The iconic heavy metal band’s first new music in 4 years blends live-action and stylized 2D animation from 72andSunny and Passion Pictures to depict Mephisto’s final battle in just-released 'Diablo IV' game.
Iconic heavy metal band Korn has just released Reward the Scars, its first new music in four years, alongside a music video created by 72andSunny and Passion Pictures in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment to coincide with the launch of the latest Diablo game, Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred. The track debuted April 23 on streaming platforms followed by a live performance at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, with the video premiering April 27 on the game's release day.
Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred concludes a trilogy and centers on a long-awaited confrontation with Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred. The music video presents this final battle by placing Korn's performance inside Mephisto's mind, where the music fuels the character as he tears and slashed his followers, intercut with animated sequences that visualize the gory conflict.
Here’s the music video:
And here’s Passion’s “How We Made” breakdown:
The production transitions between live-action footage of the band and stylized animation, echoing the visual approach of Korn's 1999 Freak on a Leash video. The project was developed by 72andSunny in collaboration with Passion Pictures and directed by Philippe Guyenne, with animation designed to reflect the dark, illustrative tone of the Diablo universe.
"This collaboration came together naturally - Korn and Diablo live in that space of confronting darkness head-on," said Kevin Bjelajac, VP of Brand & Creative Marketing at Blizzard. "With Lord of Hatred, we're telling a story about consequence, choice, and what it means to embrace - or resist - the pull of evil. Reward the Scars captures that spirit perfectly."
"Lord of Hatred is an amazingly dark, gothic conclusion to the Diablo IV story… one that needs an equally epic launch moment," said Tim Wolfe, Group Creative Director at 72andSunny. "Having Korn's Reward the Scars become the rage fuel for Mephisto's transformation as he obliterates all who oppose him felt like a perfect kickoff. Passion's hand-drawn animation style just added fuel to the hellfire."
Philippe Guyenne, director at Passion Paris, described the approach as a visceral interpretation of the game's world. "After endless nights of grinding and looting, this project felt like a legendary drop: Diablo X Korn," he said. "We saw this as a chance to tell a visceral story from deep within Mephisto's mind, using the music as a catalyst for the carnage. It was a unique opportunity to capture the raw intensity of the band with a gritty animation style, aggressive linework, bold colors and expressionist lighting. Every frame was handcrafted with skill by an incredible team, using the texture and weight of 2D to give the gore a tactile, visceral energy you can almost feel. We wanted to honor the dark, illustrative roots of the game while fueling the fire for both fandoms, creating something as uncompromising as the legacies behind them. No respawn, no compromises, no AI."
72andSunny is a global marketing agency with offices in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Sydney, and Toronto. Recognized 14 times by Ad Age's A-List and honored as “Agency of the Year” by both Adweek and Ad Age, 72andSunny continues to push the boundaries of innovation on behalf of clients.
Blizzard Entertainment’s iconic Diablo universe transformed video games forever in 1997, defining the action-RPG genre while immersing players in a dark world of damnation unprecedented in the industry. In the decades since, Diablo has put hell on earth for players globally across PC, console, and mobile. Diablo IV, the latest installment in the genre-defining series, features cross-platform play and progression on Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Steam. Learn more about Diablo IV at Diablo.com.
Passion Pictures is an internationally renowned production company specializing in animation and documentary filmmaking and is a three-time Academy Award winner. With teams in London, Paris, New York, LA and Barcelona, Passion is a fully integrated studio that brings together multiple creative divisions, partner companies, and a wide array of talent. The studio recently won the BAFTA for Best Documentary with Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story and recent animation credits include the Emmy winning 400 Boys, the standout episode of season 4 of Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots and Not a Box, Season 1 now streaming on Apple TV+.
Source: Passion Pictures
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
