By Albuquerque Green Room
Grunge band Alter Apex has a music video for their latest single, "Draw The Curtains." Alter Apex unabashedly create music in the style of some of their greatest musical inspirations, mostly from the '90s. This bold move is backed by outstanding musicianship and crisp production. With this music video, Alter Apex seems to have made an important step in cultivating a sound all their own and buckling down for a long and productive career together.
After their debut EP release in 2020, the four ABQ music vets realized there was more fun to be had with their pandemic project. Said vocalist and guitarist Ken Hendricks, "We weren’t even thinking this was going to become an actual band while we were writing the songs for Alter Apex. The goal was just to see if we could pull off a song, solo, arrangement that sounded like some of our grunge heroes. 'Draw the Curtains' came after it became obvious that we were going to do this thing. I'd swung the door open a little wider, drawing on a wider array of influences from some of the metal and hard rock stuff I first listened to as a teenager.”
The dark and gnarly imagery of the music video - including a rat, a shady figure handling an axe, and flickering lights - makes for a field day for the viewer. For the most part, you can get what you want from the watching experience. As for the songwriting, Hendricks explains that it's styled in a similar way.
"I usually just write from my own personal perspectives and from the way in which I tend to be viewing the world at the moment. However, I think it’s pretty easy to hear a political type thing going on in the lyrics for 'Draw the Curtains' with all of the talk of 'a land where no one's free.' Like most of my lyrics, it wasn’t by design at the outset, it’s just kind of what happened," Hendricks said. "People can get inspired by art to take action to bring forth change. If that art is something I helped create, then that’s awesome," he continued.
The making of the video resulted in tremendous, successful collaboration. This suggests that Alter Apex is a project worth delving into. Their commitment to their musical identity has also made for a wealth of creativity.
“This song was really special in that everyone involved brought their A-game, from us in the band but also with the help from friends. Our friend Thierry Gonzalez letting us use the Warehouse 508 building; Augustine Ortiz being an incredible videographer and having great ideas; Mario Rivera having such know-how on how to edit videos; and Ken Hendricks just being a constant source of ideas and inspiration. He’s a great band leader. The video shoot was a lot of fun and we all collectively threw out some really fun ideas,” said lead guitarist Dex Gonzalez.
“We've been really fortunate to have some awesomely talented friends contribute to what Alter Apex is doing. When it comes to bringing the song to life, I've got to say, our friend Joe Marsh from over in the UK knocked it out of the park on the mix. It's just stellar. Also, making the video really was a ton of fun. It’s pretty cool to have the opportunity to still be able to cut loose with my friends and pretend to be a rock star for a day,” Hendricks said. Upon listening to the song, though, you'll see there's really no "pretending" necessary.
ABQGR hopes you'll check out this gorgeous music video below. Thank you Alter Apex for this premiere experience!