Staytus releases Cleopatra Records video for industrial single ‘Secret Hand’
Los Angeles industrial artist Staytus released the Vicente Cordero-directed video for “Secret Hand” on 21 August 2026 through Cleopatra Records.
Los Angeles industrial artist Staytus released the video for “Secret Hand” on 21 August 2026 through Cleopatra Records. Vicente Cordero directed it, his second video for the project after “S + M” in May 2026. The track is Staytus’ second release since signing to the label.
Sam Grundemann, who records as Staytus, put the guitar and bass work at the centre of the track and described the video as a chance to perform it rather than illustrate it:
“Secret Hand has some of my favorite guitar and bass work I’ve done. I wanted the music to feel just as seductive as it is dangerous – something that pulls you in before you realize how intense it has become. The video gave me the opportunity to fully embody that energy and step into this fearless, unapologetic version of myself as an artist.”
Where Staytus recorded ‘Secret Hand’
The title is also the address. “Secret Hand” was recorded at Secret Hand Studios in Los Angeles, the room owned by drummer Jeff Friedl, whom Grundemann has worked with before. Cordero shot the video in a single black room streaked with neon and filled with fog, with the camera circling Grundemann throughout. Musically the track mixes hard guitar, bass and electronic pressure, with the arrangement kept open enough for individual hits to register.
No album has been announced around the single.
About Staytus
Staytus is the solo project of Sam Grundemann, a musician, producer, songwriter and audio engineer born in Arizona and now based in the Los Angeles area. The project mixes industrial, electronic and nu-metal elements.
Side-Line first covered the project in March 2022, when three tracks from the debut album appeared ahead of release. That album, “Disease Of The Mind”, arrived on 9 September 2022 with thirteen tracks, and the eleven-track “Wasteland Of Broken Hearts” followed on 27 October 2023, extended by a three-track bonus edition in November 2023.
A run of singles followed: “Can You Hear Me?” in September 2024, “68 KILL” in October 2024, “Suburban Gothic” in February 2025, “King Knight” in April 2025 and Staytus closes Twisted Frames series with industrial single ‘How To Be A Serial Killer’ in May 2025. Staytus drops ‘Headache’ single produced by Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Slayer) arrived on 17 July 2025 with Sean Beavan producing, then Staytus drops ‘Heart Attack’ single today, September 4, Staytus announces new single “Kiss N Tell” for October 23 and Staytus drops new single ‘The God, The Artist, & The Creator’ in December 2025. Collaborators across those releases include Matt McJunkins, Mikal Blue, Jeff Friedl, Anthony Laurie and Patrick “Embryo” Tapu.
The label deal was reported in Staytus signs with Cleopatra Records and announces ‘S + M’ in May 2026, and the digital single “S + M” arrived on 29 May 2026 with a Cordero-directed video. “Secret Hand” is the project’s first new material since.
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