RECORD COVER STORY: BLACKSTAFF's "DROWNER" (EP)

Blackstaff is the brainchild of American multi-instrumentalist and dark fantasy aficionado, Dustin Cleary. This Blackened Doom Metal solo project is releasing its new EP, "Drowner " in July 2026. Its blue tinted cover artwork distills a brooding atmosphere that allures listeners into the concept of the record, which is inspired by the Will-o'-the-Wisps or ‘hag lights’, the atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps, or marshes. Below, Cleary talks about this mysterious vision.

This artwork basically reflects the main theme of the EP, "Drowner." Can you tell us more details about this concept?

Dustin Cleary: The cover concept was a dark, moody swamp setting with a creature lurking beneath the surface of the water, and glowing balls of light dancing above. This is the theme of the record. It was very much inspired by the "will o' the wisp" that hypnotizes and leads travelers to their death in the swamp.

In the story, these lights lead unwitting travelers deep into the swamp and into a certain pond where something waits for them. Some are pulled down and consumed or made undead; others are delivered to the swamp's true master, to suffer and be harvested for parts. 

The creator of the cover Putra Satria, an underground artist from Indonesia. How did you discover his work?

Dustin Cleary: I first discovered the artist on Instagram, which is how my relationship begins with most artists I hire for my project. His account is @putrasatrianug. I saw a piece that stood out to me, and his style seemed like a good fit for my ideas. Putra has also done a t-shirt design for me, the "hungry wizard." 

Do you know how Putra created the artwork?

Dustin Cleary: His mediums are ink and digital coloring. He has some cool in-progress videos he makes on his profile to showcase his method.

The cover also features a logo you've been using for a relatively long time.

Dustin Cleary: Similarly, the logo was a commissioned piece, this one by a person who solicited me in my DM's back when I first started. In those days, I had just been making instrumental riffs to post on Reddit and had recently begun to get more serious about my craft, and this was one of my first decisions to begin collaborating with artists. We talked concepts (I wanted something that looked more retro than brutal, and I wanted a certain kind of staff in the logo), and the logo you see today is what came of that correspondence. I wish I could direct you to the person that did the piece for me, but a look back into my DMs has yielded several "deleted_" account names where I would expect that conversation to be.

"Downer" EP is available at

https://blackstaff.bandcamp.com/album/drowner-ep

See more of Putra's work at 

https://www.instagram.com/putrasatrianug/