COVER ARTWORK STORY: MORBIKON's "LOST WITHIN THE ASTRAL CRYPTS."

Morbikon is a Blackened Death/Thrash Metal project formed by members of bands like Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse, Iron Reagan, Finntroll, …And Oceans, etc. They will release their debut album "Lost Within The Astral Crypts" on November 21 through Tankcrimes.

The sleeve artwork reflects the album's title and was crafted by Swedish illustrator, Par Olofsson. "This cover fits the cosmic horror themes present on the album," comments guitarist/bassist Phil Hall. "Sometimes we create the artwork very early in the demo process, so we have a visual to help inspire the music. Such is the case here."

Hall decided to use Olofsson's talents because they had been working together "for years now, he has done covers for Cannabis Corpse as well. He always nails what I am trying to depict. I am pretty sure Par works on a digital medium. But he shows me sketches and progress throughout the creative process. I know he works very hard to achieve his art."

Order "Lost Within The Astral Crypts" at

https://tankcrimes.bandcamp.com/album/lost-within-the-astral-crypts and https://tankcrimes.merchtable.com/tankcrimes-music/cd/morbikon-lost-within-the-astral-crypts-cd

See more of Par Olofsson's work at https://parolofsson.se/

COVER ARTWORK STORY: DEAD HEAT's "PROCESS OF ELIMINATION."

American Crossover/Hardcore/Thrash Metal provocateurs, Dead Heat, just released their new album, "Process Of Elimination." The cover artwork was created by fellow countryman artist, Hayden Hall, who also goes by the name Sick Slice.

"We got involved with him [Hayden Hall] in 2020," reveals Dead Heat's vocalist, Chris Ramos. "Our old guitarist, Tony, followed his art page and we all really liked the horror type stuff he did. So, we hit him up to see if interested in doing our second album cover and we just continued to work with him."

This artwork features the band's sort of mascot seated on an ominous stone throne. surrounded by a group of men of different ages and races. According to Hall, "the only thing airbrushed this time. Everything else was hand painted with acrylic paint." Ramos assures that the main inspiration was the album's title, which basically states that "when it comes down to it, is it gonna be someone else who triumphs in your life or is it gonna be you? The art was done given that knowledge and a broad concept to our artist and he made the masterpiece you see today."

Order the album at https://www.metalblade.com/deadheat/

See more of Sick Slice's work at https://linktr.ee/SICKSLICE

UNLEASHED AND PAR OLOFSSON: AFTER THE BATTLE

Swedish Death Metal pioneers UNLEASHED released their 15th studio album, "Fire Upon Your Lands" on August 15, 2025 via Napalm Records. The cover artwork was illustrated by Swedish artist, Par Olofsson, who has collaborated with the band in other projects.

"The artwork is inspired by the events in the storyline from the (never published book) The World of Odalheim," comments vocalist/bassist, Johnny Hedlund. "It is from this book that we have translated chapters into songs on the last 6 albums, and the story of the actual artwork this time is an event that takes place in between two songs (oddly enough). It's an actual event that took place just before the Midgard warriors arrive at the Haifa Pier where the warships await to take them home to Svithiod again (present day Sweden). A battle not far from Haifa Pier where the Midgard Warriors win a smaller yet important battle against their main enemy White Christ."

Regarding the making of the album, Par Olofsson comments: "I sketched out a couple rough ideas for the composition digitally. After a little back and forth with the band, we landed in this composition. The hammer needed an update from the previous album so sketched it out on paper, scanned and completed it in Photoshop. So, the whole thing is basically painted in photoshop with a Wacom tablet."

Order "Fire Upon Your Lands" at: https://napalmrecordsamerica.com/unleashed

See more of Par Olofsson's work at https://parolofsson.se/

MALTHUSIAN AND MITCHELL NOLTE: TOWARDS THE UNKNOWN

Relapse Records will release "The Summoning Bell," the new album from Irish Death Metal group, Malthusian. The cover image was crafted by Australian artist, Mitchell Nolte Art and Illustration.

"The artwork is based on an old Irish picture of a man with a scythe walking an old coastal road in County Kerry from the National Folklore Collection," reveals Malthusian's guitarist/vocalist, MB. See the original image in the comments. "The scythe would've taken away from the intended focal point which is simply that of a man walking the old road, so we decided to change that. No need to question where he is coming from or where he is going. The beauty is in the unknowing. There are fires on the hills as I had read about fires being used as beacons on islands and hills of the west coast in older times to guide the boats and also, in a celebratory capacity to mark the summer solstice."

 The photo that inspired the artwork.

The band was "on the search for an artist," MB remembers. "I had initially thought to do a photo realistic picture of the mentioned picture but along the journey I came across Mitchell's work. We chatted and I felt he was the correct person for the job. Great artist and very easy to work with."

The guitarist assures that the artwork was created digitally and "represents the title track quite perfectly on a lyrical level and I could tie it to other lyrics as well but not as directly or succinctly."

Pre-order "The Summoning Bell" at https://orcd.co/malthusian

See more of Mitchell Nolte's work at https://www.mitchellnolte.com/

REVOCATION AND PAOLO GIRARDI SUMMON THE AI GOD

Technical Death Metal act, Revocation will release new album "New Gods, New Masters" on September 26 through Metal Blade Records. The sleeve artwork was illustrator by Italian maestro, Paolo Girardi.

"The cover art was inspired by the lyrics for our new album," comments vocalist/guitarist, Dave Davidson. "I wanted to depict a dystopian techno nightmare where an AI god is being summoned and birthed from an abyss of wires and teeth. I gave Paolo a very rudimentary sketch and he absolutely ran wild with it. Paolo started with a quick sketch with pencil and then moved onto oil on cardboard. The final product exceeded my expectations in every way."

Previous to this project, Revocation and Girardi had worked together in the creation of the cover of the record, "Netherheaven" (2022). "I knew I wanted to collaborate with him again because the last one came out so great," Davidson says. "He really lives for his art and I love working with people that are truly dedicated to the craft and are excited about the work they do."

Pre-order "New Gods, New Masters" at https://www.metalblade.com/revocation/

See more of Paolo Girardi's work at

https://www.instagram.com/paologirardipainter/ 

https://www.facebook.com/paologirardipainter 

BYZANTINE's PORTRAYAL OF IRENE OF ATHENS

American metallers, Byzantine, are releasing their new album "Harbingers" on June 13 through Metal Blade Records.

According to the band's vocalist, Chris Ojeda, the cover was created by "Ashley Hoey, a mixed media artist from my hometown of Charleston, WV. Ashley has developed a very unique style of drawing her subjects with pencil and then combining actual clothing and jewelry to achieve a 3D aspect to her pieces. She solely focuses on female subjects. When we came up with the concept of having Irene of Athens, the first female ruler of the Byzantine empire, on our album cover, Ashley immediately came to mind."

The group decided to feature a representation of Irene of Athens because "focusing on the maternal side of power was a very intriguing change we thought we needed to make. Irene of Athens was a beautifully striking woman, but also very powerful. She actually had her son, Emperor Constantine blinded so he could no longer rule, which then gave her the throne over the empire. This was just a perfect story to wrap into a song and album cover. Nothing says 'Metal' like Abacination!"

"Harbingers" can be pre-ordered at https://www.metalblade.com/byzantine/

See more of Ashley Hoey's work at https://ashleyhoeyart.com/

Byzantine will be featured in the upcoming book "And Justice For Art- Ultimate Edition." Donate to the crowdfunding campaign to print the book at https://andjusticeforart.bigcartel.com/products

DOOMSDAY's UNDEAD ARMY

American Thrash/Crossover act, Doomsday, just released its debut album "Never Known Peace" through Creator-Destructor Records. Its cover artwork was created by Spencer Davie and shows a sort of Medieval necromancer leading an army of undead soldiers.

“We spent a long time trying to find the right artist," the band collectively comments. "We had a specific vision for the painting when it came to the look, feel and color palette we wanted. We were ready to take a different direction until we stumbled on Spencer’s work. We just gave him the album title and a vague direction of what we wanted and we left him to do his thing because we trusted his vision. Ultimately, he overdelivered and truly captured the essence of 'Never Known Peace.' We’re still blown away with the end result.”

“It's always a great honor to me as an illustrator when a client (especially a new one!) trusts your vision and lets you come up with something with complete artistic freedom," Davie admits. "I wanted to make a painting that captured the unrelentingly heavy quality of the music, and the title 'Never Known Peace' evoked this clear image of an unyielding army of the undead, who are called again and again to endless war.”

The album is available at Doomsday's Bandcamp at: https://doomsdaycahc.bandcamp.com/album/never-known-peace

See more Spencer Davie's work at https://www.spencerdavie.com/

TRIBUNAL's RUINED HALLS OF JUSTICE

Canadian orchestral doom quintet, Tribunal, released its second album, "In Penitence And Ruin" on April 18, 2025.

The cover artwork was created by bassist/cellist/vocalist, Soren Mourne, who designed the sleeve of the band's previous record. "Creating a vivid visual world for our music has always been very important to me," she says. "Painting the cover art for our albums allows me the most direct means of doing this. I take the role of art in our own work seriously. While I execute the art on my own, the concept development process is collaborative; I always hope for everyone in the band’s vision of the album to be reflected in the final art."

According to the musician/artist, this image portrays "the ruins of a once-grand hall with looming sigils on its walls and an ominous statue at its center. These elements allude to morality and justice: the sigils are unbalanced scales, and the statue is a hooded Themis–the classic Lady Justice with sword and scales in hand. By depicting the structure in this time-ravaged state, I intended to illustrate the ultimate impermanence of any given concept of justice. Just as the moss and vines reclaim the stone, all systems of doing justice may be reshaped by human nature and our changing understanding of what it means to make things right."

This piece was painted with oil paint on a 30” x 30” piece of hardboard. Later, Soren "cleaned it up in Photoshop and added the text elements, including the handwritten script of the album title."

"In Penitence And Ruin" through 20 Buck Spin and can be pre-ordered at https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/in-penitence-and-ruin

Watch the video for the band's new single “Incarnadine” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0kmtd8kgI4 

FALLUJAH's ANGEL

The artwork featured on the cover of "Xenotaph" (the 6th album from American Prog/Death Metal act, Fallujah) is titled "Apollyon, Angel of the Void" and was created by Peter Mohrbacher. This is part of the "Angelarium," a series of mythical beings the American artist has developed throughout the years.

"We’re big fans of Peter Mohrbacher’s artwork and have used his pieces on several of our previous albums, to the point where it seems to have become a big part of the band’s identity for many people," comments Fallujah's vocalist Kyle Schaefer. "We chose the 'Apollyon' piece very early on during this album’s writing process mainly due to its bold appearance and striking color palette, but it actually ended up influencing the lyrics to a major degree."

Schaefer also reveals that the "entire album tells a cohesive story in which the 'Apollyon' figure is represented as a major character, although it’s never referred to by that name. The story involves the narrator waking up after death in an otherworldly dimension and meeting a mysterious inhuman guide, so the idea of an 'angel of the void' felt perfect. I already had vague ideas for the story before we went looking for artwork, but this particular piece really brought it all together and influenced my direction massively from that point on. The first song quite literally describes the scene depicted on the album cover. There’s also a reference to Abbadon in one of the later tracks, which is an alternate name for Apollyon in Hebrew Christian mythology. Overall, I would say this album cover has a much more direct connection with the music & lyrics than anything else Fallujah has released in the past."

Fallujah's "Xenotaph" will be released on June 23 through Nuclear Blast. Pre-order at https://fallujah.bfan.link/xenotaph

See more of Peter Mohrbacher's Angelarium at https://www.angelarium.net/

Fallujah will be featured on the book, "...And Justice For Art - Ultimate Edition." To be part of the upcoming crowdfunding campaign, contact andjusticeforart@gmail.com

BLOODRIDE's STAMPEDE

Finnish Thrash Metal act, Bloodride, will release their new album "Deafening" in July 2025. Its sleeve illustration was created by fellow countryman artist, Niko Bauer, who has collaborated with the band in other projects.

“Niko has been providing us with occasional album art and other related graphics,” comments Bloodride’s bassist Esa Pennala. “The cover for 'Deafening' was already a candidate for the previous album but we finally settled on different artwork designed by Niko.”

At some point, the image of the five undead horses (which represent each of the band’s members) became a stage backdrop and was later reconsidered for Deafening’s cover. “The idea of using the backdrop came up again and that’s how we finally settled on this amazing cover art. So now, we use the artwork both as backdrops on stage and we put it on the sleeve of the new album.”

Bauer remembers that “the artwork started out with me wondering what a ‘bloodride’ actually would look like, which led to the mental image of having horses ride on and on until they rot away and are blown into the wind.” The original piece has a rectangular format and was painted with ink on paper. “It was drawn with old school steel nibs, the kind that you fix in a holder and dip into an ink bottle. First, I had to do research into what a horse’s skeleton actually looks like and I also had to try and get the result to be an ‘organized mess.’ So, I sketched the image twice with a pencil before starting with ink. When thinking about the style that I was going [to use] to draw the image, what I had in mind were very old copper engravings from history and biology books before all such images were replaced by photographs.”

The colors were mainly applied digitally. “I scanned the finished image and added color in Photoshop as well as some watercolor overlays,” Bauer says. “On projects like these, I use the computer for color for practical reasons [as] it’s very hard to make changes to a physical piece of art. And, when working on album cover artworks for bands, many different people are involved, and things tend to evolve and change a lot before everyone is satisfied with the end result.”

Bloodride’s "Deafening" will be released on July 25, 2025 through Wormholedeath. More information at https://bloodride.bandcamp.com/

See more of Niko Bauer’s work at: http://www.poorandstarving.com/index.php/en/