How much does artwork influence you?

[O Drighes]

I second Jamie on sticking to the same artist, or the same concept at least. But then again, some bands can't even cope sticking to their music, let alone covers...

I had forgotten about Carcass, but this just brought up endless covers like old Napalm Death and Terrorizer  cut'n'paste covers that were also deadly...

Now, on a side note... how utterly depressing is to see classic artists being pigeonholed (i.e. Chris Moyen) when a load of bands start playing a certain trend and the artist's work is instantly associated to that trend? Sometimes I wish Chris retired or started using a completely new moniker just so I can judge these bands like something else than a Blasphemy copycat right from the cover.

[Pentagrimes]

Nailed it. I love Moyen art but I often think it's for nostalgic reasons. There's definitely understandably the thing where bands go "oh this artist is amazing, let's get them in to do our cover" and end up just buying a piece to use that has no connection to the actual record - think Dan Seagrave or Paolo Girardi, both of whom are exceptionally talented but after a certain point their art was used without any real thought. One of the things I liked about the last band I was in was that we decided (after the demo) to specifically use photography and specifically keep it locally themed to avoid having the same old cover art every other death metal band was using. How well it worked is open to question but it was a personal slant at least. And before that was settled on, the artwork discussions settled into the same old names (Seagrave being one, funnily enough) which might not have been as appropriate in reality.

[Thorn]

Didn't the Beneath The Remains art very nearly end up on another popular album at the time, anyone recall?

[Grim Reality]

For me, while I love good artwork and am definitely a physical format man, it's really just the icing on the cake and I can't think of much poor artwork putting me off music.

Funnily enough, I think the aforementioned Forefather have atrocious artwork, including Steadfast. Cheap looking juvenile shite. But it doesn't put me off at all. The first couple of albums  art is toe curlingly bad. Just ignore it.

Mourning Beloveth are another of my favourite bands with some stinkers of album covers, apart from Disease, though I have a bit of a soft spot for Muderous' brutal sleeve but that's probably cos I like the album so much😂

So yeah, artwork enhances but doesn't really detract for me!

[Pentagrimes]

Didn't the Beneath The Remains art very nearly end up on another popular album at the time, anyone recall?

Think it's actually that Sepultura were going to use the artwork that became Obituary's "Cause of Death" for it. Which in turn was a piece of art originally used for a H.P. Lovecraft book in the late 70s/early 80s.

[Thanatos]

It's also interesting that a lot of the mentioned artworks; Beneath the Remains, Arise, Cause of Death (of which Demolition hammers Epidemic of Violence - is a companion piece - used for another HPL book) as well as every Cirith Ungol cover were painted by the same artist.

[Eoin McLove]

From an artistic point of view I disagree with bands using the same artists forever.  Each new recording is a new opportunity.

[Thorn]

Didn't the Beneath The Remains art very nearly end up on another popular album at the time, anyone recall?

Think it's actually that Sepultura were going to use the artwork that became Obituary's "Cause of Death" for it. Which in turn was a piece of art originally used for a H.P. Lovecraft book in the late 70s/early 80s.

That was it yeah, itch scratched

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

There was a thread on just that recently, but I'm drunk so find it yourself.

[Mower Liberation Front]

Death Symbolic, Human & ITP...wow, the perfect marriage.

Those were terrible covers and just got worse with each one.   

Artwork's never really been an influence on me, though in the case of Helloween, bought The Time of the Oath just because the artwork made me think they were going back to the old style - had given up on them as a lost cause after Chameleon.

[Pedrito]

  blasphemer, leave the hall immediately. I remember buying Human & ITP on tape on the same day after earning my first Summer job pay cheque. The artwork and what camd out the speakers that day was up there with 'getting the tit' for the first time..life changing

[Carnage]

The Human cover's pretty good. A nice, abstract change from the standard (yet class) Repka covers that reflected the shift in musical parameters within. ITP's cover is awful shit though (like the album itself) and the cover's the only decent thing about TSOP. Can't beat the first two albums' covers, though.

[Ducky]

ITP is shit?! How so?

And the only good bit about TSoP is the cover? This is the album that has naked dudes falling off a mountain...

[Kurt Cocaine]

ITP is shit?! How so?

And the only good bit about TSoP is the cover? This is the album that has naked dudes falling off a mountain...

You had me at 'naked'... but lost me again at 'dudes'......

[Carnage]

ITP is shit?! How so?

Noodly, meandering, unfocused bollocks.