APMAs: Best Music Video Presented By Journeys nominees Preview

Most award shows focus on the music on the radio and what makes the most buzz in the mainstream, but for those who prefer the alternative and underground scenes, the Alternative Press Music Awards are where it’s at. Fueled by Monster Energy and created by influential alternative music magazine Alternative Press, this year’s awards show will be hosted by Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack. The 2017 Alternative Press Music Awards will take place on Monday, July 17 at the Quicken Loans Arena in the magazine’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

Alternative Press has announced the nominees for this year’s awards, and we were especially excited to see the list of nominees for Best Music Video Presented By Journeys! In a visually-driven world, a music video is the most important asset in marketing your band, and these videos are all impressive.

Keep reading to see our thoughts on the Best Music Video nominees!

First on the list is rock-meets blues trio Highly Suspect with their video for “Bloodfeather”. Coming from their 2015 Grammy-nominated debut album Mister Asylum, the “Bloodfeather” video is set in the Wild West. Cowboys and a cowgirl square off to fight, and while it gets pretty violent, the story will have you hooked.

Up next is Detroit-based EHM (Electronic Hardcore Music) band I See Stars with the music video for “Calm Snow”. I See Stars just wrapped up a North American tour in support of Treehouse, and with an equal mix of breakdowns and electronic beats, opening track “Calm Snow” is a perfect example of what to expect from the band. In the music video, lead vocalist Devin Oliver is shot in the heart with an arrow by the same woman he later gets intimate with.

Korn has been a band for 24 years- longer than the musicians in some of these other bands have been alive- and in this time they’ve released seven video albums and a total of 39 music videos. “Insane” (from their 2016 album The Serenity of Suffering) is yet another stand-out music video from the acclaimed nu metal group. A photographer takes pictures of a nightmarish mannequin, only to discover that the camera has brought the mannequin to life. When the photographer steps in front of the camera, things get even weirder.

Hailing from Dallas, Texas, metalcore/ southern-rock band Memphis May Fire have earned a nomination for the “This Light I Hold” music video. It’s a gripping tale from the start: Papa Roach vocalist Jacoby Shaddix is kidnapped and is seen resisting his abductors in the back of a van, singing, “I won’t go down without a fight”. Memphis May Fire vocalist Matty Mullins is brought to court as the only suspect, but is he guilty? Miss May I’s Levi Benton and We Are Harlot’s Danny Warsnop also make cameos in the video.

If you’re as ready for summer as we are, State Champs video for “Losing Myself” will surely hit the spot. It’s a pop-punk tune that’ll be stuck in your head for days; the video is framed as a promotional video for Waldo’s World, a waterpark off the Garden State Parkway. The members of State Champs play the roles of employees at the park, and chaos and shenanigans ensue.

The final nomination is Sum 41‘s “Fake My Own Death” music video. Pop culture threatens to destroy the city as memes, celebrity photos, and SnapChat filters fall from the sky. But never fear- Sum 41 is here to save us all, performing right in the middle of the destruction.

Best Music Video Presented By Journeys:

All six of these videos are truly outstanding- which one is your pick for Best Music Video at the fourth annual APMAs?

Written by Molly Hudelson. Molly is a music blogger, photographer, and Founder / Editor-in-Chief of Circles & Soundwaves. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.