Was surprised to see today that Scissor Sisters debuted a video for “Invisible Light,” the closing track on their current album, Night Work.

Released in June, Scissor Sisters’ steeped-in-sleaze third LP is one of my favorites of 2010, but the band teased its upcoming release by streaming “Invisible Light” on its site in April. I snagged a free, legit dowload of the song sometime in May, but when I finally planned to highlight it here, another Night Work track, “Fire With Fire,” was instead getting the pre-release love, so I shelved the thought.

So I’m surprised, but also totally delighted that about six months later, it’s time for “Invisible Light” to shine. 50 Cent may think that “Monster,” the rapper’s posthumous collab with Michael Jackson that arrives tomorrow, is the “2010 version of ‘Thriller,'” it’ll be tough to beat “Invisible Light,” the Scissor Sisters’ six-minute-long spooky disco epic that features Sir Ian McKellan in the spoken-word slot vacated by Vincent Price.

Here’s what the man who played Gandalf was given to say on the song:

“Babylon / Where bricks of mortared diamonds tower / Sailor’s lust and swagger lazing in moon’s beam / Whose laser gaze penetrates this sparkling theater of excess and strobed lights / Painted whores, sexual gladiators, fiercely old party children / All wake from their slumber to debut the bacchanal / Come to the light! Into the light! The invisible light.”

Sadly, Sir Ian’s part has been edited for the “Invisible Light” music video, but the mood is twisted enough even without all of it. Some enterprising Women’s Studies’ student could have a field day dissecting this unsettling video, with its images of female sexuality, degradation, torture, death, and what looks like Pennywise from Stephen King’s It. Fun times.

While the video for “Invisible Light” is NSFW and a little iffy, the song is a masterpiece:

Beginning in February, Scissor Sisters will open for Lady Gaga on her North American tour, herself no stranger to disturbing imagery.

Purchase Scissor Sisters – “Invisible Light” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.