The Dun Ringill illustration features an amalgam of various horror scenarios, with several subtle and not-so-subtle references to the lyrics. The music pays homage to a lot of rock and doom history without being retro for the sake of it, and I wanted the same to be true for the cover. Since I perceived the lyrics and general theme to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, with lots of horror movie references, I wanted the general aesthetic of the illustration to be more playful than my usual work. I picked some key phrases from the lyrics and song titles and turned it into a collage with the main idea being more about capturing the vibe of the record than telling a specific story.
There are some stylistic nods to the great Swedish artist Hans Arnold, who made a lot of album and book illustrations in the 70s. He often used bold strokes and a lot of “imperfection” in his linework, which gave a murky and organic look. I also wanted to incorporate the logo that I made for the band into the actual artwork, which is something that often was the case on a lot of classic album covers back in the day but comes with a certain risk since it easily can look out of place. All in all, I’m very pleased with the result and feel like it represents somewhat of a new style for me.
Article by Niklas Sundin – Copyright 2019 © Heavy Music Artwork. All rights reserved.
