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/

GAME OVER's FINAL GIRL

Italian Thrash Metal act, Game Over, will release its new album “Face The End” on April 25 through Scarlet Records.

"The artwork for 'Face The End' has been painted by Guatemalan artist, Mario Lopez, based on the band's own concept," comments Game Over's guitarist, Luca "Ziro" Zironi. "The cover is a synthesis of the themes explored in this album and the meaning of the record itself, translated into an artistic style inspired by 1980s horror movie posters—an element that has accompanied the band since the beginning. Eerie fog, hellish atmosphere, dangerous places, and demonic presences threaten the protagonist’s safety (represented by the final girl, a classic trope in horror films). However, all of this does not signify the end but rather the will to be ready to face adverse and dangerous events—challenges that may bring you to your knees but ultimately prove that the only thing that truly matters is having the courage to confront them."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Mario Lopez has designed all of Game Over's album covers. See more of his portfolio at: https://www.facebook.com/mario.lopez.1291421

 

"Face The End" can be pre-ordered at https://gameoverofficial.bandcamp.com/album/face-the-end

SIGH AND ELIRAN KANTOR's MACABRE MARRIAGE

Japanese Avantgarde/Black Metal act, SIGH (official page), recently announced the

release of "I Saw The World’s End - Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV," a revamped version of the 2007 studio album, "Hangman’s Hymn."

The sleeve artwork was designed by the band’s frequent collaborator, Israeli visual maestro Eliran Kantor, who has created several album covers for Sigh. He reimagined the original Hangman’s Hymn’s cover which also features three characters with their faces covered. “It is based on the image of the original Hangman's artwork,” confirms Sigh's vocalist, Mirai Kawashima. “I guess it has a feel of marriage [Vocalist/Saxophonist] Dr. Mikannibal sometimes wears the wedding costume on stage, so it may have inspired Eliran. The artwork looks very beautiful but if you look into the details, it’s very spooky—like a hooded man holding a hanging rope, etc."

Kawashima chose Kantor to reimagine the original "Hangman's Hymn" cover artwork because the artist "had done this kind of thing with [band's like] Cavalera, Kreator, Sodom etc. I mean, he made something new out of their legacies, and it worked really well. So, it was no brainer for me to ask him to re-do the artwork. Once I talked to him, surprisingly he came back to me with a sketch in a day. The first sketch was very close to the finished product although it was black and white. So, I kind of knew what the artwork would be like from the very beginning, and I knew it'd turn out something really great. Definitely it is what I wanted."

Kantor and Sigh apparently met “in Czech Republic when Sigh played at the Brutal Assault Festival," Kawashima says. "I got to know Eliran through [Israeli sound engineer] Maor Appelbaum, who mastered Sigh’s record, A Tribute to Venom.”

Sigh will release "I Saw The World’s End - Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV" through Peaceville Records on June 13, 2025. Pre-order at https://usa-peaceville.myshopify.com/collections/sigh

See more of Eliran Kantor's work at https://elirankantor.com/

A BEAUTIFULLY HORRIFIC ALBUM COVER

Israeli maestro, Eliran Kantor, crafted the cover artwork for Scalpture 's new album, "Landkrieg." This is the second collaboration (after the cover for the album, "Feldwärts") between Kantor and the German band.

"We knew we wanted to collaborate with Eliran Kantor again," Scalpture's members collectively comment. "In fact, the idea for the concept behind 'Landkrieg' was born while we were celebrating the release of Feldwärts—drinking, talking and already thinking about what would come next. From the beginning, we envisioned a beautiful, almost picturesque landscape painting that, upon closer inspection, reveals something truly horrific happening in the background."

The musicians say that "the central event in the artwork—a man killing another with an axe—went through several iterations before reaching its final form. Eliran was incredibly patient with us as we took our time refining the concept. The scene itself is inspired by an etching from Hans Ulrich Franck, an artist who lived during the Thirty Years' War. Eliran took this historical reference and transformed it into something truly stunning. For a Death Metal album cover, 'Landkrieg' is surprisingly colorful and, at first glance, even idyllic. Our initial stylistic direction was “Goya meets Monet,” and we believe Eliran captured that perfectly. His ability to blend beauty with brutality is unmatched, and we couldn’t be happier with the result."

"Landkrieg" is available through Testimony Records and through Scalpture's Bandcamp at https://scalpture.bandcamp.com/album/landkrieg

See more of Eliran Kantor's portfolio and purchase fine prints from his work at https://elirankantor.com/

THE PROPHET'S PORTRAIT

Polish Black Metal act, PATRIARKH (which basically is a new incarnation of Batushka) recently released the album "ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ" (“Prophet Ilja”) via Napalm Records. The cover artwork is a portrait of the titular character painted by multi-disciplinary Polish artist, Maciek Szupica aka Monsieur Zupika.

"Prophet Ilja is a historical figure who appeared in the Podlasie region during a time filled with unrest and mystery," Szupica reveals to And Justice For Art. "It was an era of self-proclaimed prophets who, in a rather sectarian manner, influenced uneducated groups of people, leading them into various religious rituals and practices."

Szupica had been "collaborating with the band Batushka for several years, which began when I was offered to create their first album cover." This naturally continued when he was offered to paint the artwork for "Prophet Ilja." He always works with vocalist, Bartłomiej "Bart" Krysiuk, "to best capture the mysticism of Orthodox rituals. I always strive to gather as much detailed information as possible to ensure I don’t miss any significant symbolic elements that are important in Orthodoxy."

The artwork was created "sing traditional methods, mainly as hand-drawn illustrations and graphics," the artist assures. "However, this cover is the first one painted in the style of oil painting. It may be less traditional compared to typical Orthodox iconography, but the entire artwork was painted by hand."

"Prophet Ilja" is available at https://napalmrecordsamerica.com/patriarkh

RWAKE's NATURAL OFFERING

American metallers, Rwake, are releasing "The Return Of Magik" (their first new album in over 13 years) on March 14, through Relapse Records.

The cover and layout artworks were created by Loni Gillum of Minerva's Menagerie. These graphics (including the cover shown below) were "all handcrafted using authentic natural elements, ethically sourced, of course," reveals vocalist, Brittany Fugate. "We wanted to build something real and then photograph it. Every stick, mushroom, flower and grain of sand were all hand placed. No computers were used except where Relapse Records added in the text. Even the pieces of metal were electro formed by Loni."

The band had been collaborating with Arkansas-based jewelry artist, Loni Gillum "on a couple of jewelry pieces," Fugate comments. "The way she crafted and displayed her pieces was always very inspiring, so we asked if she would work with us on creating the art for the record. After many conversations and a vision quest to both of our favorite spot in the Ozark Mountains, Loni conjured up these beautiful works of art. I photographed them and made some contributions, but all the credit belongs to Loni Gillum."

Loni Gillum also created the back sleeve artwork and the layout/booklet images. See them above. According to Fugate, "the symbols on the back cover were hand crafted with metal and bone." She assures that "the artwork perfectly mirrors the music. It’s dark and evocative with elements of death, yet hauntingly beautiful and delicately soft at the same time. Both the artwork and the music are born from the earth, shaped by its rhythms, textures, and spirit. I believe that conveys to both the listener and the viewer."

Rwake's "The Return Of Magik" can be pre-ordered at https://rwake.bandcamp.com/album/the-return-of-magik and https://www.relapse.com/pages/rwake-the-return-of-magik

See more of Loni Gillum's work at https://minervasmenagerie.co/