ALBUM COVER STORY: ARKTHEOS' "COSMOLITH" (REISSUE)

Canadian Blackened Death Metal duo, ARKTHEOS, is releasing on physical media (CD and LP) of their debut album, "Cosmolith" (2025). The cover illustration was created by American artist, Adam Burke. Below, Arktheos' vocalist/guitarist, D. Ibson, talks about this mysterious nocturnal scene. 

The cover of "Cosmolith" shows a wintery nocturnal scene, full of drama and magic. What inspired this concept? What is this scene portraying?

D. Ibson: Our music is heavily inspired by the vastness and beauty of the night sky, and how across history, so many cultures have seen the sky as the home of the gods, spirits, ancestors, and so on. It is one the central means through which those otherworldly beings interact with the material world.

Even in modern times, we intuitively feel that the sky is a magical thing. Especially on a clear night, when the moon is full and the stars are bright. It is a humbling, awe-inspiring feeling to gaze up into glittering infinity. So many of our modern holidays, even those which are now fairly secularized, still possess a kernel of that tradition of observing and celebrating the movements of celestial bodies. Humans love the sun, the moon, and the stars, and we assign significance to moments when they change trajectory or cross a threshold. Humans have done so for thousands of years, and sometimes, when we find a good spot to do so, we stand up a few great big rocks to mark it. 

The human figure in the cover is one such hypothetical stargazing animist, communing with nature and the cosmos, on a clear night when the sky is full of stories, messages, and otherworldly beings. The monolith is not an object of worship, but a tool and a participant in this communion, a conduit through which the observer strengthens their connection to infinity.

How did the artist, Adam Burke, become involved with the creation of this cover artwork?

D. Ibson: It was very straightforward—a friend showed me his work and I was really blown away. I simply reached out to him online, we threw some ideas around, and he got to work. He was a pleasure to work with.

The original illustration.

Can you reveal any details about the creative process?

D. Ibson: I described a basic concept, basically "tiny dude and magic rock in the snow at night" and Adam came back to me with a fairly detailed pencil sketch of the painting's composition. We went through a few iterations before he began working on the finished piece, which is acrylic paint on wood.

Finding an artist who works with a physical medium was really important to me. I have no problem with digital art per se, and we use it elsewhere, but to me there is something very special about a tangible piece of art made by hand. I'm a sucker for dramatic classical landscape paintings, and Adam has a gift for it. I love how in so many of his works, there are humans in them, but they are tiny in comparison to a vast and foreboding landscape.

The frame surrounding the illustration really complements the other elements in the cover. Who designed it?

D. Ibson: This was designed by Ruth Redmond, [Arktheos' drummer] Taylor's wife and our in-house graphic designer. The frame makes it look more "complete" to me, and I wanted it to reflect the vibes the logo. Ruth is a full-time illustrator and has a talent for turning our ramblings into something visually pleasing.

The band logo is very distinctive. It evokes the shape of a mountain that go hand-in-hand with the rest of the cover's visual elements. 

D. Ibson: The logo was designed by my friend Michael Marshall. I started by sketching something more along the lines of Roger Dean Prog Rock logos, but I wanted something more abstract. I asked Michael to take the basic letter shapes and make it into more of an illustration, depicting a sort of swirling fluid energy. We liked the idea that it's a shape more than it's a word written down. So, it started from this very calligraphic, classic typograph, and became almost a figurative depiction of one of the central themes of our music, the chaotic life-force that flows through all things. 

The album is available on CD and LP through Hypaethral Records at https://hypaethralrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cosmolith

See more of Adam Burke's work at https://www.facebook.com/Nightjarburke