Gary Heffern’s Inspiring Yet Chilling “Hand of the Devil” Video
Kevin Oliver
Posted On March 20, 2011
This weekend expatriate California punk forefather and current Scandinavian resident Gary Heffern ( of The Penetrators) released a video for an epic new tune from his upcoming album Gary Heffern & Beautiful People, “Hand of the Devil.” It’s a nine-minute masterpiece that finds Heffern confronting the age-old question of why bad stuff happens to good, innocent people, anchored by the repeated mantra/chorus, “Oh my soul, Oh my beautiful people.”
“The video was shot at the school Rovala which I’m attending to learn the Finnish language,” Heffern told me today via email. “It struck me that I was one of the only English-speaking people there, and how many refugees there were in my class. There were many moments that I felt insecure about what I was doing and why I was here, but when I began to learn more about these people it seemed that my circumstances were smaller but we are all refugees.”
The many different faces in the scenes shot at the school attest to its international flavor, something that Heffern says hit home with him.
“The people there were from Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, and Jordan,” Heffern says. “The first time any of these folks heard the song was during the filming, and there were many, many tears; it doesn’t really show it but at the end of the song they started singing along–it was just one of those moments where you realize the power of music.”
The album was mixed by Chris Eckman, who had this to say about “Hand of the Devil”:
“This is Heffern’s “Jungleland”, his “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, a staggering epic that brings together everything that makes him essential.”
Others appearing on the song include Kristi Maddocks, Al Deloner from Midnight Choir, and Chris Cacavas, but it’s Heffern’s somber, imposing presence that sticks with the listener long after the chorus has faded away.
Gary Heffern & Beautiful People is out soon through Glitterhouse in Europe, until then check out the amazing “Hand of the Devil” video (make sure you watch all the way to the end for the info in the graphics):
