The Art of Metal: Five Decades of Heavy Metal Album Covers, Posters, T-shirts, and More

by Malcolm Dome (Editor), Martin Popoff (Editor), Lemmy Kilmister (Foreword)

Let's face it, without the larger-than-life character and imagination of the art that complements it, metal just wouldn't have had the same impact. From the colorful, outlandish, yet sophisticated use of visuals for album artwork and posters, to the immediately recognizable logos of such bands as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mot�rhead, Metallica, Slayer, and a host of others across many subgenres, there's a close-knit relationship between the riffs that thunder from the guitar and the images that have come to represent the songs, anthems, and sheer nature of the beast. Does any other form of music immediately conjure up such evocative and distinctive images as the mere mention of the term "heavy metal" does? The answer is simple: no! From its inception in the 1960s through to today's giants, the art has been closely connected to the music. Every classic album brings to mind a readily identifiable album cover. Each great band has an immediately identifiable logo. All of the landmark gigs have a poster that quintessentially depicts the time, place, and passion of the event. It's all developed so far along the road that, today, the art that has been used to illustrate the music now stands on its own. There are exhibitions of the finest examples created by the truly outstanding artists. These works are collectible in their own right. What might have begun as a way of packaging metal has taken on a life of its own--moreover, it's even possible to trace the way the genre itself has evolved, and changed, by looking at its art. This book explores the ways in which the art has helped define each of the crucial subgenres that make up the multifaceted and colorful centipede that is metal.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Art, History

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2013

Reviews

[Florin Pitea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice presentation. Well-documented content. Disturbing images here and there. Recommended, but not safe for work. Review available here: http://tesatorul.blogspot.ro/2017/09/...

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of photos of metal albums through time, including some stories around them and good commentary about the genre in general. Fans might find it interesting, others will only see the reinforcements of certain metal stereotypes and the cheap and easy shock value through disturbing imagery.

[James Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great pictures of albums from many of the metal genres and some interesting stories and facts about them!

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an incredible art book filled with album art from metal bands past and present. Awesome articles and interviews throughout. 10/10

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok book.

[Gregory Dewaegheneire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for those interested in album covers. The metal genre does have some really interesting layered covers.