Deranged Serial Killers Chasing You Through the Woods season officially begins with Jimmy strategically picking off metalheads one by one. To be fair, he already claimed the woods as his spot for psychotic breaks. Plus, he didn’t get invited to the Actus bonfire, so naturally, his chasing everyone down while wielding an ax is sort of justified. With his lurking in the shadows and the utilizing the unknown obstacles of the woods, Jimmy channels the energy of a looming, grueling work week waiting to untie the threads of sanity a short night around a bonfire desperately tries to keep together. This seems to stray from his usual image as the personification of insane, unbridled rage (See “Thoughts Revoked”) against the corporate pigs.(See “Cultist”) However, the newest addition to the lore provides some plot twists akin to the gnarled tree roots shrouded in the night.
Observing how Jimmy initially burst onto the scene with unapologetic insanity overpowering societal structures to the ways he also embodies the corporate evils he is portrayed annihilating (see “THIRD D3GREE”) constructs an interesting character arc in the new “LOW CLAS5” music video. Ushering in the new Actus Reus era was the powerhouse track “THIRD D3GREE” in which Jimmy ascended (or descends depending on how you want to look at it) into the manufactured mascot dead set on pushing sales instead of boundaries. He becomes a watered down image of “destroy the system” rather than actually showing how he is the collective’s anger at forcing themselves to work for someone else’s dreams instead of their own for fear of losing their stability. Even after all of that, the cycle of “forty hours of wasted time/nobody has enough” continues week after week as seen in “LOW CLAS5.” Jimmy seemingly returns to his roots, but upon closer observation, he looms over a supposed-to-be-relaxing night next to a bonfire like the debilitating stress of needing to work overtime just to make basic ends meet.
The original structure of a forty hour work week being more than enough to provide for a person and the needs of their family has completely crumbled as “nothing will suffice/keep raising the price.” With inflation being one of countless items on a laundry list of the financial crisis, there seems to be no end in sight for the near future. The mask of success drops to the ground but only after every person was dragged and axed off in the night. While Jimmy seemingly succumbs to the vicious cycle, there is the final cry of “take it back and set your soul free.” Similar to V’s mask from V for Vendetta, Jimmy’s mask can be worn by anyone willing to fight for the cause it represents as seen when it is taken up from the ground by an unknown individual. There will be people who continue to feed the cycle and those who fight it with a sword in hand. Even if they lose, the rage remains. Someone else will “want out of this fu*king trap” and continue to fight as dirty as the ones in power “on the verge of completing their plan.” As long as the insatiable thirst for change persists, so will Jimmy and every idea he embodies.
The cliffhanger “LOW CLAS5” leaves the Actus Crew on is keeping some of us breathless. How is Jimmy’s image about to evolve? Will he accelerate his usual courses of action? The only certainty we have is he — just like his creators — will never be pigeonholed or restricted. We will always be met with incredible visual story telling in an Actus Reus video. “LOW CLAS5” proves that the band will continuously evolve in their art in the ways they want. Should you be on the hunt for an artistic video complete with lore, amazing fire spinning glory, and peppered with unique designs that would make sick tattoos, (the clock with the axes is my personal favorite) check out “LOW CLAS5” immediately. This video is absolute perfection in the way it builds on Actus Reus mythology without losing their message and demonstrates the diverse talent they bring to their community.
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