Kings of Leon have a new song, and it comes with a lyric video that treats the surface of the Earth like a giant canvas. “Cold Blue Dawn” is the second track from the band’s upcoming album O My Beloved, and the accompanying visual uses satellite imagery to spell out the song’s words across rivers, coastlines, farmlands, islands, ocean swells, volcanoes, and other natural and man-made formations.
The video opens with grainy, Super 8-style footage of the road slipping by beneath an increasingly dark sky. Then it zooms out to sweeping geographic views, narrows back down to archival shots of the band walking with their hands in their pockets and fishing in a sunlit stream, and finally zooms back out again — shrinking the band against the planet while letting the song’s words stretch across it.
It is a strange and effective idea. Instead of static text crawling over a concert stage, the words become the landscape itself. A river bends into an “L.” An island becomes an “E.” The effect is hypnotic, and it gives the song a scale that a standard lyric video could not easily match.
How The Video Works
The collaboration came about after The Weather Channel paired footage of weather formations with Kings of Leon’s “Pyro” in a viral clip. That clip eventually caught the band’s attention. “My family was already die-hard Weather Channel followers,” Caleb Followill said in a statement. “So we saw what they did with our song immediately and thought it was beautiful. We learned they were making music a larger part of what they do and we reached out immediately to try and do something together. They have been super cool to work with, and we hope this unlikely partnership keeps going because it makes a lot of sense to us.”
The result is a video that treats the planet as a canvas. Rivers, coastlines, farmlands, islands, ocean swells, and volcanoes all get pressed into service as letters. The viewer watches the Earth rearrange itself to form the song’s title and lyrics, and the effect is genuinely impressive.
The Song’s Position
“Cold Blue Dawn” follows “My Whole World,” which arrived earlier this month alongside the announcement of O My Beloved. The new album is due November 6th through Love Tap Records/Virgin Music, and it marks Kings of Leon’s 10th studio record. More importantly, it is their first full-length effort produced entirely by the band themselves.
Pre-Order and Release Dates
O My Beloved is available for pre-order ahead of its November 6th release.
The Fan Clip That Started It
The Weather Channel’s original clip paired footage of weather formations with Kings of Leon’s “Pyro.” The band saw it and reached out immediately. The fact that the collaboration grew out of a fan clip adds a layer of charm to the project.
The video uses satellite imagery to spell out the song’s words across rivers, coastlines, farmlands, islands, ocean swells, volcanoes, and other natural and man-made formations. It is a remarkable technical achievement, and it gives the song a visual identity that sets it apart from the usual music video fare.
The Tracklist in Full
Here is the full running order for O My Beloved:
| # | Track |
|---|---|
| 01 | Intro |
| 02 | My Whole World |
| 03 | Cold Blue Dawn |
| 04 | The Hand |
| 05 | Rose |
| 06 | Make It Count |
| 07 | KOYSAR |
| 08 | Feel The Love |
| 09 | Blue Jeans and Diamonds |
| 10 | Warm Company |
| 11 | Forever Endeavor |
| 12 | Pretty Thing |
| 13 | Get You Down |
The Self-Produced Album
The album’s production is notable. Kings of Leon produced O My Beloved entirely on their own, which is a significant shift for a band that has worked with outside producers throughout their career.
Why This Partnership Makes Sense
The collaboration is unusual. A weather channel known for storm footage now turns its satellite images into letter shapes for a rock song. The band’s own account of how it started — a fan clip that caught their attention — gives the whole thing a pleasant, accidental charm.
The Verdict on “Cold Blue Dawn”
“Cold Blue Dawn” is a strong second preview for O My Beloved. The video adds a layer of spectacle that the song earns, rather than just dressing it up.
The Weather Channel’s involvement is a genuine highlight. A weather network turning satellite images of coastlines and ocean swells into the shape of a song’s words is a novel idea, and the band’s own account of how it began — a fan clip that caught their attention — gives the whole thing a pleasant, accidental charm.
This is a partnership that makes sense to both parties, and the results are visually stunning. The video is a creative triumph, and the song stands on its own merits.
“Cold Blue Dawn” is out now.
See the video the story is built around at Consequence.
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