Jethro Tull premiered the music video for their new single “The Zealot Gene,” which also serves as the title track for the group’s upcoming album. The song is the third single released in advance of Jethro Tull’s first studio album of new material in over 18 years.
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The animated music video was directed by Iranian filmmaker Sam Chegini, who previously directed the video for the album’s second single, “Sad City Sisters.” The imagery in “The Zealot Gene” video reflects the song’s message of boldly rejecting the status quo in a society that values conformity. The lyrics emphasize that carrying the zealot gene, while dangerous and explosive, is a strength in a polarized world.
“The title track offers many allusions to the radical, politically-charged world of populism in leadership. As a song lyric, it sums up, for me, the divisive nature of societal relationships and the extreme views which fuel the fires of hate and prejudice, more so today perhaps, than at any time in history,” Ian Anderson said. “Perhaps you think you know who I might have been thinking about here but, in reality, there are probably right now at least five prominent, dictatorial national figures who could fit the bill.”
The album began coming together in 2017, and the band was hopeful for a 2020 release and tour. However, the Covid-19 pandemic led the group to push the release to 2022.
Regarding the pandemic, Anderson said, “It was so sudden. Amidst the concerns and warnings of the scientific community and a few more enlightened politicians, we all retreated in disbelief to our homes to wait out the storm.”
Despite the setbacks, Jethro Tull’s full album The Zealot Gene will finally be released on Inside Out Music on January 28. It is currently available for pre-order here.
Overall, “The Zealot Gene” encapsulates the group’s longing to resist conventionality as artists and sets the tone as the titular track of the album.
Photo courtesy of Chipster PR & Consulting, Inc.
