Synopsis

Sacred Reich's "Independent" video combines performance footage with a comic send-up of early-1990s music-video conventions. The band delivers the song with an intentionally rough, high-energy presentation while the clip cuts to spoof sequences modeled on contemporary pop and rock videos. Among the targets are Snow's "Informer," Genesis' "I Can't Dance," and Ugly Kid Joe's "Cats in the Cradle." The contrast between Sacred Reich's direct thrash attack and the exaggerated imitations reinforces the song's insistence on doing things its own way.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was made to promote Sacred Reich's 1993 album "Independent," their first full-length release for Hollywood Records.

• A parody version of the video is the edition most often circulated online. Its sketches lampoon several prominent 1992-93 videos, including Snow's "Informer" and Genesis' "I Can't Dance."

• One of the more specific visual jokes references Ugly Kid Joe's version of "Cats in the Cradle," including the video's use of a light being switched on over the singer.

• "Independent" was written by vocalist and bassist Phil Rind. Its lyrics focus on personal autonomy, rejecting imposed rules, and refusing to be molded by outside expectations.

• The album version was produced and mixed by Dave Jerden, whose credits also included work with Jane's Addiction and Alice in Chains. The record was recorded at Eldorado Studios in North Hollywood, California.

• The track was released during a period when Sacred Reich were being presented to a wider audience through Hollywood Records, while retaining the band's socially pointed lyrics and thrash-metal identity.