By MICHAEL GINGOLD

Get the first look and listen to the debut video and song from NYC-based heavy metal/prog/alt band MZZTR.

“Kimberly” is first track to be unveiled from the group’s initial EP, which is due out in September and was recorded with Grammy-winner Marc Urselli. MZZTR (pronounced “Mister”) is fronted by MZZTR Man, who also directed the video and tells us, “Our live shows have been compared to the likes of Alice Cooper, GWAR, Genitorturers and Rammstein, but imagine all of that filtered through kink, camp and full-throttle transgression.”

In addition to the band, whose members also include Daddy Adam, Lick Me Lulu, Debbie Danny and Bowl Boy, the video features Zoe Ligon, a.k.a. Thongria, “an influencer turned surrealist antiheroine,” MZZTR Man says, “embodying all the contradictions of a culture obsessed with beauty, influence, and curated bodies. I feel this song is very now, with themes of plastic surgery as power fantasy, feminine performance as war paint, influence as a double-edged scalpel and what it means to be a woman. This whole project is about these ideas while also playing with camp, sexuality and horror.”

The makeup effects were created by Jeremy Selenfriend, whose many credits include COMPANION, SMILE 2 and AMERICAN HORROR STORY. “I’ve known Daddy Adam for years, collaborating on interesting and unique non-film-industry art projects,” he says, “so when the opportunity came to do something with him and the incredible band he is a part of, I didn’t hesitate. It’s always so much fun to drop in and do a quick gory gag on projects like this. The video came together great–a skeleton crew of super-talented individuals and of course the band in a perfect little studio getting an amazing amount done in very short order. So excited for everyone out there to get a peek!”

Adds Thongria, “I was feeling very suffocated under the weight of my own face skin, and I’m so glad I could rip it off–at last–for MZZTR!”