Back in January, the Austin-based metalcore act Bridges Ablaze shared the powerful music video for the single “Heartless,” and now the duo is back with a closer look at the DIY process for the video. Comprised of Ruben Zamora and Brien Allen, Bridges Ablaze formed in 2019 and has been steadily releasing singles since 2023. The two-piece has often made dynamic, epic music videos, and now fans get a peak into all of the effort going into making a larger-than-life music video.

The group worked with director Wade Concienne and cinematographer Joshua Calhoun to bring a loose concept to a new, polished level. Bridges Ablaze wanted rain involved, and Concienne conceived most of the other ideas that were implemented in the music video. 

The filming involved a garage, backdrop, actress, hose mimicking rain, and lots of dirt. Lots of dirt. Vocalist/guitarist Ruban Zamora had an up close and personal interaction with the mud when he collapsed into it and got it in his eyes, remarking that it was an intense experience. The rain also provided its own set of obstacles. Keeping their eyes open during a shower of rain was difficult for the musicians, but in the end, the final output was worth it.

“We were all shocked,” the band says about the initial reaction to the completed music video. The duo was skeptical at first about how a music video shot in a garage was going to end up looking, but the magic of filmmaking proved the band wrong. “It looked like a full film studio, the way it was shot and edited. We had no idea how it would turn out, but we always wanted a rain video!”

There’s an intense emotional component to “Heartless”- a song about the devastation of heartbreak. The rush of hopelessness and struggle of pulling yourself together is represented throughout the video, but on set, there was a very vibe.

Bridges Ablaze stress the importance of having fun, and explain that the best art is created when musicians are enjoying themselves. “From multiple angles, we believe having fun is one of the highest priorities,” the band says. “Especially when things get stressful in such a chaotic industry, it’s so important to remember to laugh. When we forget to laugh and have fun, we die inside and the art dies too.”