Brief, directions and guidelines The overall concept for the cover, including the scene of the little girl with a bloody mouth came from I, Omega vocalist Clay Nevels. He wanted to illustrate the idea that any one of us can be “The Ravenous”. Passion for music, art, life etc can make someone ravenous, but so…
Gore is just the beginning Desecration is a brutal death metal band from Wales. The band have been causing controversy since 1995 when their “Gore & Perversion” album was infamously seized and incinerated by the police due to its offensive content. The band was told to “tone right down”, but the band continued. Now, with…
Brief, directions and guidelines The third album in the series of this band from Romania. Darkgrove the previous two designs too, so the concept was familiar. The band sends in a detailed description and a drawing for the guidance and inspiration. Also several Museum / collection photos of ancient Dacian weaponry are included. First reaction…
Swedish rockers raise temperature to a million degrees at this year’s Download Festival! In a blaze of golden light, stage smoke and to the music of one of rock’n’roll’s truly legendary bands, KISS, yet another Download Festival has come to a thunderous and epic conclusion. I can only presume that this year will leave a…
It took a little preparation but now I was armed and ready to enter the gates of Tuska (translated ‘pain’, ‘agony’) Open Air Metal Festival once again in Helsinki, Finland. Like last year there were masses of metalheads showing off their best outfits and makeups. Bands like Abbath gathered many corpsepainted human gargoyles out of…
Shadows of Rebellion ‘Shadow of the Dying Sun’ is the sixth studio release from Finland’s melodic death metal scene Insomnium. They have come a long way in their musical progress since their Demo release in 1999. Insomnium creations are filled with obscure sounds and haunting melodies encompassed by very dark lyrics about pain, life, nature and…
Heavy Music Artwork conducted an interview with BUTCHER BABIES singer Heidi Shepherd and guitarist Henry Flury at the 2015 edition of the U.K.’s Download festival, which was held last month in Donington Park. You can now watch the chat below. Speaking about the endless amount of online hate that has been directed at the BUTCHER…
It marks a new beginning for the band: its “Great Schism” from the Process Church of the Final Judgment. Like the albatross falling from the mariner’s neck, the band has freed itself from the cult’s theology in order to explore its own creations – with no special guest appearances or narrative frills. Sabbath Assembly is,…
“The epic cover of Powerslave is an image that was burned in my brain from an early age. Released in 1984, it was something I always associated with real metal and was consistently on the shelves of CDs I would look through as a kid. It was the clear winner for me, not only does…
The dawn of Dark Nouveau HMA: Hello Zev and thanks for this interview. Not judging but looking at your other work the style used for ‘Portal’ and ‘Behemoth’ are considerably different. How did you get involved? Zev Deans: I contacted Portal. Behemoth contacted me, after seeing the ‘Portal’ video. I’m not sure if by style,…
Smacked by Sully Erna at Download! Godsmack is one of the heavy-hitters of metal music. Sporting three consecutive number-one albums and a worldwide fan-base, Godsmack have more than earned the respect of even the most high-brow rock/metal critic. It’s no surprise that so many of the people who attended the last day of Download were…
Slayer’s Brazilian Connection: An interview with designer Marcelo Vasco about creating “Repentless” cover artwork. In recent years, Brazilian designer/musician, Marcelo Vasco has been leaving his visual mark in the Metal scene thanks to his album covers for Metal heavyweights like Soulfly, Borknagar and Machine Head. Recently, Vasco’s pedigree went to roof thanks to his latest…
Creation must flow like fire, free, chaotic and passionate My parents taught me to love art and culture. I have always drawn and have been interested in sculpture and music. I studied several years in an Art School and have always taught myself through courses (drawing, design, photography, craftsmanship) in an autodidact way. Through the…
Artesanias Rockeras Honduras HMA: Can you tell us about yourself and how you started to work as a woodcarver? Gabriel Rodriguez: Everything started as a hobby when I was a kid, but I think now that I always had the passion for woodwork in my blood; that plus a certain amount of initiative and creativity.…
Worlds without the need for ego I never studied at art schools but I am now thinking about it. I always thought that schools might change perception on how I see art and also I do not want to follow rules. I was always been fond of my favourite bands artworks, the music/art relationship go…
Guided by the supernatural Norwegian avant-garde metal Arcturus is finally back after a decade with the awaited new album “Arcturian”. Formed in 1987, the first full-length was released in 1996. Current cosmic crew consist of former Dimmu Borgir member ICS Vortex and Mayhem drumming master Hellhammer alongside ex-Ulver and ex-Mortem members. HMA catch up with…
Barbarous hellhounds Cradle Of Filth are set to release their forthcoming album ‘Hammer Of The Witches’ on July 10th and in anticipation of the release, we asked the band’s verbose mouthpiece of Hell to tell us a bit more about the album artwork. The artwork was created by Arthur Berzinsh http://www.berzinsh.lv who is best known…
At the edge of the imagination With a musical career that started nearly 30 years ago, Blind Guardian is a cult to an incredible number of faithful fans. The year 2015 saw the release of their tenth studio album ‘Beyond the Red Mirror’ which delivers a flawless fusion of orchestral elements into heavy metal. A…
Tuska Open Air Metal Festival (Tuska translated in Finnish: pain) is a metal festival in Helsinki, Finland, dedicated exclusively to heavy metal and related styles. The first Tuska took place in 1998 and the festival has since grown larger every year. In recent years the attendance has grown and the festival has drawn around 30.000…
There are less than three weeks to go for Download Festival 2015, the best rock and heavy metal festival taking place this summer in the UK. This year’s Download delivers a seriously killer line-up, with big names such as Slipknot, Kiss, Slash, Faith No More and Motley Crue. This will also be Tommy, Nikki, Mick…