an endless void inside that cannot be filled so there is no limit to what they will do to feel 'something'. Drugs, Sex, depravity, all wrapped up in a super catchy tune... and of course 'we are not monsters, we're moral people' means they dont feel bad about it... but then 'karma could take us at any moment' means there is a tiny bit of recognition that they have stepped into evil behavior. I posted the actual lyrics, its pretty dark stuff!

[@timwendelken2444]

Saw these guys supporting INXS decades ago. This song was the highlight of the entire show.

[@scillyautomatic]

I'm a Christian and I love this song. Don't know what that says about me but the song does raise some interesting questions.

[@zastavabruva]

All these clueless people talking about memories and how they love this song. It is filled with esoteric and occult symbolism and references. This is a very satanic and disgusting song. Even child abuse is being mockingly shown. If you watch this video and hear the lyrics yet see nothing you are truly asleep

[@vincentcascino]

The Opera singer in the background gives a little pop song, some real sinister depth. Very well done.

[@baseballthumbguard3194]

In 1985, at any point in time in which this song came on WFNX 101.7fm the volume went to FULL!

[@patricknoland7402]

OMG, I am eternally grateful for WFNX Boston. That station changed my life, opened me up to the most magical world.

[@lcrawley]

The Phoenix! Loved that station, and this song.

[@glennnorosky7973]

The chick doing the backing vocals in the chorus makes this song for me.

[@peterfrare]

Saw them in 1986/87 in the beach town of Byron Bay australia. An obscure place to see them but it was an amazing experience. This song changed my world outlook as a 17yr old.

[@nicoledennis3100]

How did it change your outlook exactly ?

[@ulli_freska7392]

I love this band so much!! Listen to those god damn synths!!!

[@gamesetmatch8420]

They just don't write good songs about parthenogenesis anymore ...

[@ProvidenceXIV]

Truly a lost art

[@xiphocostal]

Too many syllables for today's punters...

[@sharonsmith7922]

xiphocostal very true

[@Someguy-my3he]

"Woody Allen Jesus" by Tim Minchin.

[@paulhagger9879]

+FoyetTheReaper Teenage Fanclub managed to use the word Verisimilitude as both the title and in the chorus of a song. that's a good effort as well.

[@Meandmymirror]

So glad to hear this band again! Couldn’t find this album on Spotify! First time seeing this video

[@grahamyoung2128]

Such an under-rated band! Love these guys, saw them at San Diego State University during the 80’s, they were awesome!

[@Fortunato7208]

There is so much going on in this song, On the surface, a nihilist libertine's dream. But below...well, a warning against buying in to temporary pleasures, especially at the cost of one's own intelligence and beliefs....(and no...I'm not a religious nut or a prude. Just--well, I like to think--an individual with a brain of my own.)

[@ProvidenceXIV]

no that's spot on, good analysis

[@MrsWilberforce2]

I think there's even more than that going on. Remember, this was written while the Cold War was still going on and I think a lot of the song has to do with us having the capability of wiping out the human race (e.g., "call in the airstrike...") and then life on earth would start over again. And there's so much more with physics theories, etc. It's an awesome song.

[@israelgottmein6925]

Religion, belief and morals aren’t bad: don’t worry.

[@israelgottmein6925]

Jane Doe Nuits?

[@SK-uz4rs]

@Jack Wehrung This theory has been pretty much debunked at this point. Do a Google search about all of the star surveys that have been done in the last 20 years and you'll find that if there was a brown dwarf companion star to Sol, it would have been found by now.

[@PrimetimeD]

Criminally underrated jam.

[@JohnC1919]

Sarcasticly,a nice day day huh.ShriekBack is no.1 group.

[@johncolletti6285]

Excellent song.Excellent band throughout.

[@adamjohncoulombe-mann2535]

The number one song in Heaven.

[@Epoxinator]

I remember this as being one of the first videos done that weren't just shooting a band playing a song. Some people at that time hated the new trend. I loved the song, the video and the band.

[@ophidic]

Everyone hears that really high pitched voice during the chorus right? I didn't at first until I listened to this with headphones and now I can't unhear it lol.

[@Oilisdeathtomany]

Genius! I seen these guys at 'the carlton' and had a brilliant night. Man.., happy memories and they were a talent powerhouse.

[@TL-is8pk]

This always sent us running to the dance floor.

[@carmengonzalez1052]

Aaaah, but rhyming "Nemesis" with "Parthenogenesis-" that puts them in a special category. Not many rock bands could pull that one off. Who writes their stuff, anyway? It reeks of a good education.

[@elisasuperiordork6755]

Carl Marsh is responsibl for a great many songs, too. Let’s not undersell songs like “My Spine is the Bassline”, “Everything that Rises must Converge”, “Now these days are gone”, and “Catmandu”. Equally as prolific and clever as Barry. Shriekback is entirely comprised of great minds, though, in all fairness.

[@ThrustusSimmonds]

or repeated viewing of The Wicker Man.......

[@lolapearce816]

th dancing years CD has a bands cross-pollinating diagram

[@MatthewBaileyBeAfraid]

the Song, as I have said MANY, MANY times throughout the comments, is based upon a Comic-Book character from the British Sci-Fi Magazine "2000 A.D."(from whence we get "Judge Dredd"). The song is about "Nemesis the Warlock" who was born of Parthenogensis by his Mother, a Goddess, and Nemesis combats the Human Empire of Torquemada the God, who enforces laws of Racial Purity (Pure HUMAN) against Aliens and Mutants, which Nemesis is the defender of. The Comic was created by a member of the Goth Scene in England, and was a commentary on how we were treated at the time by the rest of society. If you were around in the early 1980s, and you looked like a vampire with spikes black, white, or strange-colored hair, you often had police follow you everywhere, or Yobbos beat on you at every opportunity they got (it was even worse in the states). It has been a LONG, LONG time since I read 2000 A.D. (because they were all stolen by my late-wife just before she died in 1999)

[@jayceinfinitealgharhythmns9814]

That’s what I’ve always thought of them! Highly educated group… ironically there was a philosophy professor at Temple University Professor Dave Allen who would assign really odd books for students to read as part of his curriculum. But aside that their entire catalogue is extremely brainy… I haven’t heard their later albums but Oil and Gold is the most cerebral one I’ve heard!

[@GeorgiaJen]

This video is da bomb. And Barry's facial expressions . . . legitimately the best acting I've ever seen anywhere.

[@zivakitty]

this is one of my FAVORITE songs from the 80's...it's fantastic!

[@miniq1142]

the visuals in this video are so rad

[@martinharris5017]

I saw these guys live back in 1986. They were phenomenal. Did at least 3 enchores!

[@MichaelSmith-vo1mi]

And I can proudly say I have seen them live. Please bring back the 80s

[@pitmatix1457]

Between this and the Torquemada line "Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave" appearing in The Manic Street Preachers song "P.C.P." Nemesis the Warlock obviously has some brilliant fans!

[@LisaTeletunes]

This video takes on a whole new meaning 20 years later. Miss you guys! Peace.

[@gosoap1804]

This song made me who I am. The single positive memory from boarding school- hearing this song in the dorms....

[@midnightmosesuk]

Nemesis the Warlock spotted for all you old 2000 ad fans out there.

[@123WelshDan321]

Be pure, be vigilant, behave

[@snarkamedes]

Have no truck with the extra-terrestrial.

[@badmoonrising3861]

123WelshDan321 Thanks.

[@MatthewBaileyBeAfraid]

I am SO GLAD that someone else knows this! I was probably the only person in the USA to understand the reference in the song (and recognize the character) when this song came out. Everyone I knew in Europe knew where it was from. But 2000 A.D. wasn't published in the states until the late-80s.

[@judasjurgen7845]

@@snarkamedes I have! And I'll KEEP ON TRUCKIN'!

[@snarkamedes]

Don't be a worm. Be firm. Be strong. Belong!

[@atis9061]

I love dancing to this song! so much fun!

[@sammencia7945]

36 years old and still rockin it.

[@zastavabruva]

All these clueless people talking about memories and how they love this song. It is filled with esoteric and occult symbolism and references. This is a very satanic and disgusting song. Even child abuse is being mockingly shown. If you watch this video and hear the lyrics yet see nothing you are truly asleep

[@niconestra]

Glad to have this as apart of my generation

[@JeremyPCresswell]

Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave!

[@danielgriffith8911]

The most hauntingly beautiful song by Shriekback.. "the Only Thing that Shines".

[@ImpracticalDefects]

This song has been growing on me so much. I love the last verse the most. "Cover him up! I think we're finished. Heroics never been so exotic. but I don't know, my dreams are visions. We could still end up with the great big fishes."

[@mrda2611]

*You know it's never been so exotic

[@neldaemmons4717]

talk about blast from the past

[@dipermandiperman3520]

Just damn adore Shriekback, just cant ever stop! But I was born in lately 80s...

[@RichardPriceElliott]

The only track I have ever heard that was able to work in the word 'parthenogenesis.'

[@anotherprimate2509]

Such a well written song

[@ACombineSoldier]

Anyone unexpectedly wake up to this song in your head?

[@cjb7525]

They used to play this at a after hours night club in the early ‘90s. We had a dance for it and everything. Looking back it’s kinda cheesy, but man was it cool back then.

[@RonnieVendetti]

Gooood stuff...

[@rorycalhoun6484]

one of my favorites from '120 Minutes' days.... 😎

[@Twistedhippy]

Chocked full of occult symbolism, love it.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Sadly, so many people think they "get it," when that is far from the truth. I've always wanted to ask a Barry Andrews, or Jaz Coleman, or Robert Smith, how they feel about most of the world never quite understanding. I guess as long as some people get it, it's all right with the world.

[@Twistedhippy]

@@princeofcupspoc9073 I would never say i understand the video in its entirety but some parts stick out as symbolic. The fossil and Coelacanth are both themes in shriekback's work and present in this video. I would love to ask them.

[@audreynyc5507]

Yup...we were told

[@israelgottmein6925]

An alchemical whirlwind.

[@ASMRyouVEGANyet]

@@princeofcupspoc9073 there was no interpretation of the video, simply an observation of occult symbolism.

[@bighilltom]

well i think i first heard this in the 80’s or long ago anyway here i am googling it 2023 so i guess its just one of those songs

[@bigguys45s29]

Absolutely brilliant freaky awesome creative New Wave shit. One of the greatest choruses in the entire goddamn HISTORY of music, too!

[@dannyparker3391]

they rhymed parthenogenisis and used it correctly, a+.

[@salalochino2978]

80’s kingfish best hit of da night trip on XTC

[@mippim8765]

...I still have this song recorded on VHS from an episode of 120 minutes on MTV from way back... ...

[@cindyao]

ALL-TIME FAVORITE FOR ALL!! LOVE IT ALWAYS!!

[@orliesencio2417]

ONE OF THE GRRREIGHTIES MTV....

[@MelancoliaI]

This music video, this song...hell, this whole band seems like they exist only as the result of a concatenation of somebody's dreams, false memories and drug induced visions of 80s new wave. But they do exist. also "You know evil is an exact science, being carefully correctly wrong" is a great line.

[@daybreakvintageco3811]

We used to dance to this and sing every word.

[@bobloblaw9791]

Still do

[@MarkAllenHyenaMotorcade]

with this song and accompanying video, Shriekback has perfectly illustrated how to take a great song and bring it to transcendent levels through the use of video. The song is strong enough on it's own to rank in the top 100 of all 80s "wave" tracks, but this video pushed it completely over the top! I still get as excited about this song and video as the day I first time I heard/saw it. Bravo!