Dying Scene is premiering the new video, “120 Days”, from South London, UK melodic hardcore quintet Lay It On The Line. The track is from the band’s recent debut album “The Black Museum”, out on UK punk label Disconnect, Disconnect Records. The track and the accompanying, black and white video is vocalist Alice’s ode to the Marquis de Sade’s disturbing book “120 Days of Sodom”.
You can watch the video exclusively below – and read an accompanying statement about the track. The band play Might As Well Fest III in London next month.
Vocalist Alice Hour on the track:
“The guys had already written and recorded the music for this song by the time I got to it so I just added the lyrics. I based it on the Marquis de Sade’s 120 Days of Sodom which I’d read a few years earlier and had really stuck with me. I’d been wanting to write a song about it for a while but just hadn’t found the right outlet.
One thing people usually know about the Marquis de Sade is that his name coined the term sadism. He was a serial abuser of the men and women in his life and by no means a heroic figure, but even his more salacious writings weave in ideas that were socially, politically and philosophically ahead of his time. He was an atheist – almost unheard of in 18th century Europe – and rejected ideas about the inherent good of Christianity or materialism. And unusually for a man with a title, he also allied himself against the aristocracy during the French Revolution.
The 120 Days focuses on the exploits of four wealthy libertines who lock themselves in a remote castle with 20 young victims. They are joined by 4 aged prostitutes who tell them tales from their lives that act as sexual inspiration for the next four months. If you’re looking for titillation, this isn’t the book for you. Every page is a mental and moral assault, and despite being written in 1785 it’s still shocking even by today’s standards. De Sade himself described it as “the most impure tale ever written” and it’s thought to be his response to the Enlightenment idea of the innate goodness of humanity – he focuses instead on the very worst of the human condition and throughout the book, the horrible abuses the libertines inflict on their victims are described in lurid detail.
I was both repelled and fascinated by 120 Days. I really wanted to capture some of the discomfort I felt reading the book and translate this into the lyrics and video, so have managed to include some of my favourite lines from the book in the in the song, as well as a few horrible ones that stayed with me and some of my own invention. I had a clear idea of the imagery I wanted to include in the video too so myself and Mike got together at Rebellion Festival this year and filmed most of it in one afternoon in a shitty Blackpool B&B. This is my fan letter to the Marquis de Sade. I think what I’m trying to say is that I really like dark, horrible, fucked-up shit and I wanted to make everyone feel slightly uncomfortable when watching this video. Enjoy!”