Today, Denver-based symphonic black metal quartet STORMKEEP premiere the music video for „The Black Dragons Of Iswylm,“ the centerpiece single from their highly anticipated sophomore album The Nocturnes Of Iswylm, out this Friday, June 12 via Vesperian.
Watch „The Black Dragons Of Iswylm“ at 18:00 CEST today here: https://youtu.be/y4Pntm7CLGg
A Visual Statement Unlike Anything STORMKEEP Have Done Before
The video marks a watershed moment for the band — not just sonically, but as a visual entity. Directed by Michael Ragen, the award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer behind one of heavy music’s most celebrated recent visual achievements — the stunning 20-minute short film The Stargate for Blood Incantation, for which Ragen served as director, cinematographer, and editor — and known for his work on Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities: The Viewing — the clip for „The Black Dragons Of Iswylm“ is nothing short of breathtaking.
Where STORMKEEP have long been recognized for the grandeur of their music, a compelling visual counterpart has been largely absent from their body of work — until now. Ragen brings to the project the same cinematic ambition and meticulous craft that made his collaboration with Blood Incantation a landmark in metal filmmaking: an approach defined by mind-bending imagery, immersive storytelling, and a commitment to creating cohesive, visually distinct worlds. The result is a video that does not merely accompany the music — it gives the world of Iswylm a face, a texture, and a pulse.
Crucially, the band members themselves appear in the video — stepping into the frame as the mythological figures they have always been within the world of Elda. Each member, through their own moniker, becomes a protagonist in the unfolding story of the Seer, integrating the human behind the music into the legend itself. It is a rare kind of artistic commitment: the creators and their creation made inseparable.
This is STORMKEEP stepping fully into the light as a visual force.
The Nocturnes Of Iswylm — Out June 12 via Vesperian
The video arrives two days ahead of the album itself, and serves as the ideal entry point into what is, by any measure, the most ambitious record of STORMKEEP’s career.
Continuing the story first opened on Tales Of Othertime, The Nocturnes Of Iswylm further develops the band’s self-described „black metal symphonia“: a blend of regal, medieval atmosphere, and fantastical storytelling, carried by precise songwriting and a strong sense of place. Yet make no mistake — this is not a sequel in any conservative sense of the word. The band has sacrificed their prancing, dungeon synth-laden, dragon-summoning comfort zone in favor of something more psychologically complex, exploring the inner world of their protagonist, The Seer, and drawing on their deeper goth influences. The album is more dynamic, more melodic, and more subdued than its predecessor — while remaining unmistakably STORMKEEP.
