Biffy Clyro unveiled their new single "Instant History," and a startling accompanying music video, on Thursday (Feb. 20).

In the clip, the Scottish alt-rockers' performance is interspersed with clips of a girl dressed in an intricate headpiece and cage-like hoop skirt, a red-faced man sprouting a horse's tail and a brooding teenager clad in the armor of old-school football padding.

"Dear god, address my dreams for me/ All I learned is instant history/ Is this how the surface will break?/ Releasing the pressure, the horrors that await," frontman Simon Neil belts on the first verse before being joined by bandmates James Johnston and Ben Johnston on the wailing chorus. 

Produced by Rich Costey (who's crafted tracks for Foo Fighters, Muse and The Killers), "Instant History" marks Biffy Clyro's first new release since their 2019 soundtrack album to the film Balance, Not Symmetry.

The band's last proper studio album was 2016's Ellipsis, which landed at No. 1 on the Official Albums chart.

Check out the video for "Instant History" (warning: the visual contains flashing images) below.

58