ALBUM COVER STORY: AZIOLA CRY's "DYSPHORIA RITUAL"

American Instrumental Progressive Rock/Metal trio, Aziola Cry, just released its fourth album "Dysphoria Ritual" which features a cover illustration designed by Travis Smith (Opeth, Katatonia, Devin Townsend). In this short interview, guitarist Jason Blake talks about the collaboration with the talented American graphic artist.

How did Travis Smith get involved in the making of the cover for "Dysphoria Ritual"? 

Jason Blake: I have been a fan of Travis's album covers for some time now. His unique style has always appealed to me. I had an overall vision for this album's presentation, and I felt Travis was the only person who could achieve it. I reached out to him, which began the process. He is an incredibly kind and creative person to work with. 

It seems that Travis used different mediums to create this piece.

Jason Blake: Travis said that the artwork was a mixture of photographic and painted elements and textures. For example, the eye is not a photograph of an eye, but a few different photographic elements cut out and assembled into an eye and then mixed with some painting and texturing. The same applies to the hands which were photographed, distorted and then painted over in some places.

This is a quite surreal graphic that transmits feelings of isolation, loneliness, despair, etc. What Inspired the cover concept?

Jason Blake: I presented the album's concept to Travis and showed him a previous cover by the band, so he understood our overall aesthetic. With the overarching theme of isolation in mind, Travis did his thing and returned with a cover that perfectly represented the album's subject matter and the direction I sought to move the band into.

"Dysphoria Ritual" is available through 7D Media. Order at https://7dmedia.com/aziola-cry-dr

See more of Travis Smith's work at https://seempieces.com/