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The cover art we’re talking about here is not for an album, it’s the work artist Vertebrae33 has done for an upcoming book by metal/rock journalist Ramón “Oscuro” Martos, …And Justice For Art: Stories About Heavy Metal Album Covers.
I’m guessing the book will make the perfect coffee-table book, and thus a perfect gift for any heavy metal fan.
This one-of-a-kind collection of stories recounts all the particulars behind the making of artworks as iconic as Slayer‘s Reign In Blood, Morbid Angel‘s Blessed Are The Sick, Metallica‘s …And Justice For All, Black Sabbath’s 13, Death’s Symbolic, Carcass’ Heartwork, Cormorant’s Dwellings, Mayhem’s Grand Declaration Of War, Testament’s Dark Roots Of Earth, Opeth’s Heritage, and many others.
These stories are told through 100 exclusive interviews with heavy music’s icons like Jeff Walker (Carcass), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Max Cavalera (Soulfly, Sepultura), Fenriz (Darkthrone), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Paul Masvidal (Cynic), Chris Adler (Lamb of God), David Vincent (Morbid Angel), Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation), and many more. In addition, the book features plenty of revealing commentaries by critically acclaimed illustrators, such as Michael Whelan, Eliran Kantor, Dan Seagrave, Joe Petagno, Arik Roper, and Travis Smith, just to name a few.
In the past, Vertebrae33 has collaborated with artists like Slayer, Slash, and Soundgarden. He had this to say about working on the book:
Working on the …And Justice for Art book was an amazing experience. Ramon Oscuro Martos has an unbridled love of Metal art as well as a tremendous amount of passion and vision for his project. As an illustrator, there is nothing better than a vision realized and the satisfaction of the client. I am excited to see Ramon’s project come to fruition!
Martos commented on Vertebrae33:
Today’s Metal scene is overflowed with illustrators and visual artists; however, just a few posses the ability to create distinctive images, rich in detail, colors, and conceptual depth… That’s the case with Vertebrae33. Since the very beginning he was able to understand that …And Justice for Art’s cover needed to be iconic and conceptually related to both Metal and Arts. I believe this book will coherently provide fans with plenty of firsthand information regarding to the creation of many iconic Metal album covers. The artwork created by Vertebrae33 perfectly introduces the reader to that world where music and visuals become one.
Martos is now running an Indiegogo campaign to fund the printing and distribution of this book that, according to Morbid Angel’s frontman, David Vincent (who wrote the foreword), has all the potential to become “a historical document about the importance of Metal album covers.”
Obituary’s drummer, Don Tardy declared, “I think this is an important book and will help to keep alive all these artworks.”
Cattle Decapitation’s infamous frontman, Travis Ryan, commented that the volume is “exactly what the music world needs to remind us all just how important album covers have been to all of us that grew up surrounding ourselves with physical media.”
Find out more about …And Justice For Art by visiting their Indiegogo campaign at: indiegogo.com or checking the book’s hyper-informative Facebook, which also functions as a source of information for everything related to Metal album covers, visual artists and more.
Rock Hard \m/
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