Interview with Orange County Grind legends Phobia Socio-political crustcore grind veterans Phobia have been tearing up the scene for going on 23 years now. Their smash up noise-fest rhythm section and four chord riffs are carried atop a slew of Shane Maclachlan’s guttural growls and searing screams, and whilst the lyrics and the band’s image…
One-on-one with guitar master of the Quireboys, Guy Griffin The Quireboys are part of a long tradition of English rock’n’roll excellence. Formed way back in 1984 when rock music ruled the world and the demand for hairspray was making Aquanet’s owners filthy rich, the Quireboys have since enjoyed international fame. Their latest album ‘Beautiful Curse’…
Interview with TYR frontman Heri Joensen Valkyrja, the 7 full-length album from the Faroe Islands natives TÝR, is a concept album with a story line based loosely around an nameless Viking age warrior who leaves his woman and goes off to impress the Valkyrie on the battlefield so that she may bring him to Valhalla,…
Animal supremacist Cattle Decapitation speaks to HMA Originally founded in 1996, Cattle Decapitation’s songs protest the mistreatment and consumption of animals as well as the abuse of the environment. Lyrics may also focus on subjects such as misanthropy and genocide of the human race. Much of their music is based on putting humans in the…
Heavy Music Artwork Dark Nouveau Vance Kelly Vance Kelly is an award-winning illustrator, fine artist, printmaker and graphic designer. Born in 1970, he resides in New Orleans, Louisiana. His instantly recognizable artwork can be seen in the industries of music, advertising, apparel, and publishing. With an interest in mythology, symbolism, fantasy, and the occult, Vance uses…
Heavy Music Artwork speaks to Pelle Ahman “It’s time to release our third album, and things have never felt this clear and pervasive before. This is a feeling that has permeated our whole lives during the latest year of writing and recording this album, as well as digesting and dealing with its consequences. And it…
Rivers of Nihil’s debut album, “The Conscious Seed of Light,” will be released on October 14th in the UK. The album was recorded in March of 2013 at Mana Recording Studios in Florida with famed metal producer/musician Erik Rutan. While The Conscious Seed of Light is not necessarily a concept album traditionally speaking, Rivers of…
Interview with Tristania Anders Høyvik Hidle The Norwegian Gothic Metal pioneers revolving around charismatic front lady Mariangela Demurtars have the gift to combine heavy tunes with emotional finesse. This combination was brought to perfection on “Darkest White”, which was produced by Christer André Cederberg (e.g. Anathema). He has certainly given the album a new level…
Interview with Lamb of God master artist Ken ‘K3n’ Adams It’s impossible to think about American Metal icons, Lamb Of God, without imagining the artworks that designer, Ken ‘K3n’ Adams, has created for the Virginian band. Since the early days of the band he’s been producing the majority of their graphic material as well as…
Interview with Germany Thrash outfits Dew-Scented Germany’s Dew-Scented have been part of the leading forces of a new breed of Thrash Metal ever since their foundations in 1992. After having released their first an only demo tape “Symbolization” the band signed to Steamhammer/SPV for their 1996 debut release “Immortelle”. Now on Metal Blade they have…
These days, Gothenburg Metal veterans Dark Tranquility are busy promoting their brand new opus “Construct”. But, in 2009 while playing on a German Festival, they decided to take a detour to have a promotional photo shoot at one of the most non-Metal places : a sunflower field. “We were kind of skeptical at first, hung-over…
Interview with Metal Classic painter Philip Lawvere Involved in the punk scene in Boston in 1980 – 82, Philip then moved to Berlin, where through the local music scene he was introduced to Karl Walterbach, the mastermind of early German Thrash. Philip and Karl’s love of Fantasy artwork, combined with their penchant for hard music,…
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…