AGARWAEN: INTO THE DARKNESS — THE STORY BEHIND “GOD COMPLEX”
An interview with Pauli Hodju of Agarwaen about horror, madness, creative freedom and the making of “God Complex”.
Finnish metal band Agarwaen are not afraid to explore the darker side of music and visual storytelling. Their music videos combine horror, disturbing imagery, black humor and theatrical performance to create a world that is both unsettling and strangely captivating.
For their latest video, “God Complex,” the band took complete creative control and produced the video themselves. What began as a difficult search for a producer ultimately became an opportunity to build the visual world exactly as they imagined it.
We spoke with Pauli Hodju about the inspiration behind the video, filming in a guitarist’s basement, working through the harsh Finnish winter, their previous video “Lobotomy,” and what they want audiences to experience when they enter the world of Agarwaen.
How did the idea for the music video come about?
We originally asked another producer to write and produce the video because we liked her visual style. Everything went smoothly until she read our lyrics. We explained that, taken out of context from the full concept album, they might seem worse than they actually are.
As a metal fan, she assured us she had seen it all and told us not to worry. Well, she completely ghosted us after reading them - no response to emails, WhatsApp, Facebook, calls, or texts, and not even a polite decline.
We had to rethink our entire approach. We decided to invest the production budget into a proper camera, a Sony A7IV, and shoot it ourselves.
With full creative control, we scripted the video to strictly follow the lyrics and match the album's story. We always intended for it to mirror the song's dark tone, but the sheer level of shock value happened organically on set.
What challenges did you face, and how did the creative process go?
First and foremost: the location.
We needed a place that was rough around the edges, had electricity and heating - the Finnish winter is no joke, and fit our tight budget since most of our money went toward the camera.
Finding a spot with the right atmosphere was difficult, but we eventually struck gold right in our guitarist’s basement. It was packed with clutter-which you can see in the video just before the antagonists enter the main room-so we had to clear it out quickly.
The space was hazardous, littered with broken glass and rusty nails, but thankfully no one got hurt. We blacked out the windows using whatever debris we could find.
Because the room was so cramped, changing angles meant moving all our lighting and gear every single time, so we shot as much as possible in one direction before resetting the room.
Renting equipment was another hurdle, but our cameraman belongs to a local camera club and secured everything for a reasonable price.
Personally, since this was the first video I completely wrote and directed myself, there was a steep learning curve. Luckily, we had filmed “Circo de la Muerte” a year prior, which allowed me to shadow professionals. I essentially tried to follow in the footsteps of Rauli Ylitalo—I absolutely love his approach to music videos.
How do you feel about the final result, and what are your creative plans going forward?
We are thrilled with the final result!
There is always room for improvement, but for our second self-produced video, we couldn't be happier.
Moving forward, we plan to expand our gear and start producing music videos for similar bands.
You mentioned that this was your second video. Can you tell us about the first one?
We faced the exact same obstacle: securing the perfect location.
We eventually found an old, government-owned distillery that was incredibly rough around the edges, perfectly suiting the mental hospital vibe we wanted.
Once again, we were filming during the dead of the Finnish winter, and the best rooms had zero heating. Most of us were able to layer up, but our guitarist had a scene where he vomits a sticky black liquid - diluted molasses mixed with black food coloring.
Because of the mess, he couldn’t wear anything over his paper-thin lingerie.
We had the same core team back then, though only one of us - our cameraman, Joni Ikäläinen - actually knew what he was doing. He handled all the editing while I did my best to direct.
How did the filming location contribute to the atmosphere and storytelling of the video?
Just like the music and lyrics, I wanted the video and location to feel authentic - to give the impression that this twisted scenario could actually be happening in your own neighborhood.
It’s crucial that the viewer feels genuinely uncomfortable while watching.
Your visual style combines horror, madness, and a twisted sense of humor. How do you bring these elements together?
We actually have a lot of theater and musical experience within the band.
Tomas, our drummer and video editor, has a master’s degree in non-verbal acting. Our percussionist and stage actor - the smaller guy in the video - just finished theater school, and our guitarist has over ten years of experience in musicals.
I personally love horror and madness, but I try not to take it too seriously. I prefer an approach closer to the Terrifier movies: keeping things gory and evil, but having fun with it.
There are exceptions, of course, like the “God Complex” video, where I deliberately kept the tone as dark and malicious as possible to match the music.
What do you want viewers to feel or remember after entering Agarwaen’s world?
I want them to experience something entirely new - something they have never seen or felt before.
I want them to feel that brief, suffocating sense of oppression you get from a truly great psychological horror movie.
Interview: Europe Music Video Awards
Artist: Agarwaen
Interviewee: Pauli Hodju
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