The idea behind this video is the band members takings sinner's souls, and each band member has his own vignette (similar to the afterlife video). M. Shadows (vocalist) is in a limo, waiting for a prostitute, Synyster Gates (Lead guitarist) is watching strippers in the club, Zacky Vengeance (rhythm guitar) is a "businessman", Johnny Christ (Bass) is with a young boy at a peep show and The Rev (Drums) is a bartender. There is one full band performance scene in the video which is in the nightclub and features all the band members wearing heavy, goth style make-up, this is to fit in with the dark vibe, as it is something that they don't do in any other video. The large use of black throughout the video signifies the metal genre, as well as aspects of mise-en-scene like the rhythm guitarist's blood splattered guitar finish and the sleeveless tops that the band members often wear. Laura Mulvey's "male gaze" theory is very relevant here, as there are women with very little clothing on in nearly every shot of the video, and as the drummer jokingly put it "There are some half naked girls in there, which seems to be the script to every one of our freakin' videos!".
Shot from Shakira - Sale El Sol
Similar shot from BATH
The video very much fits in with the lyrics of the song; "Her plagues will come all at once" relates to the shots of the "sinner's" being taken over by the black substance. "And makes us drink the poisoned wine" relates to the shot of the guy drinking the shot in the bar. There are lots of medium close up shots of the lead guitarist during the solo (and both guitarists during the dueling part), this is because the solo is obviously the most important aspect of that part of the track. There are only a few shots during the entire video where the camera isn't moving, as in most there is some sort of pan or track, an example of this is at 2:39 as the camera pans down from the guitarist's face to his guitar, this gives the idea that the shots are actually from someone's POV. At 2:33 the camera is actually drawn in to the diegetic world, as the vocalist appears to either be holding the camera or grabbing the cameraman, this again gives the impression that it is a person's POV. A point where the music fits in directly with a cut is at 2:57, with a woman ripping open her top just as the music changes to the bridge section (this is similar the the Shakira video that I previously deconstructed). An interesting fact is that the "deathbat" seen at 3:58 is the bands logo, and appears at some point in nearly every one of their videos.
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