10 Hard Rock Music Videos That Got Banned

These videos were just too hot for TV.

By Jacob Simmons /

There was a time where a song's music video was as important as the song itself.

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When music TV was still a proper thing, and not the home of weird reality shows and every so often the odd music-related thing, videos were crucial in capturing the imagination of the public and driving them towards their nearest record store.

Every genre of music has classic videos, and rock is no exception. November Rain by Guns N' Roses, Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. The list goes on. However, how different might the world have been had some of these famous promo clips been banned?

Much like in the world of cinema, there are strict rules surrounding what can and cannot be shown in a music video. Too much violence? Off you pop. Too sexy? In the bin with you. Anything a bit weird that might frighten the old people? No thank you!

These ten videos from ten huge acts all got the big red X drawn through them for one reason or another. You can watch most of them nowadays, but a few are still hard to track down.

10. Hurricane - Thirty Seconds To Mars

Four years after they first made it big with the album A Beautiful Lie, Thirty Seconds to Mars roared back with 2009's This is War. That's a pun because the album cover is a picture of a tiger.

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The fourth and final single released off this record was Hurricane, a big, chunky song filled with lead singer Jared Leto's trademark pseudo-poetic lyrics.

Equally as artsy was the music video, which amounted to more of a short film clocking in at over 13 minutes. Leto himself directed the piece under the name Bartholomew Cubbins, which is one of the greatest aliases in music history.

Hurricane's video follows the three band members as they attempt to escape the clutches of various attackers. They get tied up, chased with sledgehammers, and are forced into sexual activities with two women.

Various music channels were not happy with the sexual content of the video, as well as its violence and themes of religion. An edited version eventually found its way onto our screens.

Wait, there was another recording of this song? Maybe that one will be less controversial. Oh, it featured Kanye West. Never mind.

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