French visionary Pierre-Alain D – Art from the other side Pierre-Alain D., founder of 3mmi Design, is a french digital artist / illustrator & webdesigner who has developed a dark -but not only- and intense vision of graphic design through the years. Working mainly for the music industry, he also like to work on all…
It was the end of 1993. A young British band called Cradle Of Filth was giving the finishing touches to their official debut full length, “The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh”. Little they knew but the album was destined to become a landmark. Their crossover of Black/Death Metal and Gothic sensibilities, took the underground by…
Interview with graphic legend Travis Smith Travis Smith is an American graphic artist best known for designing heavy metal album art. He has been called “renowned” by Alternative Press and “unquestionably one of the most talented graphic artists in metal today” by Chronicles of Chaos. Smith has done work for many established rock and metal…
By Andy Starz Lots of people probably expect this list to include books like the KISS biography by David Leaf or Mötley Crüe’s infamously funny “The Dirt”. It is very likely that I’ll do a list about the most entertaining band biographies at some point but this is not it. No, this list does not…
Chad Gray & Vinnie Paul speak to Heavy Music Artwork Hellyeah are currently cruising the States on the Gigantour with Megadeth, Black Label Society, Newsted and Device. With the release of their incredible third album ‘Band of Brothers’ they are making a clear statement to the Metal world. They are a band that was once…
Interview with Master illustrator, Michael Whelan Michael Whelan can be easily considered as one of the greatest illustrators of the last 50 years. His images—usually depicting fantasy worlds, horror scenarios and epic sci-fi— have appeared on book covers written by some of the most important writers of the XX century. These include the mighty Stephen King, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C.…
By 1984, Metallica was already on its way to the top. Sure, they were still a penniless band, short on resources but with an immense sense of drive and determination. Their debut album “Kill ‘Em All” had taken the then-nascent underground Thrash Metal scene by storm and people had begun to take notice. That included…
By Lukas Lancko Originally published in CGArena Magazine #8, 2013, http://www.cgarena.com artwork used for cover of CAMP CHAOS “The World Is Bleeding” http://www.isisdesignstudio.com INTRODUCTION Hello guys, my name is Lukas and today I’m going to share with you insight of one of my latest artwork “The World Is Bleeding” and share with you some techniques…
By Lukas Lancko Originally published in DigitalDesign Magazine #1, 2012 – http://www.digitaldesignmag.com Artwork used for cover of BETWEEN THE PLANETS “Immersion Into The Unknown” Biography I was born in 1984 in Slovakia, Europe. It was 4 years ago I fell in passion with digital art and computer graphics. After finishing my university studies I started…
“One One One” will be available as a digipack containing a 20 page booklet filled with lyrics and artwork designed by famous designer duo Trine+Kim (Enslaved, Solefald, Mayhem, Drakthrone). Shining front man and saxophone superman, Jørgen Munkeby, comments on the process and thoughts behind the cover art: “We wanted to continue the visual aesthetics we…
Interview with Delain frontwoman Charlotte Wessels It’s a sunny spring afternoon as Delain’s spectacular, fiery haired frontwoman Charlotte Wessels sips contentedly from her glass of wine. Her day has been heavily filled with consecutive interviews (and wine) but she shows no sign of slowing down and she’s smiles ahoy as we explore all things recent…
Norwegian master painter and album cover designer Truls Espedal Imagination has no limits and Truls Espedal knows it. As one of the most promising painters emerging from the current Norwegian contemporary art scene he’s a living proof of the creative capabilities of the human mind. His paintings are usually focused on hyper realistic details of the human body that set…
Interview with singer and guitarist of Sahg Sahg is a Psychedelic Doom Metal outfit featuring some of Norway finest collection of musicians. Recently released “Firebird” yet again on Indie Recording, provides a different approach to their “I, II, III” catalogue. Spoke to mainman Olav Ivernes on song writing process, creative direction and the mystery behind…
by Pete Alander (Bandmill/HeavyMusicArtwork.com) As times goes by all bands in any music genre must face the facts of changing music industry and re-invent or at least update their concept of producing albums. There must be millions of things you need to discover again as an artist but one of the key points is how…
Interview with Philip Cope of Kylesa ‘Spiral Shadow’, has been extolled throughout the music press and has pushed Kylesa ever closer to becoming a household name. Now, three years later, the time has come for them to produce a sixth album, and the pressure’s on as these guys have been consistently impressing critics and fans…
Interview with British artist Paul Raymond Gregory For more than three decades, British artist Paul Raymond Gregory has been considered as one of the most celebrated Tolkien-oriented painters worldwide. His cover artworks for bands like Saxon, Blind Guardian, Dio among others are equally legendary. Nowadays, he’s also extremely busy supervising the 2013 edition of UK already classic Metal…
Interview with Ballpoint Horror Noir Dennis Dread Dennis Dread is a self-taught artist who creates macabre and fantastically detailed drawings in a heavily shaded style he has referred to as “Ballpoint Horror Noir.” His work regularly appears on album covers throughout the world, including collaborations with such highly regarded musical luminaries as Darkthrone, Autopsy, Abscess,…
Interview with master of the brush Marc Sasso Among his clients there are companies like Lucas Arts, MTV, Warner Bros or Heavy Metal gods such as Rob Halford and the immortal Ronnie James Dio, among others. He’s Marc Sasso, a prolific American artist whose works are now part of recent popular culture via album covers, movies, clothing, video games and more.…
Interview with Malcolm “Scruff” Lewty Hellbastard seem to be very much back in action, tighter, more powerful and still annoyed. Hellbastard bring socially aware lyrics and an unclassifiable form of punk/thrash metal music to the international stage. Founding vocalist/guitarist Malcolm “Scruff” Lewty saw fit to reform the ‘Bastard in 2008. Over the past five years,…
Heavy Music Artwork catches up with infamous Dimmu Borgir front man Shagrath Tonight headline is at Maratona Rock with side project Chrome Division. Current lineup consists of him on rhythm guitar, along with Eddie Guz from The Carburetors as the vocalist, Ricky Black on lead guitar, Björn Luna on bass guitar and Tony White on…