The Art of Metal

Let’s face it, without the larger-than-life character andimagination of the art that complements it, metal justwouldn’t have had the same impact. From the colorful,outlandish, yet sophisticated use of visuals for album artwork and posters, to the immediately recognizablelogos of such bands as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Metallica, Slayer, and a host of others across many subgenres, there’s a close-knitrelationship between the riffs that thunder from theguitar and the images that have come to represent thesongs, anthems, and sheer nature of the beast. Does anyother form of music immediately conjure up suchevocative and distinctive images as the mere mention ofthe term "heavy metal" does? The answer is simple: no!From its inception in the 1960s through to today’sgiants, the art has been closely connected to the music. Every classic album brings to mind a readilyidentifiable album cover. Each great band has animmediately identifiable logo. All of the landmark gigshave a poster that quintessentially depicts the time,place, and passion of the event. It’s all developed so faralong the road that, today, the art that has been used toillustrate the music now stands on its own. There areexhibitions of the finest examples created by the trulyoutstanding artists. These works are collectible in theirown right. What might have begun as a way of packagingmetal has taken on a life of its own—moreover, it’s evenpossible to trace the way the genre itself has evolved,and changed, by looking at its art. This book explores theways in which the art has helped define each of thecrucial subgenres that make up the multifaceted and colorful centipede that is metal.