The Weeknd Previews Journey Into the Abyss With Eerie New Music Teaser

The final installment of the Weeknd‘s latest album trilogy is approaching. The musician officially cracked open the world of the third album — following 2020’s After Hours and 2022’s Dawn FM — with an eerie new teaser trailer. The video, shared to his official social media accounts, is captioned: “When you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you…”

The teaser shows a hazy, lifelike animation of a young child gripping a mask of a woman’s face. There are figures standing in the background while the young boy kneels on the floor. But when the camera suddenly pans down, moving beneath the floor, the boy appears to be frozen in place and levitating while surrounded by raised hands. And even that, as the next camera pan shows, is an illusion within itself.

Two separate unreleased songs from the Weeknd set the scene for the trippy graphics. “I tried my best to not let you go/I don’t like the view from halfway down/Just promise me that it won’t be so/Will I feel the end? Backed up the ground,” he sings on one. “I tried to be something that I’ll never be/Why waste another precious hour?/Why waste another precious hour?/I’d rather leave somewhat of a legacy/Familiar, I thought that’s so familiar.”

The other is a previously previewed demo that fans have been referring to as “Hold Your Heart.” The Weekend originally teased the song in March 2020 on Instagram Live. It was part of a batch of songs that didn’t make it onto After Hours. “Just hold my heart, real close to you/Remember how it always beats for you/I’m falling at the speed of light/I’m staring at your shrinking face, don’t cry/You know my heart belongs,” he sings before the track abruptly cuts off.

The Weeknd’s most recent releases all arrived in connection to The Idol, the HBO drama series he helmed with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. He also appeared on Future and Metro’s collaborative LP We Don’t Trust You.

From Rolling Stone US.