Memories of the nights I stayed up playing Three Days Grace & Linkin Park-backed Naruto montages were getting blurrier every day. As they got more distant, the colors around me creeped closer to sepia, and in the moments I found myself sinking ever deeper in my couch, I came to realize that I need a spark. Something to rekindle the youthful spirit that drove me to becoming a creative in the first place. I needed to go on an AMV binge.
Luckily, my dear friend & collaborator Maxx Gawd, along with my other dear friend & hopefully future collaborator Lil Uwu, had me more than covered with the AMV album to complement their latest project, DELETE EVERYTHING. This project, coming with assistance from Maxx Gawd’s co-producer Rayless & guitarist The Venus De Melos, is a bold & fine-tuned statement from Maxx & Uwu, and represents the most ear-grabbing & unique aspects of their artistic personalities. The production coming from Maxx & Rayless is clean enough to gain the respect of a wider audience, while retaining the edge and experimental factor that every artist involved has honed over the years.
I knew that well enough after bumping the project on Spotify over & over again, but I knew I would be in for a whole new experience with the visuals. I’ve seen Maxx putting together AMVs, and I get exhausted just watching him. Seeing just one of the finished products after knowing the work that was put into it is a treat in itself. But seven? I was more than ready.
We begin our journey with the Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel video for the opening track SHADOW, and from the very first moments, Maxx’s intuition is clear in the editing. The emotional nuances of the instrumental are matched with chilling, snowy scenes, bringing longing to the forefront of the mind. As the track furiously kicks into gear, the pacing of the video shifts wildly in step, shifting to scenes of battle & heartache. Fitting just as seamlessly, slice-of-life clips remind us that these feelings, intense as they may be, are entirely human.
“Nothing lasts forever, even stars die.” The powerful vocal delivery from Maxx combined with Uwu’s soft, otherworldly crooning is a match made in Anime Music Heaven, and I wouldn’t be surprised if each of these songs became the intros for new shows by the mid-2020s.
I’m not what one would call an anime scholar, and don’t have the connection that many might with the shows being depicted, but even then I felt like those characters on the screen fighting for their lives & getting their hearts torn to shreds, and that is the mark of a good AMV. This quality continues with the Kara no Kyoukai video for MONSTER, with a perspective that seems to dance along to the music, quickening & slowing its breath with the flow of the song.
I feel the need to pause, again, to praise the editing. It would’ve been easy for him to just pick some popular scenes & throw them together, but that is not the Maxx Gawd Way. The precision that each clip is placed & paced with is on par with the steadiest of surgeons. If this came out in the era of Naturo videos of Linkin Park tracks I mentioned earlier, it would’ve stood with the best of them. Now, when we need AMVs more than ever, it IS the best of them. The Angel Beats video for ANOTHER GAME cements this statement even further, with the back to back clips of an epic fight & lively concert perfectly reflecting the vibe that Maxx & Uwu weave together.
God, I wish these came out when I was 13. Things would’ve been so much better if I stumbled upon these during my late night adventures through the internet. Maybe then I wouldn’t have gotten as into Disturbed as I was.
In all seriousness, Maxx & Uwu, if you’re reading this, I just want to let you know you nailed it. I’ve always been proud of your accomplishments, and now I have one more to add to my list of things to brag about to my other friends. The effort you put into this project shines through like sun rays through clean glass, and it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world notices.
To everyone else, you can check out the full AMV project here, stream it on SoundCloud here, click here to stream the project on Apple Music, and make sure you follow Maxx & Uwu on Instagram!
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