Here at Decibel, we’re down with pretty much anything drummer Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth, Cadaver, ex-Soilwork) is down with. That goes double for Savage Lands, his eco-friendly band with guitarist Sylvain Demercastel. Functioning as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, Savage Lands uses money from music royalties, as well as donations and other fundraising sources, to build sanctuaries and support preservation efforts in Costa Rica.
As such, it’s only natural that for their new song and video “Black Rock Heart,” Savage Lands joined forces with Heilung vocalist Kai Uwe Faust and singer Chloé Trujillo. The video for the powerful black ‘n’ roll song was filmed at the Salton Sea, which is also the location of Lake Cahuilla, home to one of California’s greatest environmental disasters. As you can see in the video, things are pretty dry and less than ideal. The video starts off with a grave warning: “The spirits of nature are reaching out to us,” and Savage Lands don’t seem to think they’re happy.
“We wanted this song to reflect our mounting frustration with the way the real estate heat wave is destroying Costa Rica’s ecosystem,” says Demercastel.
The video ends on a note of hope, though, and Savage Lands urge the world to take action before we can’t stop things from getting worse.
“That’s the reason why we started Savage Lands,” he says. “It’s up to us to do something.”
Check the video out below. If you’re interested in donating to Savage Lands, you can do so at their website.
