Within Temptation have released the highly anticipated video for their latest single, A Fool's Parade. The track, a follow-up from the Dutch symphonic metal icons' critically acclaimed 2023 album Bleed Out, is a fierce takedown of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and in particular of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The video for Bleed Out was filmed in Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv, with Within Temptation frontwoman Sharon den Adel flying to the city herself to take part in the shoot.
"I wanted to do it because I want to keep pointing out how It's very important to keep supporting them," den Adel told Metal Hammer in an exclusive interview last month. "And by being there, the story gets bigger. If I would have done the video at home, people would say, ‘Why would you do it at home? It doesn't give anything to the story.’ I want to keep the attention on Ukraine, and to keep people thinking about it, because news just fades away very quickly."
The song features guest vocals from Alex Yarmak, with all proceeds from the single going to Music Saves UA for the duration of the war. Watch the video for A Fool's Parade, filmed in collaboration with respected Ukrainian filmmaker Indy Hait, below.
Speaking about the lyrical direction of A Fool's Parade, den Adel explained: "It refers to the fact that Russia tries to blind a lot of people. There’s a lot of propaganda, changing their story constantly about what history is or what history was and telling people that [Ukraine are] fascists, twisting history. That is what they do. They divide and conquer constantly. And that's what A Fools Parade stands for. [Putin is] putting up a facade and people are buying it. And that's a sad thing. There's also a lot of people, of course, who don't buy it, and it's sad to see that people aren't united in the same way. We're living in the West. We have free press. We have so many possibilities to see what the real story is. It's such a clear war. Who is the invader and who is trying to protect their country? That there's even discussion is unbelievable."
You can read more from Metal Hammer's exclusive interview with Sharon den Adel in an upcoming issue of the magazine, on sale soon. Within Temptation kick off their Autumn European tour in September
