ANKH TV

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A New Single Framed in Shadow and Light

Walk in Darkness unveil the official video for Walk Close to Me, a single released on February 18, 2022. The track leans into the band’s signature blend of shadowed atmospherics and muscular, melodic metal, pairing weighty guitars and expansive synths with a lyric that searches for dignity and connection in an era of disorientation. It is a concise statement of intent, shaped with cinematic scope and a careful sense of pacing.

Composition, Sound and Production

Written by Shaman, Walk Close to Me is built around a steady, mid-tempo pulse that favors momentum over bombast. The arrangement opens in a dim hush, then blooms into broad, anthemic sections. Guitars occupy the low and mid-range with patient, churning figures, while synthesizers trace wide arcs overhead, adding depth and a halo of melancholy. The rhythm section is firm and unfussy, leaving space for melodic lines to breathe. Choral textures appear as a soft counterweight, widening the chorus without overwhelming it.

The production, engineered by Alessandro Guasconi at Virus Recording Studio, foregrounds clarity. Saturated guitars carry a warm grit, while vocals sit prominently, framed by reverbs that suggest long corridors and winter air. The mix stays dynamic, resisting the urge to flatten crescendos, and instead letting the chorus crest naturally. Subtle layering keeps the piece in motion, from whispering pads to percussive accents that guide each transition.

Words That Travel Across Centuries

Shaman’s lyric navigates the gulf between cosmic indifference and human resolve. Images of “gods watch[ing] in silence,” an “endless winter,” and a “mechanical change of season” describe a world that feels preordained and unfeeling. Against this backdrop, the invitation to “walk close to me” becomes both a plea and a vow. The song’s refrain envisions return across vast spans of time, whether “tomorrow or in five hundred years,” imagining continuity through loyalty and care.

The recurring motif of birds “from the sea” functions as a symbol of freedom, migration and cyclical renewal. Where the lyric admits to a landscape without guides or lighthouses, it counters with small, deliberate acts: wearing “the best dress,” moving “with dignity,” and being gentle with everyone encountered along the way. The emotional core lies in that balance between stark observation and humane response, turning a cold prognosis into a call for steadfastness.

Visual Language and Direction

The video, directed and conceived scenographically by Shaman with Lorenzo Avanzi of AVZ Studios, translates those themes into movement and sculptural imagery. Rather than building a literal narrative, it emphasizes presence, proximity and ritual. The framing favors gestures that echo tidal rhythms and returning cycles: groups converge and separate, individuals step forward then recede, and bodies trace arcs that suggest winds and migrating flocks. Editing lingers on detail and silhouette, allowing viewers to feel the weight of time within slow, deliberate motion.

Art direction and camerawork remain focused on texture and contour, highlighting surfaces and fabrics as much as faces. The mood is contemplative, with light coaxed from darkness in measured swells. The result is a study in contrasts—soft against hard, fluid against fixed—that reinforces the song’s tension between the mechanical churn of seasons and the fragile insistence of human touch.

Choreography, Costume and Performance

Staged by Lyric Dance Company with choreography and costumes by Alberto Canestro, the performance component is central to the video’s impact. Canestro’s movement vocabulary favors long lines, suspended balances and ensemble unison that fractures into individual statements. Costuming contributes to the visual cadence, reading as both ceremonial and utilitarian, suitable for figures crossing inhospitable ground together.

At the video’s heart is actress Reika Vigilucci, whose presence anchors the ensemble’s shifting energies. The dancers—Diletta Moschitta, Reika Vigilucci, Benedetta Collini, Leandro Salvischiani, Nicola Giannellini and Damiano Gorgoglione—build a kinetic chorus around that axis, embodying solidarity without erasing personal nuance. Makeup and hair by Laura Taddeini emphasize clarity of expression and the sculpting of line, reinforcing the music’s measured power.

How Music and Image Interlock

Walk Close to Me thrives on the union of sound and movement. The song’s steady gait sets the pace for choreography that advances and retreats like breath, while the chorus opens space for fuller ensemble patterns. Visual motifs of return mirror the lyric’s temporal leaps. Small details—hands meeting, a turn of the head, the shared beat before a phrase lifts—become the means by which the video communicates dignity and resolve.

Crucially, the production avoids spectacle for its own sake. The imagery never eclipses the music; it amplifies it. Each visual choice answers to the composition’s architecture, from the restrained verses to the more radiant refrains. The cumulative effect is not epic in the conventional sense, but quietly monumental.

Place Within the Band’s Creative Arc

Walk in Darkness continue to refine a language that merges gothic atmosphere, cinematic scale and a grounded, humanist focus. Walk Close to Me extends that approach with particular clarity. The song keeps its structure lean and its melody accessible, while the production invests in depth of field rather than density for density’s sake. As a single, it functions as a clean entry point for listeners encountering the band, and as a satisfying chapter for longtime followers who expect thematic coherence and textural richness.

Credits

• Music and lyrics: Shaman
• Direction, scenography and executive planning: Shaman and Lorenzo Avanzi, AVZ Studios
• Audio recording: Alessandro Guasconi, Virus Recording Studio
• Actress: Reika Vigilucci
• Choreography and costumes: Alberto Canestro
• Dance company: Lyric Dance Company
• Dancers: Diletta Moschitta, Reika Vigilucci, Benedetta Collini, Leandro Salvischiani, Nicola Giannellini, Damiano Gorgoglione
• Makeup and hair: Laura Taddeini

Final Thoughts

Walk Close to Me is a study in measured intensity. It anchors big, existential questions in gestures of care and companionship, and lets a strong, unhurried arrangement carry the message. The video’s choreographic focus strengthens those ideas, turning resilience into shared motion. It is the kind of work that grows with repeat listens, revealing new details in the interplay between weight and lift, shadow and light, distance and return.

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