ALBUM COVER STORY: WYRMHAVEN's "SEASONS OF GLOOM"

American Death Metal band, Wyrmhaven, will unleash its debut full-length "Seasons Of Gloom" on May 29, 2006. The cover illustration was painted by acclaimed American artist, Adam Burke. Below, Wyrmhaven's guitarists, Travis Skye and Nick Cowan, provide information about the making of this portentous vision.

Why did you choose Adam Burke to create the cover illustration for your first album?

Travis Skye/Nick Cowan: We have followed Adam’s work for some time. He has made album art for a lot of notable bands and has a style that always seems to suit the group he’s working with. We feel very fortunate to have his talents bringing everything together for "Seasons Of Gloom." 

The image's main element seems to be a lightning striking a tree that is part of the ruins of an ancient setting. Other relevant elements are an eclipse and a storm looming in the horizon.

Travis Skye/Nick Cowan: This piece is a wonderful representation of the sonic realm we were trying to create, where beauty and terror can exist concurrently in an almost entirely unrelated way. The convergence of the apocalyptic and the celestial is a recurring theme throughout "Seasons Of Gloom" and Adam was able to convey this visually in a way that also seamlessly embedded the calm of a canyon landscape behind all of the chaos. The art ultimately represents the emotional and narrative components of the album, and we are honored to have worked with Adam.

The complete artwork has a panoramic format. The stormy landscape, the lightning striking the tree and the eclipse generate drama and feelings of utter doom.

Travis Skye/Nick Cowan: Adam paints otherworldly landscapes, using hand drawn techniques with acrylics and oils. Adam uses rich, beautiful, saturated colors to create moods for his art. 

The band's new logo was created by Belgian designer, Christophe "Lord of the Logos" Szpajdel. "Seasons Of Gloom" is the first release that features this logo on the cover.

Travis Skye/Nick Cowan: We felt very strongly about changing our logo for this new release. We wanted a logo that if you saw it, you knew exactly who it was. We worked together with Christophe Szpajdel to bring our new logo to life. We wanted to have an elegant look but still have an edge to it. We worked through a few different hand drawn designs to capture what our blend of melodic heavy music is. 

Pre-order "Season Of Gloom" at https://wyrmhaven.bandcamp.com/album/seasons-of-gloom

See more of Adam Burke's work at https://nightjarillustration.bigcartel.com/