Gales of Avalon have officially released the music video for “Cold Dark Valleys” one of 12 tracks from the band’s full-length debut Black Island.

Directed and edited by Ryan Leininger in the group’s hometown of Calgary, Alta., the new video tells part of the story illustrated through the upcoming concept album.

“It follows two survivors of a boat crash as they make there way across a deserted island. They are both broken and beaten, yet they keep forging on. There may be light at the end of the cold dark valley, there may not be; regardless, on they march,” describes Mark Dillon, guitarist and lead vocalist for the Celtic-influenced, blackened death metal quintet.

The video was originally intended to promote the album, which is being self-funded by the independent band and is still currently in production.

“Because of unexpected set backs, the recording ended up taking longer than we expected,” Dillon explains. “We also added a new member to the band (in September), so we decided that there was no reason to sit on a video that didn’t feature the entire band that recorded the new album. We also thought that releasing it now was a good way to show our friends and fans that we are still alive, even through its taking us a long, long time to record a new album.”

Leininger, the visionary behind the video, was a media arts student at Mount Royal College when first approached Gales of Avalon with idea of making a short form video as part of his final project.

“He had access to professional equipment (cameras, lighting, and a sound stage) so it was a no-brainer for a broke band to say ‘yes’ to the opportunity to shoot a video for free,” Dillon laughs.

Shot over two days, filming was split between sound stage recording and on location at Calgary’s Bowness Park, with Sacred Ally guitarist Tyler Gregg, and Calgary drummer Russel Trout filling the lead character roles.

“These scenes were shot in early March, and we made Russ and Tyler wander around in the woods without shoes and wearing torn up clothes. For all there hard work they got paid a dozen beer each!”

The video can be viewed below, or at the band’s official MySpace, where you can stay tuned for the official release date of Black Island.