Visual kei band Ari (蟻) released a deliciously dark music video for their latest single, Rouchou, Hari wo Kou (籠蝶、針を恋う). The full video premiered earlier this month on YouTube, and the single is now available for purchase.

Rouchou, Hari wo Kou opens with vocalist Kazuha in a dark room, bound by web-like entanglements. His shadowed face is sliced frame by frame with shots of wriggling caterpillars. His crooning voice is cut by a punchy breakdown, as butterflies burst from their pupas. The screen whirls with shots of the members among fluttering butterfly wings. Kazuha gasps for breath, in time with the pounding of guitars.

The tempo changes often, keeping the listener on their toes. Yet the flow makes sense, waxing and waning with waves of emotion. Sometimes the scene is vivid with neon and crisp shots of the members’ faces. Other times, the members are lost in darkness, the sorrowful lyrics superimposed on the screen. It is a song of contrasts, and struggle.

Rouchou, Hari wo Kou roughly translates to “Pinning down the caged butterfly”. The theme of pins is repeated in the stylization of the title, with the character for “pin” drawn with a ballpoint pin for one of the strokes. Kazuha’s hair is also stuck with tons of sharp, painful-looking pins that gleam in the darkness.

蟻「籠蝶、針を恋う」MV FULL

Watch this video on YouTube

The single was released November 24 and has three versions. Type A includes the CD single with the titular track and coupling track, and a DVD with the music video for Rouchou, Hari wo Kou. Types B and C include the single CD featuring Rouchou, Hari wo Kou, coupling track Yumemiru Shachiku, and one bonus track each.