Synopsis

Crystal Castles perform "Baptism" in a disorienting collage of frantic movement, harsh digital distortion, and surreal imagery. Alice Glass dominates the video, singing and swaying as her image fractures through layered effects and rapid edits. Ethan Kath appears briefly behind a handmade Japanese mask, while footage of backstage spaces, drumming, and a burning house adds to the atmosphere of danger and disorder. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the clip translates the song's aggressive energy into a deliberately chaotic visual experience.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released on October 8, 2010, during the promotional campaign for the band's second studio album, commonly known as "Crystal Castles II."

• "Baptism" was issued as the album's third and final single. The song was written by Alice Glass, Ethan Kath, and Luke Leeder, with production by Kath and Jacknife Lee.

• Alice Glass receives most of the visual focus, continuing the performance-centered approach also used in the video for "Celestica."

• The clip uses heavy digital effects to multiply, distort, and fragment Glass's movements, matching the track's abrasive electronic production.

• A burning house supplies the video's most striking recurring image and gives the religious title an ominous, destructive counterpart.

• Ethan Kath appears wearing what contemporary coverage described as a handmade Japanese sex mask.

• The video avoids a conventional storyline. Its editing, effects, and confrontational imagery function more as a visual equivalent of the song's intensity than as a literal interpretation of the lyrics.

• The video is notably shorter than the album track, which runs for 4:13.