L.S. Dunes – a post-hardcore supergroup whose members include My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero and Coheed And Cambria’s Travis Stever – have claimed that lawyers for the toy company Lego are demanding that they take down a recent music video.
Guitarist Iero announced via Twitter on Thursday that the band’s video clip for Grey Veins, which includes stop-motion-animated Lego mini-figures, has drawn the ire of the corporation.
“Dear Lego, why are you having your lawyers call my record label and demand we take down the L.S. Dunes music video we made for our song Grey Veins?” Iero asked in a statement.
“As a card carrying Lego VIP and lifelong creator and builder I am hurt and wildly confused. I have spent more hours than I can calculate, not to mention thousands upon thousands of dollars over the years, buying and building your sets as a child, a teenager, a semi-adult, and now as a dad who builds with his son. An eleven year old who loves Legos more than anyone I have ever met, and even made us dedicate a room in our house to building them. My family and I have vacationed at Legoland and my other band [My Chemical Romance] has been voted into your Lego Ideas program by 10k supporters as a potential future build set.
“I love your company because you gave us bricks and taught us we didn’t have to accept the world as it was, we could see what was possible and build it ourselves. I have taken that inspiration and created a universe of my own and now you want to squash it, why?”
The guitarist then signed off: “Let Creators Create. Have your people stop calling my people. Spread kindness, spread the creativity, spread the word. Leggo My Lego.”
Public response to the revelation has largely been confused and critical of Lego’s actions. “As a Lego lover and avid builder, this is a bummer,” one fan tweeted. “Their whole thing is letting people create what they wanna create.” Another wrote: “Huge fan of both Frank and Lego feeling pretty bummed out by this. Not cool.”
L.S. Dunes released their debut album, Past Lives, last year and are currently touring the US.
Watch the video for Grey Veins below, while you still can.
